Sheena Blackhall

**Sheena Blackhall** (b.1947, Aiberdeen) is a Nor' Aest scriever, illustrator, tradietional ballant sangster an shenachie. Ootthrou 1998−2003 she wis *Creative Writing Fellow* at Aiberdeen Varsity's Elphinstone Institute.

## Career
**Sheena Blackhall** is a screiver, illustrator, tradietional ballant singer an shennachie in Nor East Scotland. Frae 1998 tae 2003 she wis Creative Screivin Fellow in Scots at Aiberdeen Vairsity’s Elphinstone Institute an eenoo is an Honorar Research Associate yonner. In 2009 she becam Makar (poet laureate) fur Aiberdeen an the Nor East. Twa o her plays fur bairns wis televised, *The Nicht Bus* and *The Broken Hert*.  Alang wi Les Wheeler, she co-edits the Doric wabsteid "Elphinstone Kist", an has wirked on the Aiberdeen Reading Bus as a shennachie an screiver. 

In 2003 she traivelled as pairt o a boorich tae Washington, showcasin Scotlan's cultur as a guest o the Smithsonian Institution. In 2007 she wis Creative Screivin Tutor at the Institute o Irish an Scottish lear at King's College, an twa years eftir wis Screiver in Residence durin Aiberdeen Vairsity’s Wird Festival.

## Airly years an study
Sheena Blackhall wis born Sheena Booth Middleton in 1947 in Aiberdeen, dother o the manager o Strachan's Deeside Omnibus Service, Chae Middleton, an his secunt cousin, fairmer's dother Winifred Booth. She wis educatit in Aiberdeen, bit simmered in Ballater fur a wheen years. 

Aifter a year's study at Gray's Schule o Art, Blackhall wrocht fur a while as a speecial needs teacher, whaun she scrieved tales fur BBC Radio Scotland’s producer Frieda Morrison. In 1994 she wan a Bsc (Hons. Psych) frae the Open University, gaun on tae get an M.Litt wi Distinction frae Aiberdeen Vairsity in 2000. 

## Awairds
In April 2009 she wis creatit Makar for Aberdeen and the Nor East o Scotland. She haes wun the Robert McLellan tassie fur best Scots short story 3 times (1989,1990,2001) an the Hugh MacDiarmid trophy fur best Scots poem 4 times (1990,2000,2001,2010). In 1992 she skared the Sloane Award wi Matthew Fitt, frae the Varsity of Saunt Aundraes. Ither prizes is awards frae the Doric Festival, the Bennachie Baillies, an frae the TMSA fur ballant scrievin an tradietional singin. She his twice bin shortlisted fur the Callum Macdonald Poetry Pamphlet prize (2005 & 2009). In 2007, Lallans Magazine gied her the William Gilchrist Graham prize fur best Scots short story. She haes likewyse bin shortlistit fur the McCash poetry prize. In 2013 she wan 1st prize in Bipolar Scotland's Short Story Competition, in 2014 she becam a Patron o Readin. 

Blackhall is a Honorary Fellow o the Wird Centre for Creative Screivin at Aiberdeen University an aa. In 2018 she wis gien the award o Maister o the University bi Aiberdeen University. In 2019 she wis presentit wi the Janet Paisley Lifetime Achievement Award for her wark in Scots. In Novemmer 2019, she wis made Nor East Makar fur three years, bi the Doric Boord. In 2020 Blackhall becam a Honorary Officer o Merit  o the Confraternity o the Knights o the Maist Haly Trinity (Priory o Scotland) . She wis tae be awardit the Eagle o Honour medal, tae be presentit bi the Knights efter the corona virus pandemic wis ower. In 2021 she was named as Ambassador for Scots fur the Scottish Poetry Library.

## Selectit warks
### Poetry beuks
* Blackhall, Sheena (2014) The Space Between: New and Selected Poems Aberdeen University Press, pp.&nbsp;153 + xiv. 
* Stagwyse Selected Poems *Charles Murray Trust* 1995 
* The Skreich, Poems in Scots & English *Lochlands* 2010
* Victor Vratch the Craa *Lochlands* 2009
* Figurehead (Poems & Prose) *Lochlands* 2009
* The Ship of Fools (Poems & Story) *Malfranteaux Concepts* 2009
* Cats in a Gale *Lochlands* 2009
* Danse Macabre: Writings Round a Festival (Poems & Songs) *Lochlands* 2009
* A Visit to Planet Auschwitz (Poems & Prose) *Lochlands* 2009
* The Barley Queen (Poems & Prose) *Malfranteaux Concepts* 2009
* Peacock (Poems) *Lochlands* 2009
* Wittins (Selected Poems) *Diehard Publishers* 2010

