We are delighted to announce the shortlist for the Writing Awards at the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2025. The award winners in each category and the Jury Prize will be revealed on the night.

Shortlisted writers will have their work published in our illustrated collection and many of them will perform live readings at SMHAF x WayWORD on Wednesday 29 October at the Cowdray Hall in Aberdeen, hosted by Jo Gilbert.

The annual SMHAF writing competition is an opportunity for new and experienced writers to be recognised for their work. This year, their pieces explore the festival theme of Comfort & Disturb. Writers have been selected from across Scotland, the UK and the USA, across three categories: Fiction, Poetry and Creative Non-Fiction.

Shortlisted Writers

The shortlisted writers are:

We are delighted that two of the shortlisted writers, Malcolm Duckworth and Marie McLoughlin, are based in and around Aberdeen. The award winners will be announced at SMHAF x WayWORD, alongside music and spoken word performances, guest curated by Ica Headlam of We Are Here Scotland.

Hosted by poet Jo Gilbert, the line-up includes performances by Aberdeenshire folksinger Iona Fyfe, whose work is rooted deeply in the singing traditions of the North East of Scotland, queer poet and spoken word artist Mae Diansangu, improvisational multi-instrumental singer-songwriter Nuna, and hip-hop artist Jackill, who will be performing alongside emerging 17-year-old rapper JH.

Attendees will also have the chance to take home a copy of our new collection of writing, featuring all thirteen shortlisted entries, beautifully illustrated by Rosa Eisenberg.

SMHAF x WayWORD is at Cowdray Hall, Aberdeen, from 6pm to 9.30pm on Wednesday 29 October. The event runs until 8.30pm and is followed by a reception. Tickets are Pay What You Can: £10 / £7 / £4 / FREE.

About the Writers

Marc Brightside

Marc Brightside is a UK poet whose work has been featured in respected outlets both nationally and internationally, online and in print, with his work characterised by darkness interspersed with humour and introspection. His collections Keep it in the Family and Personal Impersonal were published in 2017 and 2020 respectively.

Jenna Burns

Jenna’s writing inspirations include Pat Barker, Sarah Waters and Mary Renault. Her work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in New Flash Fiction Review and Causeway/Cabhsair: A Magazine of Irish and Scottish writing. She is currently working on her debut novel.

Kim Campbell

Kim Campbell is a Clinical Psychologist working in the NHS. She began writing in early 2025 after enrolling in creative writing classes; pursuing a long-held passion she finally decided to explore. Skin marks her first venture into literary competitions and publication.

Heather Chapman

Heather is a Durham University student. She was a 2023 Foyle Young Poet, was shortlisted for the 2024-5 Poetry Wales Award, and won the 2025 Hive Young Writers Competition. Her work is published in The Garlic Press, Bloodletter and Carmen et Error. She likes vampires, sestinas and Edward II.

Kirsty Crawford

Kirsty Crawford is a conservationist, writer and community engagement manager. She has a BA in Creative Writing and an MSc in Wildlife Biology and is dedicated to exploring creative and collaborative crossovers between science and poetry. She was recently commended in the Magma Poetry Competition and has been published in Poetry Scotland, Motherlore, and Meniscus Journal plus featured in anthology collections by Speculative Books and Motherhood Uncensored.

Malcolm Duckworth

Poverty and a violent inner-city school led to a protective resilience moderated with compassion and ultimately a degree, three professions and twenty-five years in mountain rescue. A prize-winning published poem plus family pressure to write a memoir has combined to stimulate a strong creative momentum across poetry, prose and art.

Anastasia Joyce

Anastasia Joyce is a writer, aerialist and storyteller living in Edinburgh, and currently working on her first collection of short stories. She is invested in storytelling as an essential way to challenge dystopic narratives of the future and has written a play about the digital surveillance of migrants in the UK.

Storm Lomax

Storm Lomax is a fantasy and sci-fi author from Larbert, Scotland. Her work has been published in The Metaworker Literary Magazine and Freedom Fiction. Her debut novel, Wrath of the Never Queen, is a standalone fantasy romance.

Peter Marshall

Peter Marshall has struggled with his mental health throughout his adult life. Six years ago, he asked Art Angel in Dundee for help. Their creative writing group encouraged him to express emotions in ways he never knew possible. Now, he scribbles prose and poems every day. Life isn’t on pause.

Marie Mcloughlin

Marie Mcloughlin is a devoted mother and grandmother who champions mental health awareness. Drawing from her lived experience with Dissociative Identity Disorder, she writes with honesty and hope. Her work encourages understanding, resilience, and compassion, helping others navigate their own journeys toward healing and self-acceptance.

Angela Townsend

Angela Townsend works for a cat sanctuary. She is a five-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and her work appears or is forthcoming in Arts & Letters, Blackbird, The Iowa Review, SmokeLong Quarterly, and Witness, among others. She graduated from Princeton Seminary and Vassar College. Her poet mother is her best friend.

