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Andy Manders

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: Stirling
Languages: English, Scots
Andy Manders's headshot

For the last 25 years, I've worked with writing and writing groups in community, adult literacy, school and therapeutic settings through organisations such as Survivors Poetry Scotland, the Workers Education Association and Artlink, as well as with colleges and local authorities. I was writer in residence at Glenochil Prison in 2006. I have experience producing and editing magazines and books and in community publishing.

Working with people who for one reason or another - economic, social or educational disadvantage, emotional distress, dementia, disability or simply being young - may find themselves at the mercy of other people's notions of their identity has allowed me to properly appreciate the power the act of writing has as a liberating force.

One of Paulo Freire's students once said, "I want to learn to write to stop being the shadow of others." In my own work and in my work with others I've found writing to be a means towards understanding past and present experience, a richly rewarding adventure and a useful tool in shaping futures. As well as all that, I also find working with other folk sharing stories, words and worlds to be a great deal of fun.

(Works in Scots)

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; Workshop

Audience will work with

Adult learners; Care-experienced people; Carers; Outdoor learning; Adults with additional support needs; People experiencing mental health problems; People living with dementia; Prisoners & young offenders; Reluctant readers; Vulnerable adults; Vulnerable older people

Topics of work

Activism & protest; Biography & memoir; Class & society; Coasts, seas & oceans; Contemporary fiction; Death, grief & bereavement; Discrimination & prejudice; Editing & editing your own work; Environment & climate; Fairy tales, folklore & mythology; Family; Health including mental health & wellbeing; History; Human rights; Nature; Politics; Poverty; Religion & beliefs; Rural communities; Violence & abuse

Age groups published for

Adults

Age groups will work with

6-8; 9-11; 12-14; 15-18; 18+

Audience size

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