Zoë Strachan (born 1975) is a Scottish novelist and journalist. She also teaches creative writing at the University of Glasgow.

Biography

Strachan grew up in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

. She studied

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and earned a

MPhil The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

in Creative Writing at the universities of Glasgow and

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

. She later herself became a creative writing tutor at the University of Glasgow. Strachan lives 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 ...

with her partner, the novelist

Louise Welsh Louise Welsh (born 1 February 1965 in London) is an English-born author of short stories and psychological thrillers, resident in Glasgow, Scotland. She has also written three plays, an opera, edited volumes of prose and poetry, and contributed ...

Work

Strachan's work has been published in ''

New Writing ''New Writing'' was a popular literary periodical in book format founded in 1936 by John Lehmann and committed to anti-fascism.''The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell, Volume 1 – An Age Like This 1939–1940'', p. 250. ...

'' 15, '' Bordercrossing Berlin'', ''The Edinburgh Companion to Contemporary Scottish Literature,'' and ''

The Antigonish Review ''The Antigonish Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine publishing new and established contemporary literary fiction, reviews, non-fiction articles/essays, translations, and poetry. Since 2005, the magazine runs an annual competition, the Sheld ...

''. In 2006 she was named the first Writer-in-Residence at the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Her first novel, ''Negative Space'', was published in 2002 by

Picador A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bullf ...

. It won the

Betty Trask Award The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total £20,000, with one author receiving a larger prize amount, called the ...

in 2003 and was shortlisted for the Saltire First Book of the Year Award. Her second novel, in 2004, was ''Spin Cycle''. In 2008 Strachan was awarded the

Hermann Kesten Hermann Kesten (28 January 1900 – 3 May 1996) was a German novelist and dramatist. He was one of the principal literary figures of the New Objectivity movement in 1920s Germany. The literary prize Hermann Kesten Medal has been given in his hon ...

Stipendium fellowship. In June 2009, she was on study leave, working mainly in Germany on a third novel, ''Play Dead''. In 2014, she appeared as editor of an anthology of LGBT writing called ''Out There,'' published by Freight Books. In 2011, Strachan took part in the International Writing Program Fall Residency at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

. She and Louise Welsh contributed a short story, "Anyone Who Had a Heart", to Glasgow Women's Library's 21 Revolutions Project, in which 21 writers and 21 artists were chosen to create works for the 21st anniversary of Glasgow Women's Library.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strachan, Zoe 1975 births Living people Scottish lesbian writers People from Kilmarnock Scottish scholars and academics Scottish women novelists Scottish women journalists Scottish opera librettists Scottish LGBT journalists Scottish LGBT novelists Lesbian journalists Lesbian novelists Women opera librettists International Writing Program alumni 20th-century Scottish women writers 21st-century Scottish women writers 21st-century women musicians Alumni of the University of Strathclyde 20th-century Scottish novelists 21st-century Scottish novelists Alumni of the University of Glasgow 20th-century Scottish LGBT people 21st-century Scottish LGBT people