Brave New Words
Cymera: Scotland’s Festival of Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror is proud to offer a platform for emerging and newly published writers to read their work in front of our audience.
Our Brave New Words readers will appear just before some of our events. For some, this will be the first time they have read in front of an audience, so please give them a big Cymera welcome, and say hi at the signing afterwards!
Siobhán F. Murphy
Supporting Writing the Magic with Alex Pheby, Dan Coxon, Hannah Kaner and Richard Strachan
Siobhán F. Murphy is a Belfast-based freelance writer and editor with a specialism in fiction writing and in ELT and educational publishing. Her novel Hedge Witch, the first book in The Hedgefall Chronicles was published in 2025. The second book, Mage Call, will be published in May 2026.
Siobhán primarily writes fantasy and dystopian fiction, educational video scripts and has been featured on BBC Sounds. She has a degree in English Literature and Spanish, and is currently studying part time for a Creative Writing MA at Queen’s University, Belfast.
She will be reading from Mage Call (Book 2 of The Hedgefall Chronicles).
Find them online on Instagram.
M.E. Moirin
Supporting On High Seas with Katalina Watt and Shannon Chakraborty
M.E.Moirin is the pen name for the author of The Girl Who Cheated the Wind, a Slavic fairytale and folklore fantasy. When not writing, her day job involves working in research. She's lived here and there, which explains her awkward silence when she's asked where she's from. She's now made the UK her home. She is obsessed with her cat, books, coffee and matcha, and loves the cosiness of autumn.
She will be reading from her debut novel The Girl Who Cheated the Wind.
Tom Byam Shaw
Supporting Trust Issues with Aliya Whiteley and Ren Hutchings
Tom Byam Shaw is a writer based in Glasgow. He attained a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Aberdeen and Curtin University in 2024. His debut short story collection "You Are Going to Regret This" was published in 2025 through Sincere Corkscrew. His writing is located at the crossroads of weird fiction, antiquity, and queer identity. In his spare time he opens his mouth to filter nutrients from the abyssopelagic nightmare he resides within.
Tom will be reading from his debut short story collection You Are Going to Regret This.
Find Tom online on Instagram
Fran Fullerton
Supporting Epic Beginnings with Felix Mosse, Marvellous Michael Anson and V.L. Bovalino
Fran is a Scottish fantasy writer currently living in Edinburgh with her husband. She has two indie published books out currently and is working hard to pursue some self publication options if the query trenches for traditional don't work out this time! She loves all things fantasy and nerdy!
She will be reading from An Element of Magic.
Find Fran on Substack, TikTok and on Instagram.
Image credit: Grace Thomas
E.L. Hark
Supporting Beware of Ghosts with Lyndsey Croal and Sunyi Dean
E. L. Hark is a debut author. Her first novel, Little Bird, is a dark and hopeful coming of age story set at the prestigious Lower College of Arcane Studies. The novel is heavily inspired by Hark’s experiences while in academia and her love of the fantasy genre. She is also the co-founder, along with her wife, of the superforest, a new independent creative studio making video games and books. Little Bird is set to be published on 30 June with a Kickstarter, with exclusive versions of the book, running from 5 May until 9 June.
They will be reading from their debut novel Little Bird
L. Philipp Naughton
Supporting Workplace Hazards with Caitlin Rozakis and Nicholas Binge
L. Philipp Naughton is an emerging self-published author, living in Scotland. He began writing in his fifties in 2011, when ‘The Wightblade Chronicles’ was born. He takes an active interest in the Scottish, as well as the wider literary scene, writing annually for the Scottish Book Trust and has been included in one of their annual story anthologies. He is a multi-genre writer, in Epic Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Supernatural and Crime. The Sci-Fi Novel A.I.M.E earned a silver place at the 2025 Book Dragon literary awards. A working career in several countries provided him with plentiful ideas, situations and characters.
He will be reading from his book Sorrowsmile Meadows.
Find him on his website.
