fiction writer
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
and
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
. Born in 1954 in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Rose studied at
Edinburgh University
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...
,Literary Festivals article on Dilys Rose /ref> where she taught
creative writing
Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...
from 2002 until 2017. She was Director of the MSc in Creative Writing by Online Learning from 2012 to 2017. She is currently a Royal Literary Fellow at the University of Glasgow. Her third novel ''Unspeakable'' was published by Freight Books in 2017.
Awards and honours
Rose has won many awards, including the Canongate Prize, the Macallan/Scotland on Sunday Short Story Competition, and a Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Award; she has also been awarded a
Society of Authors
The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...
travel bursary and a
UNESCO City of Literature
UNESCO's City of Literature programme is part of the wider Creative Cities Network.
The ''Network'' was launched in 2004, and now has member cities in seven creative fields. The other creative fields are: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gas ...
exchange fellowship. Her poem 'Sailmaker's Palm' won the 2006 McCash Poetry Prize, and her poetry collection ''Bodywork'' was shortlisted for the Sundial Scottish Arts Council Book Award. Rose's novel ''Red Tides'' won the 1993 Scottish Arts Council Book Award, as well as being shortlisted for the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award and the McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year.
Selected works
Poetry
* ''Madame Doubtfire's Dilemma'', Chapman, 1989
* ''When I Wear My Leopard Hat: Poems for Young Children'' (illustrated by Gill Allan), Scottish Children's Press, 1997
* ''Lure'', Chapman, 2003
* ''Bodywork'', Luath, 2007
* ''Stone the Crows'', Mariscat, 2020
Fiction
* ''Our Lady of the Pickpockets'', Secker & Warburg, 1989
* ''Red Tides'', Secker & Warburg, 1993
* ''War Dolls'', Headline Review, 1998
* ''Pest Maiden'', Headline Review, 1999 -
* ''Lord of Illusions'', Luath Press, 2005 - "proves adept at swiftly establishing a mood"
* ''Selected Stories'', Luath Press, 2005
* ''Pelmanism'', Luath Press, 2014
* ''Unspeakable'', Freight Books, 2017
* ''Sea Fret'', Scotland Street Press, 2022