Carol McKay

Home address:
5 Barnhill Drive, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, ML3 9EZ, Scotland
Telephone:
01698 820778
Website:
www.carolmckay.co.uk

Author type:
Poet, Writer
BRAW network:
no
LL funded:
yes
Biography:
I spent my childhood with scabby knees, running wild in the massive Drumchapel housing scheme in Glasgow, spent three years drinking red wine and eating fish in a stony little plage on the French Riviera and now live sedately in a suburban semi in the heights of South Lanarkshire. I’ve been married for over thirty years and have four grown daughters.
About writer's work:
Themes – social inclusion; gender issues; alcoholism; child abuse; mental health; the self in the system; care of the elderly. My short fiction and poetry have appeared in a range of literary magazines including Chapman and Mslexia. I’ve also had flash fiction in The Herald. In May 2007 an extract from a major work in progress was short-listed in the Daily Telegraph Novel in a Year competition and also in that year a story of mine appeared in the prestigious anthology Written Remedies which was distributed to all health centres in Scotland. I’ve published family and social history journalism and restaurant reviews and I’m a past recipient of a Scottish Arts Council Writer’s Bursary. My present day job is teaching creative writing online through the Open University, which is a fantastic way to make a living; I also enjoy teaching and mentoring with community groups. In 2007-8 I collaborated with Eileen Munro on her poignant autobiography As I Lay Me Down to Sleep, published by Mainstream in August 2008.
About writer's events and projects:
I’ll design and run one-off or longer term creative writing sessions focusing on developing creativity, writing fiction, poetry, travel writing and biography and on aiming at publication. I’m interested in residencies for specific projects such as personal search and social welfare issues. I’m also available to give readings of my own work and as a competition judge. Flexible formats – either informally in workshop situations or in more structured teaching situations. Fostering the individual’s creativity, self expression and self-worth are key.
Links to other websites:
www.open.ac.uk
Language:
English
Age groups:
Teens, Adults
Local authorities available to visit:
Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles), North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Shetland, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian

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