Michael Pedersen

From 2027, I’ll be curating Winter Words Festival for & with Alan Cumming & Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

This year’s festival has now come to a triumphant close: Alan & the team have delivered with bravura. Having been at Winter Words in 2025 & 2026, I can’t extoll this festival enough.

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𝘖𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘮 – one from the archives of 𝓞𝔂𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻 in tribute to this day / this life of love.

This book illustrated dazzlingly by a friend I love and miss abundantly, the great Scott Hutchison. Published in 2017 it’ll have a tenth anniversary next year. Yikes & slurp.

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I am chatting to the glorious being @alancumming.bsky.social tonight at Pitlochry Festival Theatre for the opening event of Winter Word Festival 2026. What a luminary. 💜🩵💖💛💚

All but sold out expect for a few speckled seats. Come join the thrum: www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com/whats-on/in-...

YouTube video by The Saltire Society Saltire Sessions: Michael Pedersen

Saltire Sessions: Michael Pedersen

The Saltire Society talks to author, poet, & Edinburgh Makar @michaelpedersen.bsky.social about his work, his inspirations, & the power of collaboration
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCTg...

26/03: London you gallus lovers. Here’s a launch event with all the thrills. Me & Hollie McNish at Book Bar hosted by It’s Hardback Out Here. A coddle of lushes. Come zest with our gang 💛💜💙💚

🎫: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ihoh-prese...

WATCH: Michael Pedersen's poem to mark 300th anniversary of Edinburgh University medical school The 300th anniversary of Edinburgh University’s medical school is an opportunity to look both backwards and forwards, writes Michael Pedersen

Edinburgh Makar @michaelpedersen.bsky.social has written a poem to mark the 300th anniversary of @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social’s medical school. A short film of the poem, animated by @edincollegeofart.bsky.social students, is available to watch via @scotsman.com
www.scotsman.com/arts-and-cul...

Happy Burns Night ✨ I got to read Burns from St Giles’ Cathedral over NY on @cnn.com with Edinburgh Hogmanay. Auld Lang Syne is primarily about friendship, rekindling, reflecting, and toasting the future. A worthy vaunt 💚🩵

Lovers! Both the Edinburgh (23/03) and Glasgow (25/03) launches for the Muckle Flugga paperback are fast filling. One under a starry planetarium, one in Scotland’s biggest bookshop. Fern Brady to Rachel Sermanni & lightbeams beyond. ‘Mon zest our way. 💛

🎟️: www.michaelpedersen.co.uk/events

Yikes & swoon! I’m on one of my very favourite podcasts: The Weirdos Bookclub with supreme beings / literary dreamboats Sara Pascoe & Cariad Lloyd.

The full flourishing episode can be listened to in all your podcasts places now: www.plosive.co.uk/podcasts/wei...

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On 01/01, me & Shirley Manson @garbage.com unfurled our cultural salon Muckle Be The Light. We were joined by @nicolasturgeon.bsky.social & Norman Blake to kick start the year. The whole event rang with notions of courage & joy – what a thrill to start the year surrounded by these gallant humans 💘🔥.

'Always, always focus on the joy and rally back towards the light' There's nothing we could say that @michaelpedersen.bsky.social couldn't say 100000x better. Our wish for you in 2026 (also, listen to the episode, it's beautiful & buy all of Michael's books because, ditto). www.shamisspeakeasy.co.uk

Awwww, glorious to be in this lustrous coddle of tomes. Gooey thanks / love to yer lustre 💛💚💜

The best books of 2025 We read over 110 books in 2025. Possibly too many? Here’s the top of the tops.

my list of the finest books of 2025 (Fiction, Non Fiction & Memoir) for Shortlist feat. @vincenzo.bsky.social @olgaravn.bsky.social @benpester.bsky.social @michaelpedersen.bsky.social @leaypi.bsky.social @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social @nicklowles.bsky.social

www.shortlist.com/books/the-be...

Come kick start 2026 with swoon and tenderness at Portobello Town Hall. That’s for Edinburgh Hogmanay’s First Footin’ this January 1st. It’s nearly sold out / last tickets remaining. What a glorious coddle of wonder churners 💛💚🩵💖

🎟️: edwinterfest.com/hogmanay/wha...