* Some writers chose not to provide a bio.

About the Artists

Mae Diansangu

Mae Diansangu is a queer poet and spoken word artist from Aberdeen. She has performed at literary festivals across Scotland and appeared on BBC Scotland’s Big Scottish Book Club and BBC Radio 4’s Tongue and Talk. Mae writes in both English and Doric, and her first poetry collection BLOODSONGS (Tapsalteerie) is available now.  

Rosa Eisenberg

Rosa Eisenberg is an illustrator, creative arts facilitator and mental health nurse based in Aberdeen. She has lived/living experience of mental health distress and creativity has been a crucial part of her recovery. Both illustration and mental health care require an understanding and appreciation of narratives. The connection between individual stories, the narratives people live by or have forced upon them and how these are understood and expressed, inspire her work.

Iona Fyfe

Aberdeenshire folksinger, Iona Fyfe, has become one of Scotland’s finest singers, rooted deeply in the singing traditions of the North East of Scotland. In 2021, she became the first singer to win the coveted title of Musician of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards.

A two-time winner of Scots Singer of the Year, Iona has performed across Europe, the US, Canada and Australia. Iona is a fierce advocate for the official recognition of the Scots Language, leading a successful campaign to pressure Spotify into recognising Scots and add it to its list of languages.

Honoured at the Scots Language Awards with the title of Speaker of the Year in 2021, Iona performs both folk and pop songs in the Scots language, remaining true to her rooting in tradition. Iona has featured in several publications including The Sunday Post, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Times. She won the title of Scots Singer of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards in 2018 and was described as “one of the best Scotland has to offer.”  (Global-Music.de)

Jo Gilbert

Jo Gilbert is a spoken word artist and writer from Aberdeen, writing in Doric, Scots and English. Their work has been widely published in journals, magazines and anthologies and was featured on BBC Radio 4. Past projects and commissions include StAnza Poetry Festival, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, Look Again Festival, the National Theatre of Scotland, Aberdeen Performing Arts.

Jo’s poem ‘Speirin’ was commissioned as one of the Scottish Poetry Library’s Burns Night Skies feature in 2025 and they are currently working on their second collection ‘The Department of Stuff and Things’ due out with Seahorse Publications late 2025.

Jackill

Jackill is a rapper and producer from Aberdeen, Scotland. One of the founding members of SAMA nominated Hip-Hop group “The Ill Collective”, Jackill has been a prominent figure in the Aberdeen and wider Scottish Hip-Hop scene. He released his debut album “A  day with the Jackal” in 2019 and has featured on several projects with other musicians such as “Best Girl Athlete” , “Vagrant Real Estate”, “CLBRKS” and “Hamlet”. He has also supported and performed alongside artists such as Loki, Hector Bizerk and Old Blind Dogs.

Jackill cut his teeth rapping over old school boombap style beats but grew up during the golden era of grime music and UK rap. He is at home when rapping within these genres but is comfortable working with anything from folk music and jazz to drum&bass, jungle and techno.

As well as focusing on his own music, Jackill also works in various capacities in the local communities around Aberdeen teaching workshops in schools, community centres and prisons.

JH

JH is a rapper/MC from Aberdeen. At 17, he is a relative newcomer to the local hip-hop and rap scene but has immersed himself in the culture in a short space of time, performing alongside notable rappers from Aberdeen at venues such as Drummonds, The Lemon Tree, Krakatoa and more. 

He takes influence from others in the local scene but brings a fresh and hard-hitting performance every time. He draws influence from other local MC’s and uses his music to vent about the life he’s experienced in Aberdeen and talks about social issues faced by many like him growing up in the city. He raps over all manners of genres within hip-hop, as well as performing poignant and well thought-out lyrics he is also adept at freestyling and can quickly jump between pre-written lyrics and improvised.

Nuna

Nuna is a Nu-jazz/Soul-Funk musician currently based in Aberdeen, Scotland, whose innovative sound seamlessly blends the sophisticated harmonies of jazz, the emotional depth of R&B, and the irresistible grooves of funk. Originally from Gary, Indiana, Nuna brings a unique transatlantic perspective to Scotland’s vibrant music scene.

Born into a musical family of singers, Nuna’s journey began at age 11 when he first touched a keyboard. This early introduction sparked a lifelong dedication to music, leading him to master multiple instruments including piano, guitar, bass, and drums. While piano formed the foundation of his musical education, it was during lockdown in 2020-2021 that he taught himself guitar and began songwriting, which truly sparked his passion for vulnerable musical expression. Through guitar, he channelled some of his deepest experiences and emotions into musical form, opening many new avenues of artistic expression. A transformative moment at an Aberdeen Blues Jam later introduced him to the bass guitar, adding yet another dimension to his distinctive sound that continues to evolve today.