Looking for more in Author Directory?

Jan Sutch Pickard

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]
Other contact method: Publisher (Sandra Kramer): [email protected]
Local authority: Argyll and Bute
Languages: English
Author type: Poet, Storyteller
Jan Sutch Pickard's headshot

I am a poet and storyteller living in the Isle of Mull. I'm a member of the ecumenical Iona Community, and a former Warden of the Abbey in Iona. Before that I worked for many years as an editor of publications about the World Church. I'm also on the directory of the Scottish Storytelling Network.

A Director and volunteer with the Ross of Mull Historical Centre, I enjoy telling lively local history stories and legends of the islands. As a peace monitor with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel on two placements, I was inspired to write poems and a blog - and to continue speaking about the lives of ordinary (and extraordinary) people living under Occupation in the villages of the West Bank.

Publications (with Wild Goose) include Out of Iona, Between High and Low Water, A Pocket Full of Crumbs, and Walking Through Advent. I also self publish poetry pamphlets - the Gatherings series - as Oystercatcher/Gillebrighde. (Photo credit: Meg Pickard)

Websites featuring the author

Local authorities will visit

Argyll and Bute; Dumfries and Galloway; Edinburgh City; Glasgow City; Highland; Orkney Islands; Perth and Kinross; Renfrewshire; Shetland

Events will deliver

Performance; Reading; Residency; Workshop

Audience will work with

Adult learners; Intergenerational learning; Outdoor learning; Adults with additional support needs; Reluctant readers

Topics of work

Activism & protest; Biography & memoir; Coasts, seas & oceans; Environment & climate; Fairy tales, folklore & mythology; History; Island communities; Religion & beliefs; Rhyming books for younger readers; Rural communities; Self-publishing & independent publishing

Age groups published for

Children; Adults

Age groups will work with

6-8; 9-11; 18+

Audience size

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