Marcas Mac an Tuairneir writes poetry, prose, drama and journalism, in Gaelic and English and splits his time between Inverness and his hometown of York. Marcas is at Cove Park working on the second draft of a new play.

Marcas’ début collection, Deò was published in 2013 by Grace Note Publications. A second, Lus na Tùise, is expected in 2016 as is a pamphlet, for Tapsalteerie, containing translations to and from Scots and Gaelic, alongside the much acclaimed poet Stuart A. Paterson. His début novel will be published by Acair, the same year, as part of their successful Aiteal series. He has recently completed his first stage play, Tilleadh, and was involved in BBC Alba’s Ceitidh Mòrag drama series, for children.

He has been published in various journals and short-listed for several poetry prizes including ‘The Baker Prize,’ ‘Cornéil Eoghan Uí Néill’ and ‘Off the Stanza’. In 2014, he was awarded the Highland Literary Salon prize for poetry and both second and first place in the ‘Baker Prize’ for Gaelic Literature. In 2015 he placed second in the national William Blake Poetry Prize, for his poetry in English and was a runner up in the Wigtown competition for Gaelic poetry. In the same year he was the winner of the Scottish Association of Writers’ ‘Write Up North’ poetry competition.

Marcas tours Scotland and the north of England regularly and enjoys reading at literary events and festivals, as well as free-lance tutoring work in the Gaelic Language and in Creative Writing, with children and adults, alike.

As art critic, he is a regular contributor to Dàna and Cothrom Ùr magazines and he is the Gaelic Editor of one of Scotland’s most exciting poetry periodicals, ‘Poet’s Republic’. As a singer, he is a member of the award-winning Inverness Gaelic Choir and the Gaelic male-vocal ensemble Trosg, with whom he has performed throughout Scotland and at Belladrum, Celtic Connections and Blas festivals.