Please join us at this year’s PEN Naomi Mitchison Event with Marjorie Lotfi Gill, Sepideh Jodeyri and and International Women’s Group Glasgow North.

Each year Creative Writing at University of Glasgow and Scottish PEN invite a woman writer working at the top of their field to share their work and words with us. This year we are pleased to present a very special collaboration with Many Voices, Scottish PEN’s project aiming to offer new platforms for stories that are often excluded from the public conversation. The project is funded by Creative Scotland.
International Women’s Group is based in Glasgow, and the majority of its members are refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. For the past five weeks, the group have been writing with Edinburgh-based poet Marjorie Lotfi Gill, focusing on the theme of journeys. This event showcases the group’s work and talent, alongside readings from Marjorie and the visiting writer, Iranian poet Sepideh Jodeyri.
This annual event is organised in memory of Scottish poet and novelist Naomi Mitchison.
Event is free but ticketed, and spaces are limited.

Marjorie Lotfi Gill is the founder of The Belonging Project, 75 workshops and readings reflecting on the flight, journey and assimilation of refugees. She was the first Poet in Residence at Jupiter Artland and Spring Fling/Wigtown Book Festival 2015. Marjorie’s poems have won competitions, been widely published (including in Gutter, Magma, Rattle and The Rialto) and been performed on BBC Radio 4.

Sepideh Jodeyri is an Iranian poet, literary critic, translator and journalist, who has published several works, including five poetry collections, a collection of short stories and an anthology of her poems. She has also translated poetry books by Edgar Allan Poe and Jorge Luis Borges as well as the graphic novel, Blue Is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh into Persian. Sepideh was forced to leave Iran in 2009, and currently lives in exile in Washington DC, the United States.

Creative Writing at University of Glasgow supports writers to develop their unique voices through a variety of courses and degrees. It is perfect for talented and aspiring writers who want to develop their craft, take risks in their work, and gain creative and critical skills – all as part of a supportive community of writers. It is our pleasure to host the Scottish PEN Naomi Mitchison event each year.