Looking for more in Author Directory?

Alex Renton

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: [email protected]
Local authority: Edinburgh City
Languages: English
Author type: Journalist, Writer
Alex Renton's headshot

I'm an award-winning, Edinburgh-based author and journalist and an experienced public speaker. I work in books, newspapers, magazines and broadcast. My career began in news and conflict reporting, and I have since worked for Oxfam and elsewhere as a campaigner and an investigative journalist. For five years I was a columnist for the Times newspaper on food policy and culture.

Topics I've covered recently include Scotland's history of slavery and my own family's part in that (Blood Legacy), crimes and abuse in residential schools (Stiff Upper Lip and the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series In Dark Corners) and food and the environment (13 Foods that Shape Our World), a collaboration with BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme.

I regularly talk about my work in schools, libraries, festivals and other events. I have taken part in CPD events for psychotherapists and counsellors. I like to use PowerPoint or similar, if facilities are available.

(Photo credit: Caroline Irby)

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

Chairing events; Panel event; Professional development, CLPL or CPD; Reading; Residency; Talk; Workshop

Audience will work with

Care-experienced people; People experiencing mental health problems; Vulnerable adults

Topics of work

Activism & protest; Adolescence; Biography & memoir; Characters of colour & BAME characters; Childhood; Class & society; Editing & editing your own work; Environment & climate; Food; Health including mental health & wellbeing; History; Human rights; Violence & abuse; Wars & conflicts

Age groups published for

Teens; Adults

Age groups will work with

12-14; 15-18; 18+

Audience size

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