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Alex Howard

All of the information on this page has been provided by the author. If you need an author to have specialist skills, experience or knowledge please ask for more information about this ahead of booking them for an event. Please note that Scottish Book Trust cannot carry out Disclosure checks on Live Literature authors for most events. It is the responsibility of the person organising the event to carry out the appropriate Disclosure checks.
Contact: alan.lynch
Other contact method: Agent (Ed Wilson): ed@johnsonandalcock.co.uk
Local authority: Edinburgh City
Languages: English
Author type: Performance Poet, Poet, Screenwriter, Storyteller, Writer
Alex Howard's headshot

Alex is the author of The Ghost Cat, a bestseller in the UK and USA. Also a theatre professional and social media influencer, his TikTok page @housedoctoralex has nearly 300,000 followers while his work on Capital Theatres’ dementia programme helped it receive a UK Theatres Excellence in Inclusivity Award in 2023.

Alex loves helping writers of all backgrounds craft language into beautiful prose and verse. A PhD graduate of English, his first book Library Cat owes its existence to a bout of procrastination while studying at the University of Edinburgh, going on to win the People’s Book Prize in 2017. He also writes poetry and has been published in New Writing Scotland, Gutter and The London Magazine, while his fiction has been translated into nine languages. A recovering academic, his monograph Larkin’s Travelling Spirit was published in 2021.

Somehow, Alex manages to split his time effectively between writing, delivering literary events and working at Capital Theatres, Edinburgh. When he has a spare moment (rarely!) he enjoys renovating his Edwardian flat, uncovering its hidden secrets with his cat Tabitha, son Sasha and wife, Ellie. He is currently working on a new novel The Ship’s Cat, scheduled for publication in Spring 2026.

Websites featuring the author

Local authorities will visit

Aberdeen City; Aberdeenshire; Angus; Argyll and Bute; Clackmannanshire; Dumfries and Galloway; Dundee; East Ayrshire; East Dunbartonshire; East Lothian; East Renfrewshire; Edinburgh City; Falkirk; Fife; Glasgow City; Highland; Inverclyde; Midlothian; Moray; Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles); North Ayrshire; North Lanarkshire; Orkney Islands; Perth and Kinross; Renfrewshire; Scottish Borders; Shetland; South Ayrshire; South Lanarkshire; Stirling; West Dunbartonshire; West Lothian

Events will deliver

Panel event; Performance; Reading; Residency; Talk; Workshop

Audience will work with

Adult learners; People experiencing mental health problems; Young people in the community (e.g. Youth clubs, Guides, Scouts)

Topics of work

Adolescence; Animals; Biography & memoir; Childhood; Comedy, humour & funny books; Contemporary fiction; Death, grief & bereavement; Family; Friendship; Loneliness & isolation; Love & romance; Nature; Publishing & getting published; Rural communities; Violence & abuse

Age groups published for

Teens; Adults

Age groups will work with

0-2; 3-5; 6-8; 9-11; 12-14; 15-18; 18+

Audience size

0-10; 11-30; 31-100; 100-500; 500+