I write fiction and personal essays on neurodivergence and spirituality. In 2024 my essay ‘Thin Slices’ won the Anne Brown Essay Prize and was featured in the Sunday Herald. My work has also appeared in publications including Ambit, The Letters Page, Brittle Star, New Writing Scotland, and Gutter.
I was the recipient of a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2024, which gave me access to a raft of support, encouragement and mentoring, as well as the chance to participate in a vibrant community of writers.
I grew up in England, moving north to study for an MLitt in creative writing at the University of St Andrews in my twenties. I have been in Scotland even since. In 2022, I was awarded an Open Fund grant from Creative Scotland that supported me to write a novel called Auditorium. This novel explores the tension between creative work and motherhood through a neurodivergent lens.
A late-discovered autistic person and parent to an autistic child myself, I am currently working on a series of personal essays that explore neurodivergence, spirituality and the gifts and challenges of unruly minds. You can read some essays I’ve written on these topics in my fortnightly newsletter here.
More of my writing can be found here.
Sarah Whiteside 