Hello, and thanks for dropping by! Happy 2025!

I’m Barbara and I write books for young people and adults (buy the books published by Cranachan HERE and The Boy, the Witch & the Queen of Scots, The Reluctant Rebel, Scottish by Inclination and Made from Girders, all published by Luath Press, here).

I visit a lot of schools for workshops and author events. I absolutely love being out and about, meeting readers in schools and at book festivals. If you’d like to know what I am typically up to, I’ve just added this summary of my author year on YouTube:

I will have a new book out in the spring – can’t wait to tell you all about it, but it’s called I Don’t Do Mountains and will be published by Scottish Mountaineering Press. It will be my 10th book for children, and my 12th overall (not counting a couple of anthologies I’ve contributed to).

Here are my other books, most of them aimed at 8-12-year-olds. They are adventure stories, mostly inspired by history and nature.

Spot the odd ones out – Scottish by Inclination is about immigration and the right to belong. That one is a good one to read if you are interested in finding out more about my life. Made from Girders tells the stories of people associated with Scotland’s most famous bridge where I was writer-in-residence for a year. Both of these are aimed at adults.

You can click through to the pages on individual books, look at my news section, follow my blog or browse to find out about the things which inspire my writing, check information about visits and upcoming events and so on. I’m always in the process of adding information and updating various sections, so keep checking back for the latest!

By the way, I love connecting with readers and with other writers, so please leave comments on my blog and follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter by clicking on the icons – I’d love to hear from you!

Go on – take a look around!

Fun Fact:
I’ve won an actual AWARD for both The Siege of Caerlaverock and The Chessmen Thief! The Historical Association awarded these two books the Young Quills Award for their category in 2021 and 2022 respectively. I am so delighted, especially since the first round of judging is entirely based on children’s reviews! Even more incredibly, Rivet Boy is shortlisted this year. I don’t fancy my chances as there are some outstanding books in the running, but I’ll keep you posted!