EmmaClaire Brightlyn

Originally from Canada, EmmaClaire Brightlyn has spent the past 16 years making Scotland her home. Having worked in the arts as a performer, a director, and an action designer, she is also an award-winning spoken word artist. In 2024, EmmaClaire was the Loud Poets Grand Slam Champion, and she is the recipient of the 2026 Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. She has performed at the Edinburgh International Festival and the Belladrum Festival, and with Seahorse Publications. Her work often voices the churning experience of matrescence, and the joy and terror of living with a small girl-shaped dragon. Conversational and honest, her debut pamphlet The First Bit (Art Riot Press, 2026) is an emotional reflection on early motherhood.