Matthew Fitt
Home address:
PO Box 9452, Lanark, ML11 1AB, ScotlandEmail:
matthew@mfitt.co.ukBRAW network:
yesLL funded:
yesBiography:
I was born in Dundee in 1968, the son of an Irish jute spinner. My mum worked as a journalist and I used to help my gran make jam. I read mainly Doctor Who books when I was a bairn, collecting 68 of them in all and reading over and over the Doctor's adventures in time and space. I've lived near Biggar in Clydesdale for about 12 years in the shadow of Culter Fell and beside the Coulter Water which is a tributary of the Clyde. A heron and a hoolet live in the trees outside our house and keep us company in the long Lanarkshire winters.
I always go for my holidays to the Czech Republic, a country in the middle of Europe full of old castles and beautiful towns and people with extraordinary tales to tell. Dundee and Prague are my two home towns where I get most of the ideas and inspiration I need to keep writing.
About writer's work:
I like to write about a wide range of subjects and to switch between poetry and prose. I suppose the strongest theme in my writing is to make language exciting and fresh. I've written so far about floods, hurricanes, virtual polis, wee pigs, coos on loos, muckle monsters, Italian cafes, medieval merchants, pawkie provosts, upside doon puggies, crabbit grannies and a bing of the other stuff. Histories, translations, anthologies, education packs, radio scripts, short stories and poetry films are all things I've tried my hand at and have enjoyed doing. Along with James Robertson and Karen Sutherland, our book Katie's Moose was voted by readers Best Book in the Early Years category of the Royal Mail Awards 2007. Again with James, our books King o the Midden and The Hoose o Haivers were short listed for Scottish Arts Council Awards. I am also a recipient of the McCash, Sloane and Lewis Edwards poetry prizes and was writer-in-residence at Brounsbank Cottage in Clydesdale and Greater Pollock in Glasgow.
I am the co-founder of Itchy Coo books and the Outreach Officer for this award-winning Scots Language project, run in partnership with B&W Publishing with SAC funding.
About writer's events and projects:
Since becoming a full-time writer, I have visited over 500 schools and libraries. In Live Literature sessions, I aim to encourage young people and adults to explore the languages around about us. We discuss challenging and complicated ideas like Language, Accent and Dialect but always in a fun dynamic way. My hope is that all children in Scotland will learn about Scotland’s languages and be confident and literate in the rich expressive Scots Language. In 2007, I had the chance to work with two very talented school groups who really impressed me with their language skills. The first was Miss Rose’s P7s at Stanley Primary in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire; the second was Mrs Winning’s P6 at Nethermains Primary in Denny, Falkirk. Both groups showed great ability in reading and writing in Scots. Their Scots Language work led to a marked improvement in the pupils’ confidence. Together we did lots of fun Scots activities, creating poems and songs which gave the classes the skills to read anything written in Scots, even difficult poems by Robert Burns and other writers. I am very proud of the achievements of those two classes.
Language:
ScotsAge groups:
5-8, 9-12, TeensBooks written
You can play hunners of pliskies wi a gless ee because ye can tak it oot and pap it back in again ony time ye like. Ye can bet yer life Mrs Eejit kent aw the pliskies. Yin mornin she took oot her ...
Brought to life by award-winning Karen Sutherland's magical illustrations, this colourful counting book will keep young minds busy for hours, counting up the coos and dugs bubblyjocks and the herd of ...
These traditional fairy tales, told in modern easy-to-read Scots and beautifully illustrated by Deborah Campbell, are an ideal way for parents and young children to discover and enjoy together the ...
A Wee Moose in the Hoose is a Scots book of numbers from the award-winning children's imprint, Itchy Coo, that will give endless amusement to bairns and adults alike. Matthew Fitt and James ...
Slip into your baffies and settle down with a book that will take you through a whole day in Blethertoun Braes, a place where the greengrocer bursts into song, the polis has an unusual way of ...
Pure Ghosters is a themed, linked short story collection that contains a mixture of horror, supernatural and humorous stories all presented by the same thirteen-year old character, Gaberlunzie Joe. ...
Geordie's grannie is a crabbit auld grumph. As far as she's concerned, Geordie can do nothing right. But, when the time comes for him tae bring her medicine, Geordie decides tae give her a mingin ...
Goldfish Suppers is a magical anthology of new poetry for young children to share with their families, on the page or out loud. The poems and illustrations feature life in 21st-century Edinburgh, ...
"Hercules, ma guid man," said the king. "Dae ye ken whit a trauchle is?" "Nut," said Hercules. "A trauchle is when ye've gote tae dae somethin but it's no easy and ...
Katie's Coo is a delightful board book containing some much-loved traditional Scots rhymes along with a few that are less well-known. Parents and grandparents will enjoy singing or chanting the words ...
Babies and young children will love the simple story of Katie gathering up her animal friends in time for bed. Each page shows Katie looking for the Dug, the Pig, the Bear, the Craw, the Coo and of ...
Illustrated by Karen Sutherland
Katie spends a day at the zoo, meeting some of the bonnie, braw animals and birds that stay there, among them the tiger 'in his strippit coat', the koalas with ...
'Kidnappit' is the Scots version of Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Kidnapped', a dramatic adventure story about a 17 year old, desperate to secure his inheritance, that culminates in a chase from the ...
You are now entering King o the Midden. But be warned. Bob Dewars brilliant cartoon work sets off the stink bombs and whoopee cushions in this wild anthology of hilarious comic verse. And it is pure ...
Recently re-released!
A rummle o thunner is heard aff-stage.
LANDLADY: Some night oot there, eh?
TAM: Some night in here. Cmoan and gies a kiss, ya wee beauty.
The Hoose o Haivers retells Ovids Metamorphoses for modern readers in lively accessible Scots. Learn about Daedalus and Icarus who were the world's first high-fliers. Catch up with Phaeton who took ...
This work takes a unique and humorous look at a city with a story to tell. The "Time Tram" lands in Dundee! This new adventure book for kids of all ages is a hilarious romp through history. ...
