Michael Pedersen

is a prize-winning Scottish poet, writer, & animateur. He has published two highly acclaimed collections of poetry (Polygon Books) with a prose debut, Boy Friends, forthcoming with Faber in July 2022. Pedersen was awarded the John Mather Trust Rising Star of Literature 2014, and a 2015 Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship. He’s had work anthologised by the likes of Pan MacMillan and Canongate Books, and was a finalist for the 2018 ‘Writer of the Year’ at The Scottish Culture Awards. Pedersen’s most recent collection Oyster, now in its sixth printing, was illustrated by and performed as a live show with the late Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit.

As a writer, Pedersen is known to collaborate with artists, musicians and filmmakers, producing work for the likes National Theatre of Scotland, Edinburgh International Festival & Scottish Poetry Library. He has read at literature festivals in four continents, features regularly on BBC Radio and has appeared on BBC Arts Night. Pedersen also co-runs and co-founded Neu! Reekie!—a prize winning arts production house, now in their tenth year, known for curating cutting-edge shows all over the globe and hosting take-overs for national galleries, national museums and major festivals.

'Enchanting...astonishingly compelling...sparklingly written...rare and to be treasured'.’ —Stephen Fry

'Lucid, lyrical, loaded, BOY FRIENDS is a love letter to friendship.' —Jackie Kay

‘Uncommonly romantic, irreverent and, at times, laugh out loud funny.’ —Shirley Manson

‘Tugs at every heartstring I have. Beautiful and overflowing deep humanity.’ —Charlotte Church

'A master of words. He plays them like music.' —Kae Tempest

'Joyful and comic with a stone of sadness at the centre.' —David Shrigley

'A beautiful, life-affirming book' —Ian Rankin

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