Gavin Inglis's Blog

Farewell to an artist with a unique vision. This year we said goodbye to John Miller, an underground cartoonist and familiar face around Scotland’s comics scene. He was recognisable for his omnipresent sunglasses and mop of black hair; but even Edinburgh residents who never met him probably spotted the words BACK S.H.I.E.L.D. scrawled in distinctive chalk lettering around the city, […]

In 2017 I began an arts residency in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the Western General Hospital. It was a productive period which produced new fiction, research into a pioneering Edinburgh neurosurgeon, a story set to smells, a Book Festival show and more. But there was something missing. Seeing the people working there — technicians, neurologists, occupational health, surgeons, […]

Music has been part of my spoken word for a few years now. When perfectly synchronised, it highlights mood and dramatic moments. When it’s live and a bit rough, there’s the possibility of happy accidents: odd juxtapositions that create exquisite moments that can’t be easily reproduced. I feel really sad when I meet somebody who won’t touch anything that makes […]

I spent a lot of 2019 feeling frustrated about politics, toxic discourse and commercialisation. To put things back together, 2020 needs to be a year about grassroots positivity and building community. So I've decided to offer a little free mentoring to six new or emerging local writers. I don’t have all the answers, but I’m a professional writer who has […]

One of the more rewarding things I’ve done this year is to volunteer with the Super Power Agency. This is an Edinburgh organisation patterned after San Francisco’s 826 Valencia. It goes into schools and runs workshop programmes to encourage creative writing from kids who otherwise might lack the confidence to try. The latest project was called Seven Spaceships. Each of […]

I spent the last couple of weekends curating and presenting a Games Lab with the Scottish Book Trust. Many of the participants thanked me for my time, but in truth, I love doing this stuff. The Labs are the Trust’s events for professional writers interesting in exploring another field. We selected ten participants: novelists, screenwriters, theatre makers and comicbook creators. […]

This year I’m working with the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at the Western General Hospital, to explore its practice and mark its transition to a new building at Little France. There are three Creative Fellows involved in this section of the programme. Susana Cámara Leret is the Design Fellow, Alex Menzies and Florence To are collaborating on the Music Fellowship, […]

If you’ve caught any of my gigs in the last few years, you probably heard some stories with a soundtrack. I got fed up at the mysterious power musicians had to work the emotions and decided to use it for my own ends. I find composition a harder creative process than writing, however, and difficult to make enough time for. […]

Sunday I survey a location in central London, receiving messages by text and phone from a man I have never met. I briefly consider entering an unmarked building to occupy a vantage point in their lobby. Shortly thereafter I learn what that building actually is, and realise that would have been a very bad idea. As Wimbledon plays behind us […]

So I’ve been writing too many zombies lately. Neighbourhood Necromancer and Zombies, Run! both have a lot of zombies in them. (Eagle-eyed readers may spot a clue in the names.) I was just feeling that I needed to do something more mainstream, when the Hana Feels project showed up. This is an interactive, web fiction about … well, if you […]