Lindsey Kinsella
Supporting Out of This World with Adrian Tchaikovsky, Fonda Lee and Claire North
Lindsey Kinsella is a Scottish science fiction and fantasy author. While a qualified and experienced naval architect and avid classic car enthusiast, he always reserved space in life for his fascination with science, nature, and paleontology. This drove his writing process as he aspired to write tales of the rich and complex story of life on Earth.
He will be reading from The Lazarus Taxa.
E. S. David
Supporting Deadly Alliances with Cassidy Ellis Salter and Lauryn Hamilton Murray
E.S David is a YA Fantasy Author from Scotland with a long-held passion for storytelling and world-building. Drawn to magic and mystery, David crafts tales that focus on themes such as friendship, self-discovery and the fragility of moral leadership.
He wrote and published his first novel - The Trials of Aqouril - in November 2025. He is passionate about stories that allow characters to explore magical landscapes, navigate their journey of hidden powers and struggle with morally complex issues.
He will be reading from The Trials of Aqouril.
Ioanna Papadopoulou
Supporting Horror Show with Benedict Anning, India-Rose Bower and Rhiannon Grist
Ioanna Papadopoulou is the author of Winter Harvest and The Castaway and the Witch. She is also the author of many short stories and her work often focuses on dark fantasy themes and mythology. She comes from Greece and since 2011 she lives in Scotland.
Ioanna will be reading from her dark fantasy novella The Castaway and the Witch
Connect with Ioanna on Instagram, TikTok and her website
Claire Schultz
Supporting Stephen Graham Jones in Conversation with M.K. Hardy
Claire Schultz was born and raised in New Jersey, moved to the UK to study children's literature, and now calls Scotland home. Her short fiction has been featured in literary journals including Coffin Bell, Crow & Cross Keys, and more, and her debut adult novel, Even Your Bones Would Do, will be published by Berkley Books & Daphne Press in early 2027. As Claire Rose, her debut Young Adult novel, The Cove, was published by Wednesday Books in May 2026. A PhD student by day, she lives in Edinburgh with her haunted cats.
She will be reading from Even Your Bones Would Do, her adult horror debut out January 2027 from Daphne Press.
Photo credit: Yellow Belly Photo
David Green
Supporting Books and Bakes with Amy Coombe, Chiara Bullen and Lucy Jane Wood
David Green is an autistic writer of epic, urban, and cosy fantasy. David's neurodivergent cosy fantasy Greton's Marvellous Maps is available through Simon Maverick, and his trad debut will be out with Boldwood Books in November 2026.
Berna Hudson
Supporting Rebellion and Revenge with A.S. Tamaki, Sarah Mughal Rana and Soraya Bouazzaoui
Berna Hudson was born in Chile, grew up in Australia, and moved back to Chile in 1989. In 1990 she moved to Spain. She landed in England in 1999 and stayed.
Her series The Hand of Reason came about by accident. Berna started writing a short story about a girl. It turned into the tale of her father and went on from there. It was a long time later that Berna realised that she was trying to make sense of her teenage years in Chile, as part of a family deeply divided along political lines, looking at the insidiousness of totalitarianism from all sides.
Berna will be reading from Touched by Light, Book 1 of the Hand of Reason series.
Shannon K. English
Supporting Heavy is The Crown with C.L. Clark and Elian J Morgan
Shannon K. English grew up in the bleak and beautiful landscapes of northern England. She is inspired by mythology and fantasy of every kind. She loves to write about characters struggling with terrible choices. Her favourite writers include Ursula K. Le Guin, Shannon Hale and Jack London.
Shannon will be reading from her debut novel Endless Blue Beneath.
Julianna Mac
Supporting Star-Crossed with Tasha Suri and Venetia Constantine
Julieanna Mac is a South African/Scottish indie author of dark romantasy, living just outside Edinburgh with her husband and two sons. Her debut novel, Born from the Broken, the first in the Memories of Memnara series, launched in April 2026 and is available on Kindle Unlimited. Set in Orestria, Book One follows Elira, a mother in a corrupt world of twelve scheming noble houses. She does not want power. She wants something much more important. Further instalments in the series are forthcoming. Before turning to fiction, Julieanna spent many years in academic research in the fields of neuroscience and medical physics.
Julianna will be reading from Born from the Broken.
Find them on Instagram.
