Playwrights, poets, climate activists, actors, musicians, a rocket engineer and even a dentist are on the inaugural 40 Under 40 list published today by The Saltire Society.
The list aims to showcasing talented creatives under the age of 40 from across Scotland in the five categories of literature, publishing, science, languages, and the performing and visual arts.
The 40 have been nominated by members of the Edinburgh-based cultural organisation and judged by a panel of experts. Among those included on the list are Harry Josephine Giles, the Orcadian poet and novelist who last year won the prestigious Arthur C Clarke Award for their novel Deep Wheel Orcadia, singer Rachel Sermanni, theatre makers Kieran Hurley and Isobel McArthur, playwright Stef Smith, climate activist and influencer Laura Young and Roseanne Watt, the Edwin Morgan Prize winning poet from Shetland.
Reacting to her place on the list, Ms Watt said: “I am honoured to have my work recognised in such a way – and also a little astounded, when I think about some of the narratives around local languages I grew up with. Any success I’ve had is due entirely to those who set defiant examples to me, who nurtured my work and inspired me to write in my mother tongue. I am extremely grateful.”
The Applied Sciences category includes Niall McGoldrick, a dentist at the University of Dundee and consultant in Dental Public Health who established oral cancer charity Mouth Matters, climate activist Laura Young, who blogs as ‘Less Waste Laura’, rocket engineer Jack-James Marlow, and Talat Yaqoob, the former director of Equate Scotland who works on women’s equality across the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors.
Ms Yaqoob said: “It is a real honour to be included in this list alongside so many brilliant people. In particular, I appreciate seeing the diversity of backgrounds and wide-ranging expertise that are being celebrated. I have had the opportunity to work on a number of equalities issues and campaigns, and being included on this list is, for me, a recognition of the importance of fighting for a fairer Scotland.”
Fife-based poet and social media raconteur Ellen Pennie is one of eight celebrated in the Languages category, together with folksinger Iona Fyfe, winner of the 2021 MG Alba Musician of the Year, and Emma Grae, an author and journalist from Glasgow who is a passionate advocate of the Scots language and breaking the stigma around mental illness.
Amongst those recognised for their work in Performing Arts are Keiran Hurley, the award-winning writer, performer and theatre maker. He is joined by actor Danielle Jam, singers Robyn Stapleton and Rachel Sermanni, and Emma Hay, Programme Manager at the Edinburgh International Festival. The Visual Arts group includes Sekai Machache, a Zimbabwean-Scottish visual artist and curator based in Glasgow and textile designer Flora Collingwood Norris.
Commenting on the awards, Saltire Society Executive Director Sarah Mason said: “We had an extraordinary number of talented young people nominated from every corner of Scotland … It goes to show the incredible range of creative talent living and working in Scotland today.”
The full list:
● Literature And Publishing
Shehzar Doja (Poet and editor)
Harry Josephine Giles (Poet and novelist)
Pauline McKay (Academic specialising in Scottish literature)
Alicia Pirmohamed (Poet)
Maria Sledmere (Poet, editor, educator and critic)
Stef Smith (Playwright)
Roseanne Watt (Poet, film maker and musician)
Alasdair C Whyte (Gaelic singer, presenter and scholar)
● Applied Sciences
Beatriz Goulao (Statistician)
Jack-James Marlow (Space Rocket Engineer)
Mhairi McCann (Founder & CEO of Youth STEM 2030)
Niall McGoldrick (Dentist)
Zahra Rattray (Senior Lecturer in Translational Pharmaceutics and Interdisciplinary Scientist)
Yasmin Sulaiman (Head of Partnerships, CodeBase)
Talat Yaqoob (Campaigner, Writer and Commentator)
Laura Young (Climate Influencer and Activist)
● Languages
Iona Brown (Gaelic teacher and singer)
Iona Fyfe (Singer)
Emma Grae (Author and Journalist)
Alistair Heather (Journalist)
Linda MacLeod (Gaelic singer and TV Presenter)
Ellen Pennie (Poet)
Lana Pheutan (Gaelic singer, writer and actor)
Ian Smith (Accordion Player and Musician)
● Visual Arts
Jennifer Argo (Multi-media artist)
Flora Collingwood Norris (Textile designer)
Michael Doherty (Portrait artist)
Rhona Jack (Multi-disciplinary artist)
Zephyr Liddell (Textile artist)
Sekai Machache (Photographer and multi-media artist)
Lily Macrae (Painter and printmaker)
Joshua Wilson (Illustrator)
● Performing Arts
Kevin P. Gilday (Spoken word artist, theatre maker)
Emma Hay (Programme manager)
Kieran Hurley (Writer, performer, theatre Maker)
Danielle Jam (Actor)
Reuben Joseph (Actor)
Isobel McArthur (Theatre maker and actor)
Rachel Sermanni (Scottish folk and musician)
Robyn Stapleton (Scots singer)
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