Leyla Josephine

Leyla Josephine is a poet, film and theatre maker from Glasgow. Her poetry book In Public/In Private was released 2022 with Burning Eye Books with her poem Dear John Berger shortlisted for a Forward Prize 2024. She was the UK Slam Champion 2014. Her theatre show Daddy Drag was the winner of 2019 Autopsy Award celebrating artists making ground-breaking work in Scotland, her show Hopeless was shortlisted for Saboteur’s Best Spoken Word show 2017. 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. She developed a play with National Theatre of Scotland through The John Mathers Rising Star Award and 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.