Michael Pedersen: is a prize-winning Scottish poet, writer, animateur. He has published two highly acclaimed collections of poetry, with a third (The Cat Prince & Other Poems) due for release with Little Brown in July 2023. His prose debut, Boy Friends, came out now with Faber & Faber in 2022 in both the UK & the US, was rave reviewed, and was a Sunday Times Critics Choice. Pedersen was awarded the John Mather Trust Rising Star of Literature and the Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship. He’s had work anthologised by the likes of Pan MacMillan and Canongate Books, and was a finalist for the 2018 ‘Writer of the Year’ at The Scottish Culture Awards. His work has attracted plaudits from voices as diverse as: Irvine Welsh, Jackie Kay, Stephen Fry, Shirley Manson, Ian Rankin, Kae Tempest, Maggie Smith, Alan Cumming and Charlotte Church. Pedersen also co-founded the Neu! Reekie! literary production house—known for having produced cutting-edge shows all over the globe for over a decade.