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Kenny Boyle

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Contact: hello@kennyboyle.co.uk
Local authority: Midlothian
Languages: English, Gaelic
Kenny Boyle's headshot

Coinneach (Kenny) Boyle was born in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. His childhood life was divided between term-time in Glasgow, where his parents both worked as teachers, and long holidays back on Lewis. He was trained as an actor at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He also holds a degree from Strathclyde University.

He is the star, alongside Natalie Clark, of Ryan Hendrick's multi-award winning short film Perfect Strangers (2015) and of the same director's feature-film version Lost at Christmas (2020). His debut radio play Knock of The Ban-Sithe broadcast on Radio 4 in 2022. His plays include Eerie Isles, Playthrough and An Isolated Incident, and in 2021 he received a New Playwrights Award from the Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland. His work often focuses on mental health, island life, folklore, and mythology.

His debut novel The Tick and the Tock of the Crocodile Clock, about an aspiring writer from the Southside of Glasgow, was published by Lightning Books in May 2022, and The Scotsman called him “One of the nation’s best writers”.

He has appeared or is due to appear giving author talks at the Edinburgh Book Festival, Winter Words, Aye Write, Story Sunday in Aye, various branches of Waterstones throughout Scotland, and Blackwells in Edinburgh. He is an experienced performer, and very comfortable with audiences.

(Photo credit: Mihaela Bodlovic)

Local authorities can 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 can deliver

Panel event; Performance; Reading; Talk; Workshop

Audience can work with

People experiencing mental health problems

Topics of work

Activism & protest; Adventure; Childhood; Class & society; Comedy, humour & funny books; Contemporary fiction; Editing & editing your own work; Fairy tales, folklore & mythology; Fantasy; Health including mental health & wellbeing; Horror; Island communities; Loneliness & isolation; Mystery & thriller; Nature; Performance training; Publishing & getting published; Rural communities

Age groups published for

Teens; Adults

Age groups can work with

12-14; 15-18; 18+

Audience size

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