Neu! Reekie! was an Edinburgh-based literary company and arts production house founded in 2010 by poets Michael Pedersen [1] and Kevin Williamson. [2] [3] They produced over 200 live shows and published poetry anthologies including #UntitledOne (2015), [4] #UntitledTwo (2016) and #UntitledThree (2020). [5] [6]
Previous guests to Neu! Reekie! have included Irvine Welsh, Jackie Kay, Young Fathers, Margaret Atwood, Charlotte Church, Hollie McNish, Scott Hutchison, Tom Leonard, Liz Lochhead, Alasdair Gray, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Akala, Sabrina Mahfouz, Bill Drummond, Andrew Weatherall and Hannah Lavery. [7]
In 2015, Neu! Reekie! were awarded Creative Edinburgh's City Award for outstanding contributions to Edinburgh's cultural scene. [8]
In 2017, Neu! Reekie! hosted a large scale arts festival for Hull City of Culture 2017 entitled Where Are We Now? — a tribute to David Bowie's song of the same name. [9] [10]
In 2018, Neu! Reekie! curated a year-long programme of writing residencies at The Curfew Tower in Cushendall Northern Ireland — this was by invitation and at the request of Bill Drummond. Together, in 2019, Neu! Reekie! and Bill Drummond released a book of the writings on Bill Drummond's Penkiln Burn Press entitled After Curfew. [11]
In 2020, the company released their third poetry anthology #UntitledThree with Polygon Books. This received positive reviews with The Scotsman noting: "As its urgent, pithy name attests, Neu! Reekie! is Edinburgh-based but with eagle eyes on the world, welcoming artists from home and away to be part of its gatherings and its output, retaining a gonzo spontaneity while comfortably curating events for prestigious global festivals". [12]
Neu! Reekie! have hosted international shows in Japan, Indonesia, [13] Spain, [14] New Zealand and the United States. [15]
In 2022, the collective - Pedersen and Williamson alongside photographer and artist Kat Gollock and musician Davie Miller - announced they were going on indefinite hiatus, with its final production event taking place in August of that year. [16]
(James) Hamish Scott Henderson was a Scottish poet, songwriter, communist, intellectual and soldier. He was a catalyst for the folk revival in Scotland. He was also an accomplished folk song collector and discovered such notable performers as Jeannie Robertson, Flora MacNeil and Calum Johnston. Born in Blairgowrie, Perthshire on the first Armistice Day 11 November 1919, to a single mother, Janet Henderson, a Queen's Nurse who had served in France, and was then working in the war hospital at Blair Castle. His name was recorded at registration as James but he preferred the Scots form Hamish.
Sydney Goodsir Smith was a New Zealand-born Scottish poet, artist, dramatist and novelist. He wrote poetry in literary Scots, sometimes referred to as Lallans, and was a major figure of the Scottish Renaissance.
Liz Lochhead Hon FRSE is a Scottish poet, playwright, translator and broadcaster. Between 2011 and 2016 she was the Makar, or National Poet of Scotland, and served as Poet Laureate for Glasgow between 2005 and 2011.
Ali Smith CBE FRSL is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting".
Kevin Williamson is a writer, publisher, and activist originally from Caithness. He is a Scottish socialist and republican and was an activist for the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP). He was also the architect of their radical drug policy, which included the legalisation of cannabis and the provision under the National Health Service of free synthetic heroin to addicts under medical supervision to combat the problems of drugs in working class communities. He wrote a regular weekly column, "Rebel Ink", for the Scottish Socialist Voice.
Andrew Drummond is a Scottish writer, translator and novelist. He was born in Edinburgh and studied at the University of Aberdeen and the University of London. Previously employed full-time as a software engineer, he now pursues his writing full-time.
Vivienne Margaret 'Meg' Bateman is a Scottish academic, poet and short story writer. She is best known for her works written in Scottish Gaelic; however, she has also published work in the English language.
Alvin Pang received the Young Artist Award (Literature) in 2005 by the National Arts Council Singapore. He holds a First Class Honours degree in English literature from the University of York and an Honorary Fellowship in Writing from the University of Iowa's International Writing Program (2002). In 2020, he was awarded a PhD in Writing from RMIT University, and appointed to the honorary position of Adjunct Professor of RMIT University in 2021. For his contributions, he was conferred the Singapore Youth Award in 2007, and the JCCI Foundation Education Award in 2008. He is listed in the Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry in English.
Sandra Alland is a Glasgow-based Scottish-Canadian writer, interdisciplinary artist, small press publisher, performer, filmmaker, and curator. Alland's work focuses on social justice, language, humour, and experimental forms.
Roderick Chalmers "Roddy" Lumsden was a Scottish poet, writing mentor and quizzer. He was born in St Andrews and educated at Madras College and the University of Edinburgh. He published seven collections of poetry, a number of pamphlets, and a collection of trivia. He also edited a generational anthology of British and Irish poets of the 1990s and 2000s, Identity Parade, and The Salt Book of Younger Poets. His collections The Book of Love and So Glad I'm Me were shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize.
Robert Alan Jamieson is a poet and novelist from Shetland, Scotland. He grew up in the crofting community of Sandness. He works as a creative writing tutor at Edinburgh University, having been co-editor of the Edinburgh Review in 1993–1998 and a creative writing fellow at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde in 1998–2001.
Birlinn Limited is an independent publishing house based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1992 by managing director Hugh Andrew.
Salena Godden is an English poet, author, activist, broadcaster, memoirist and essayist. Born in Hastings, UK, of Jamaican-Irish heritage, Godden based in London. Widely anthologised, she has published several books. She has also written for BBC TV and radio and has released four studio albums to date.
Kevin MacNeil is a Scottish novelist, poet, screenwriter, lyricist, playwright and educator. He was born and raised on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.
Dr Jenni Fagan FRSL is a Scottish novelist and poet. She has written several books including novel The Panopticon, screenplays, several books of poetry and a memoir, Ootlin. She was named Scottish writer of the year 2016 by The Glasgow Herald. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Leela Soma was a Scottish-based writer who was born in Madras in India, and lived in Glasgow.
Sophie Willan is an English actress, narrator, writer and comedian. She has won two BAFTAs for her television sitcom Alma's Not Normal.
Regi Claire, is a novelist, short story writer and poet living and working in Scotland. Her native language is Swiss-German, but she writes in English, her fourth language.
Roy Moller is a Scottish singer, songwriter and poet. He was born in Edinburgh in 1963; his parents were from Toronto in Canada, and he was adopted soon after birth. His early musical influences included Elvis Presley, Joy Division, The Fall, Ivor Cutler and David Bowie. He attended Trinity Academy, then moved to Glasgow where he studied English at the University of Strathclyde. While there, he won the Keith Wright Poetry Competition.
Hannah Lavery is a Scottish short story writer, poet, playwright and performer. Her poetry and prose has been published by Gutter Magazine, The Scotsman newspaper, 404 Ink, and others. In September 2021 she took on the role of Edinburgh Makar.