Donald S Murray

My first love was the short story; my work widely published in the past in a large number of literary magazines and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and Radio Scotland. Over the last few years, I have had great success with my poetry – appearing in national anthologies such as the ‘Edinburgh Book Of Scottish Verse’ and national newspapers such as the ‘Herald’. My non-fiction book ‘The Guga Hunters’ (Birlinn) about the gannet-hunters from my native Ness has attracted a great deal of national attention as has my collection of poetry and prose-pieces, ‘Small Expectations’ (Two Ravens Press). My forthcoming book is ‘And On This Rock’ (Birlinn) about the creation of the Italian Chapel in Orkney during the Second World War. As such, my work is largely concerned with the people of the periphery, especially the Highlands and Islands. The proof of its universal attraction, however, can be seen in the way I have delivered talks in Scotland’s most westerly island (St Kilda) in Scotland’s most north-western area (Ness); its most north-eastern area (Shetland); its most south-westerly corner (Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway); and Ireland’s south-western edge (the Blasket Centre, Dunquin, County Kerry). I have also read my poetry and prose in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands and Iceland and am due to appear with the celebrated writer, Will Self at the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2010. This will be linked to a TV programme about the 80th anniversary of St Kilda’s evacuation.