Since 2009, Gutter has been the magazine of new Scottish writing, an award-winning, high quality, printed journal for fiction and poetry from writers born or living in Scotland, while also featuring literature from around the world. After taking the Scottish literary scene by storm, they’re now collaring CoastWord, converting it into a showcase for some of the freshest talent. Chris McQueer, recently described as ‘like Charlie Brooker on Buckfast’, reads from his latest short story collection HWFG. CoastWord poet-in-residence Marjorie Lotfi Gill reads poems written during her CoastWord residency. Music is provided by Heir of the Cursed, whose songs are influenced by ‘the strange nuances of life, rooted in grief, Scottish weather, the constant and the inconstant’ and Irish-born, and now Glasgow based singer-songwriter Martha Ffion championed by GoldFlakePaint for its “beautifully melodic sway”.
Chris McQueer is a 20-something year old writer and former sales assistant from Glasgow. After sharing short stories on Twitter, McQueer developed a following which culminated in the publication of his first collection Hings in 2017 (404 Ink), which went on to win Best Short Story Collection at the Saboteur Awards. Last year, he published HWFG, his second collection.
Nadine Aisha Jassat is a poet, writer, and creative practitioner. In 2018, she received a Scottish Book Trust New Writers’ Award, and was shortlisted for the Edwin Morgan Award and the Outspoken London Poetry Prize. Her debut poetry collection Let Me Tell You This was released in March 2019 (404 Ink).
Born in New Orleans, Marjorie Lotfi Gill spent her childhood in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution, which inspired poems in her latest pamphlet Refuge(Tapsalteerie), before returning to the States. She co-founded Open Book, which promotes reading groups for the vulnerable and for adults in the community. She is the current Chair of Trustees for the Wigtown Book Festival.
Beldina Odenyo Onassis came to Glasgow via Dumfriesshire performing under her guise Heir of the Cursed. Influenced by Sister Rosetta Tharp, Nina Simone and Paul Simon, Heir of the Cursed mixes soulful lyrics with intricate guitar work.
Martha Ffion is the musical project of songwriter Claire Martha Ffion McKay, who has just signed to Turnstile – home to the likes of Gruff Rhys and Cate Le Bon. Her latest release via Lost Map Records has introduced Martha to a whole new international audience, seeing her tipped as 'an artist that seems ready-made for wider acclaim' (Tom Johnson, Goldflakepaint).
Since the release of her 2014 self-released debut EP ‘Go’, there has been a major development in her sound. Performing with a full band for the past year has transformed Martha’s songwriting process, and the new material has adopted a punchier edge with echoes of Sharon Van Etten and Engel Olsen. But her core influences remain consistent and tangible: 60s icons like The Beatles, the Shangri-Las and Nancy Sinatra. There’s a hint of Blondie too, particularly in the wry delivery of her lyrics