Visiting Cove Park for the first time, Aberdeen Writers’ Studio is a group of emerging and established writers with current or historical links to the North-East. The group meets regularly in Aberdeen to share work and to encourage and support one another in their writing.

The participating writers are:

Rachelle Atalla is a writer based in Falkirk. She is the recipient of the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award and has completed a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Aberdeen. Her work has appeared in a variety of anthologies including Gutter, Thi Wurd and New Writing Scotland.

Alison Bell is a writer of poetry and short fiction. Themes within her work emerge from the landscape around her in rural Aberdeenshire. She has completed an M. Litt. in Writing Practice and Study at Dundee University and her work has appeared in Northwords Now, Dundee Writes and Dundee University Review of the Arts. She runs ‘Writing the Place’ creative writing workshops in site-specific venues.

Rae Cowie is a writer based in North East Scotland whose prose focuses on women’s fiction, exploring family drama, relationships and the desire to belong. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) New Writers’ Scheme, winning the prestigious RNA Elizabeth Goudge award in 2015, being awarded third place in 2016. She also helped found the RNA Scottish Chapter, with a membership of thirty writers, meeting regularly throughout the year.She blogs as part of the Novel Points of View blog team and am an arts’ correspondent for Scottish online magazine The Wee Review. She’s also a founding member of the Aberdeen Writers’ Studio, post regular book reviews as a Net Galley reviewer, read for JellyBooks, as well as being a member of the Scottish Association of Writers. Twitter @Rae_Cowie Rae_Cowie  Instagram rae_cowie  rae_cowie Pinterest Rae Cowie Writer

Gavin Gilmour is a writer living in the North East of Scotland. His work focuses on the isolated nature of local cultures and the perceived identities of the people who inhabit their communities. He writes prose fiction and has written several short films and feature length scripts selected as notable submissions to festivals and broadcasters. His short stories have been published in Gutter and Pushing Out the Boat. He is currently working on a novel that interweaves multiple stories and voices into one large narrative and is inspired by the idea of community and its relevance in modern, rural society.

Megan Primrose is a prose and poetry writer living in the North East of Scotland. Her poetry has been published and she was shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize in 2015. She has an MLitt in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow, for which she gained a distinction. She also enjoys facilitating creative writing workshops for adults and children.

Shane Strachan’s work is inspired by the folk, language and landscape of the North East of Scotland, with his prose and drama often incorporating North East Scots (Doric). Many of his stories and poems have been published nationally, including in Stand, Gutter and New Writing Scotland, and he has also had theatre work staged in Aberdeen, including as part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s Granite production. He holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Aberdeen and has experience teaching within academic and community settings; he has also worked on creative projects in Germany and Zimbabwe. Shane is currently submitting his first novel to publishers via his agent Jenny Brown, and intends to begin work on his next project at Cove Park – a novella based on the life of Scottish fashion designer Bill Gibb, covering Gibb’s rise to fame in the 1960’s and 70s, and his decline in popularity and health before his untimely death in 1988.