### Stories
* 1989: *Nippick o Nor East Tales* (Short stories); Keith Murray Publications, .
* 1991: *Reets* (Short stories); Keith Murray Publications, .
* 1992: *A Hint o Granite* (Short stories); Hammerfield Publishing.
* 1993: *Braeheid. A Fairm an its Fowk* (Short stories); Hammerfield Publishing.
* 1995: *A Kenspeckle Creel* (Short stories); Hammerfield Publishing.
* 1996: *Wittgenstein's Web* (Short stories); GKB Enterprises, .
* 1998: *The Bonsai Grower* (Short stories); GKB Enterprises, .
* 2002: *The Fower Quarters* (Short Stories); GKB Enterprises, .
* 2004: *Indian Peter* (Bairn Tales); Ltd. Ed., Thistle Repro.
* 2004: *Pie in the Sky* (Short Stories); Ltd. Ed., Thistle Repro.
* 2009: *Victor Vratch the Craa* (Bairn Stories); Lochlands.
* 2010: *Isle o the Deid* (Short Story Collection); Malfranteaux Concepts, .
* 2011: *The Chimaera Institute: Short Stories*; Lochlands.
* 2013: *Aberdeenshire Folk Tales*, jintly wi Grace Banks (Fowk tales); The History Press, .
* 2014: Scottish Urban Myths and Ancient Legends, jintly wi Grace Banks (Urban legends); The History Press, .
* 2016: Cheerybye Eden (Tales); Lochlands.

### Novellas
* 2003: *Loon* (Scots novella); Black and White/ Itchy Coo, .
* 2004: *Minnie* (Scots novella); SLRC, .
* 2007: *The Quarry* (Novella); Lochlands.
* 2008: *The Gods of Grayfriars Lane* (Novella); Lochlands.

### Bairn’s fiction
* 2010: *The Bairn Books: Millie*, wi illustrations bi Bob Dewar (Fiction); Reading Bus Press, 
* 2011: *The Bairn Books: Apardion, A Leopard’s Quest*, wi illustrations bi Julia Lacombe (Fiction); Reading Bus Press, 

### Owersettins
* 2004: *The Tower o Babel* (Owersettins); Ltd. Ed., Thistle Repro.
* 2015: *Scottish Spleen: Baudelaire in Scots* (Contreebution tae multi-authort anthology o owersetts o warks bi Charles Baudelaire); Tapsalteerie, .
* 2015: *The Doric Gruffalo*, owersett o the classic bairn's buik, *[[The Gruffalo]]*, bi Julia Donaldson; Black and White/ Itchy Coo, .
* 2016: *The Doric Gruffalo’s Bairn*, owersett o *The Grufallo's Child* bi Julia Donaldson; Black and White/ Itchy Coo, .
* 2018: *Jean Eyre*, jintly wi Doric makar Sheena Templeton, owersett intae Nor-East Scots o the classic novel, *Jane Eyre*, bi Charlotte Brontë; Dundee: Evertype, .
* 2018: *Fey Case o Dr Jekyll an Mr Hyde*, owersettin o the classic novel, *The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde*, bi Robert Louis Stevenson; Dundee: Evertype, .
* 2018: *The Winnerfu Warlock o Oz*, owersett o the classic bairn's buik, *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz*, bi L. Frank Baum; Dundee: Evertype; .
* 2018: *O Mice & Men*; owersett intae Nor-East Scots o the classic novel, *Of Mice and Men*, bi John Steinbeck, Dundee: Evertype, .
* 2020: *The Itchy Coo Book o Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales in Scots,* bi (author) Martin Waddell; eeditit bi James Robertson an Matthew Fitt; introduction bi Julia Donaldson; illustrations bi Emma Chichester Clark. ISBN 978-1-78530-313-5 2020. *The Little Mermaid*, owerset bi Blackall, is the utmaist story.
*2021: Mither Tongue: Jidi Majia:Anthology of Translations ISBN 978-1-913212-31-5
*2021:·The War o the Warlds: The War of the Worlds in North-east Scots (Doric) (Scots Edition)Owersett by Sheena Blackhall ISBN: 1782012710  Author: H G Wells. Pages: 224  Publisher: Evertype  Publication Date: 2021-08-01
*Fiction direct series no 4 , Diehard at the Callander press 91-93  Main Street Callander,  FK17 8BQ.
* Whudderin Heichts: ISBN 978-1-7394667-3-2

## References

## Airtins
*Sheena Blackhall's ain site
*Bio fae Aiberdeen Varsity 
*A puckle o her poems 
*A wee bio 
*http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/connect/podcast/sheena-blackhall