I finally saw The Importance of Being Earnest & saw Stephen Fry (the great human lighthouse) soar. If yer near London catch this show before it’s dreamdust & legend. It’ll play your heart like a flute.

Stephen has been so generous with me & my novel this year and my gratitude is gigantic 💜💛💚.

Chuffed to see Muckle Flugga as one of the glorious Matt Haig’s Books of the Year. Matt’s a sublime human & his writing gives people courage & hope. He was one of the first to read my novel and has been supremely championing ever since 💚🧡💚🧡.

Paperback preorders open now: linktr.ee/michaelpeder...

Behold my buttery lovers – the 𝑴𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌. It arrives in March 2026 but you can preorder it now (as say, a Christmas gift) 💚🧡. & remember, every time you preorder a book a baby lighthouse is born (and my heart does seven somersaults 🥰)

📚 : linktr.ee/michaelpeder...

🌊 'Scintillating.' Ocean Vuong
🌊 'Compelling.' Irvine Welsh
🌊 'Phenomenal.' Matt Haig
🌊 'A thrill.' Financial Times

Michael Pedersen's acclaimed debut novel Muckle Flugga is out in paperback 26 March 2026. You can pre-order it now 💚

faber.co.uk/product/9780571387755-muckle-flugga/

💛 Glasgow you gallus lovers 💜 The Muckle Flugga paperback launch is on 25/03 with the phenomenal Fern Brady – one of my fav comedians and an extraordinary writer. Come watch us thrum and fizz together 💚💚💚💚.

🎫 : www.waterstones.com/events/micha...

Edinburgh Lovers 💫 I offer thee a one-off spectacular: the launch of the 𝐌𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝓤𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼 of the planetarium on 23/03. I’ll be joined by 2 sublime sound makers that truly make my heart thrum: Rachel Sermanni & Janette Ayachi.

Come soar 🎫: dynamicearth.org.uk/event/the-mu...

Glorious thanks for lassoing Muckle Flugga as part of this extraordinary haul 💙🖤💖💛

Easy on the reins of the heart – it’s National Grief Awareness Week 2025. New grief, old grief, the anticipation of grief, the shouldering or witnessing of grief, grief by proxy, by package, by post. What a thing it is is love, miss, & to mourn. Here’s a new wee piece I’ve been tinkering with 💜💛🖤.

The Skinny on... Michael Pedersen – The Skinny Ahead of his annual Christmas show and New Year's Day appearance with former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the incumbent Edinburgh Makar takes on our Q&A.

"I would challenge Viggo Mortensen (dressed as Aragorn) to a fight in the hope he’d take pity on me after distributing the beating"

Ahead of his annual Christmas show, Edinburgh Makar @michaelpedersen.bsky.social takes on our Q&A 🎄

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Need a bit of joy in your life, writers? Then join us in a backroom of the lovely @portybooks.bsky.social for an absolute delight of a natter with @michaelpedersen.bsky.social
and savour the power, beauty and effulgence of those little pieces of story, we call words.
Episode out now - bop the bio.

Supremely chuffed to see Muckle Flugga named as Irvine Welsh’s Novel of 2025 in The Observer.

‘told in a poet’s lush but drum-tight voice…as arresting as an airport thriller’ 💜💚🥰💚💜.

📚: linktr.ee/muckleflugga

@faberbooks.bsky.social

The fabulous @michaelpedersen.bsky.social Zine, designed by @joshmoirart.bsky.social will be on the website imminently! Our season is over so check out every episode & subscribe for more mischief to come. Sign up for free - join our community for hope & action www.shamisspeakeasy.co.uk

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Lush to be included in The List’s Hot 100. Chuffed to have done a cover feature with them earlier in the year for Muckle Flugga. Scotland is such a cultural powerhouse, for a relatively wee nation we produce some of the best art in the world. I’m forever swooning at the majesty of Scottish art 💜💛💚.

If you were a subscriber, you'd already have the @michaelpedersen.bsky.social
Speakeasy Zine! Instead, enjoy this glorious snapshot, designed by @joshmoirart.bsky.social ...but if you subscribe this week, we'll do a special mailout of this gorgeous final zine of the season www.shamisspeakeasy.co.uk