Alan McClure

I’m a songwriter, poet and novelist with more than twenty years’ experience as a performer and presenter, from the Edinburgh Fringe to the Wigtown Book Festival.

As a primary school teacher I’ve educated young folk for a decade, using music, story and a fascination with the natural world as a route in to almost any subject imaginable. I have led storytelling, songwriting and poetry workshops for adults and have been part of the Doctor Megaphone science outreach education team, touring Ireland and Scotland, including the Edinburgh Science Festival.

I have a background in Zoology and have been fortunate to work in Zambia and Peru – these experiences have informed a lot of my work. I am passionate about encouraging reluctant readers and writers. I’ve performed at dozens of festivals, including the Wickerman, Eden and Big Lit, and I have undertaken author visits to a number of schools around the South West of Scotland.

I’ve had poems published in Poetry Scotland, short stories published by Momaya Press, and my first novel, Callum and the Mountain, was shortlisted for the Kelpies Prize. It has since been published to critical acclaim and has been noted for its use of Scots vocabulary, its connection to landscape and nature and its humour.

(Photo credit: Zenspirations Photography and Design)