Michael Pedersen

Michael Pedersen is a prize-winning Scottish poet, writer, and cultural organiser who was announced as the Edinburgh Makar — the city's poet laureate — in 2024. Born and based in Edinburgh, he co-founded the acclaimed literary collective Neu! Reekie! in 2010 with poet Kevin Williamson, producing over two hundred showcases for poetry, music, and arts across Scotland and beyond. Pedersen's poetry collections include Play With Me and Oyster, both celebrated for their energy, tenderness, and linguistic inventiveness. His prose debut, Boy Friends, published by Faber & Faber in 2022, is a deeply personal exploration of male friendship written in the wake of the death of his close friend Scott Hutchison, the lead singer of Frightened Rabbit. The book was a Sunday Times Critics' Choice and shortlisted for Best Non-Fiction at the Saltire Scottish National Book Awards. His poetry collection The Cat Prince & Other Poems won Best Poetry at the Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards. Pedersen's work addresses masculinity, vulnerability, grief, and joy with a distinctive voice that moves between playfulness and raw emotion. His audiobooks and books offer listeners and readers writing that is at once experimental and accessible, celebrating the power of friendship and creative community.