Hannah Lavery

‘Hers is a voice which speaks to and for the conflicted conscience of Scotland around issues of identity, race, justice and belonging with a power and authenticity like perhaps no other’ The Scotsman

Hannah Lavery is a Scottish poet and playwright. She was appointed Edinburgh Makar (or city poet) in November 2021 for a three year term. She was also selected by Owen Sheers’ as one of his Ten Writers Asking Questions That Will Shape Our Future for the International Literature Showcase, a project from the National Writing Centre and the British Council in 2020. 

Her poetry pamphlet, Finding Seaglass was published by Stewed Rhubarb and her debut collection, Blood Salt Spring was published in 2022 by Polygon and was shortlisted for the 2022 Saltire Scottish National Poetry Book Award. She has been selected for the Scottish Best Poem twice, in 2019 with her poem Scotland You’re No Mine and in 2021, with her poem Flying Bats. 

The Drift, her highly acclaimed autobiographical lyric play toured Scotland with the National Theatre of Scotland, and is to be adapted for a radio drama for BBC Radio Four in 2023. 

Her play Lament for Sheku Bayoh premiered at Edinburgh International Festival in 2020 and toured in its digital version to Auckland Arts Festival.

Her most recent play Protest produced by Fuel Theatre in association with Imaginate, Northern Stage and National Theatre of Scotland will premiere in 2023 before going on a nationwide tour. 

She is an associate artist with the National Theatre of Scotland and one of the winners of the Peggy Ramsay/Film4 Award 2022 and has written for BBC Radio Four, Lyceum Theatre, Pitlochry Theatre, Northern Stage, Traverse Theatre and various publications including The Scotsman, The Guardian and Gutter Magazine. She was also a recipient of the Adopt a Playwright Award 2020 and the New Playwright’s Award from Playwriting Studio Scotland 2019.  

She is an experienced workshop facilitator and won an Leadership Award from Creative Edinburgh for her work with Writers of Colour and her curated film poetry series, Sorry I am on Mute for Fringe of Colour.

In 2022, she launched with Scottish Feminist Theatre Company, Stellar Quines, a feminist arts podcast, Quines Cast, which she co-hosts with Caitlin Skinner.