Authors

Leyla Josephine is a poet, film and theatre maker from Glasgow. Leyla won the UK National Slam at Royal Albert Hall in 2014 and since then has become one of the most prominent spoken word artists in contemporary Scotland. Her first collection In Public/In Private contained poem Dear John Berger which won a 2024 Forward Prize for Best Poem Performed. Leyla’s first short film Groom was Scottish BAFTA and Critics Circle Award Nominated. She was named as one of Screen International Rising Stars 2022. Her theatre show Daddy Drag was the winner of 2019 Autopsy Award celebrating artists making ground-breaking work in Scotland, her spoken-word show Hopeless was shortlisted for Saboteur’s Best Spoken Word show 2017. Her play Ms Campbell’s Class 4th Period was published with Bloomsbury Press in 2023 and performed globally as part of Wonderfools Positive Stories for Negative Times. Alongside her own practice, Leyla teaches others to be creative through writing and drama, working in extensive different social contexts with notable organisations like Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, The Scottish Government and Women of The World Festival.