I was born in 1975 and grew up in Kilmarnock, where I attended (sometimes sporadically) the Grange Academy (I wasn’t a big fan of school).
In 1992 I moved to Glasgow, and in 1996 I graduated with an MA (Hons) in Archaelogy and Philosophy from the University of Glasgow. After working for a couple of years in a selection of jobs, the worst of which was probably as a directory enquiries operator, I returned to university to do an MLitt in Creative Writing at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde.
Negative Space, my first novel, was published in 2002 by Picador, followed by Spin Cycle in 2004.
I’ve also published various short stories in magazines and anthologies, as well as many articles and reviews in newspapers, and written for Radio 4. Some of my journalism is online. My play ‘Old Girls’ opened the 2009/10 season at A Play, a Pie and a Pint at Oran Mor in Glasgow, and my short opera Sublimation (with composer Nick Fells) was part of Scottish Opera’s Five:15 series in 2010, playing in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
I live in Glasgow with my partner Louise Welsh, and I teach part time on the Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow.
I’ve just completed a third novel, which is provisionally titled Ever Fallen in Love? (changed from Play Dead); I suspect I might have another change of heart about it in the near future though! My current project is a play, Panic Patterns, which Louise and I have been commissioned to write for Glasgay! It will be performed at the Citizens here in Glasgow in October 2010. You’ll find more information on my news pages, as I update them most regularly.
If you’d like to know more about me, there are a few interviews online (though it’s possible that I’ve changed my mind about things since giving them):
I often do events as part of the Live Literature scheme run by Scottish Book Trust. If your writing group would like to book me, you can find out more here.
Here’s another (slightly more recent) photo which is free for use, please acknowledge the copyright: Patrick Gauthey, Nice.
A more formal biography, for use by journalists, events organisers, editors and anyone else who might need it! Please edit to fit your requirements:
Zoë Strachan is the author of Negative Space and Spin Cycle (both published by Picador). The former won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Saltire First Book of the Year Award. Zoë also writes short stories, essays, journalism and drama. Her work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3. She has received two writer’s bursaries from the Scottish Arts Council, a Hawthornden Fellowship and was UNESCO City of Literature writer-in-residence at the National Museum of Scotland. In 2008 she was awarded a Hermann Kesten Stipendium and spent time in Nuremberg, and in 2009 she received a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship which took her to France to write. She lives in Glasgow where she teaches part time on the prestigious Creative Writing programme at the University of Glasgow. Her play Old Girls opened the 2009/10 season of A Play, a Pie and a Pint at Oran Mor in Glasgow, and her short opera Sublimation (with composer Nick Fells) toured in May 2010 with Scottish Opera. She has just completed her third novel, Ever Fallen in Love? and is currently completing on a new stage play, Panic Patterns, which she is co-writing with her partner Louise Welsh. You can find out more at www.zoestrachan.com
Information about recent publications and events can be found by browsing my news blog, but if you need a full bibliography please contact me.
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