Dougie MacLean

Scottish singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Described by AllMusic as “one of Scotland’s premier singer-songwriters”, MacLean has performed under both his own name, and as part of multiple folk bands, since the mid 1970s.

MacLean’s most famous pieces include “The Gael” (1990), which became the main theme to the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans, and “Caledonia”, from his first album (1978); the latter has been called Scotland’s “unofficial” national anthem.

Eddi Reader

is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as frontwoman of Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three BRIT Awards. In 2003, she showcased the works of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns.

Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh

Front people of Deacon Blue, a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut album, Raintown, on 1 May 1987 in the United Kingdom and in the United States in February 1988. Their second album, When the World Knows Your Name (1989), topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks, and included “Real Gone Kid” which became their first top ten single in the UK Singles Chart.

Kirstin Innes

Innes’s debut novel, Fishnet (2019), won The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize in 2015 and was praised by The New York Times for its depiction of sex workers as “women with rich inner lives and interests”. Innes has written about how her friendship with the sex workers’ rights activist Laura Lee influenced the novel.

Her second novel, Scabby Queen, was published by 4th Estate in 2020. It was longlisted for the 2020 Gordon Burn Prize.

Hue and Cry

Hue and Cry is a Scottish pop duo formed in 1983 in Coatbridge, Scotland, by brothers Pat Kane and Greg Kane. The duo are best known for their 1987 single “Labour of Love”.

A new Hue And Cry album, Hot Wire was released on 19 March 2012 to critical acclaim, and the band played acoustic gigs in support of it. They also appeared on Jools Holland’s BBC Radio 2 show, and played “Shipbuilding” on the Titanic memorial show for Radio 2 receiving praise from Holland as well as Dermot O’Leary and Jeremy Vine. They also appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2012.

Val McDermid

Val is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of novels featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill in a grim sub-genre that McDermid and others have identified as Tartan Noir. In addition to writing novels, McDermid contributes to several British newspapers and often broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland. Her novels, in particular the Tony Hill series, are known for their graphic depictions of violence and torture.

Joseph Malik

In the early 90’s Malik began a career in music where he set up roots in his beloved Leith opening a recording studio with the 1st Scottish based hip hop group Blackanized, who stood against racism in their lyrics and created live performances in Clubs in Edinburgh. They then went on to set up Yush Records which focused on young black artists and the highlights of that movement got the attention of James Lavelle, label boss of Mo Wax records. Mo Wax released ‘Miles Out of Time’ (1994), on the now groundbreaking HEADZ album.

Sara Sheridan

Sara is a Scottish activist and writer who works in a variety of genres, though predominately in historical fiction. She is the creator of the Mirabelle Bevan. Sheridan’s first book, contemporary commercial fiction, Truth or Dare entered the Sunday Times top 50 when it was published in 1998. It was nominated for the Saltire Prize and was also listed in the Scottish Libraries Top 100 Books. In the successive two years Sheridan wrote two more novels in the same genre, Ma Polinski’s Pockets and The Pleasure Express. During this period, she also co-wrote two short films, Fish Supper starring Lynda Bellingham and The Window Bed, which was nominated for a Sky Movies Max Award in 2001. She was then commissioned by specialist publisher Barrington Stoke to write a novella for reluctant readers, called The Blessed and The Damned.

Ruth Wishart

Journalist and broadcaster Ruth Wishart has won many awards for her columns over the years. She writes mainly about Scottish and UK politics, but also covers American elections, and a diverse range of social issues. Glaswegian born and bred, she currently lives in Argyll.

Rick Redbeard

Rick Anthony is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter originally from Aberdeenshire and now based in Glasgow. He is the lead singer and guitarist in the alternative rock band The Phantom Band and also performs as a solo act and releases music under the pseudonym Rick Redbeard.

Karine Polwart

Karine Polwart is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised for her solo career, winning three awards at the BBC Folk Awards in 2005, and was previously a member of Malinky and Battlefield Band.

Polwart is currently a member of The Burns Unit, and collaborated with The Fruit Tree Foundation on its debut album, First Edition.

Richard Walker

Richard Walker is a Scottish journalist who is editor of the Sunday National. He was editor of the Sunday Herald from 1999–2015 and launched The National in 2014. He was Newsquest’s editor of the year in 2014.

Gerry Hassan

Gerry Hassan Scottish writer, commentator and academic. He is currently Senior Research Fellow in contemporary Scottish history at the University of Dundee; previously he has been Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research Scotland and a Research Fellow in cultural policy at the University of the West of Scotland, where he completed his doctorate. 

He is an associate for Demos where he led their Scotland 2020 and Glasgow 2020 programmes and OpenDemocracy. He has written widely in the Scottish and UK press, including The Scotsman, The Herald, Holyrood, Sunday Mail, The Guardian and The National (Scotland) on topics and issues related to the United Kingdom, particularly Scotland and Scottish Independence.