Janis Mackay

Janis Mackay is a writer, storyteller and voice teacher from Edinburgh. She studied journalism in London, but aged just 21 she realised that it was the wrong job for her, and took time to travel to France, Israel, Greece and other countries. After After returning to Scotland she studied speech and drama, becoming a teacher and voice coach. After many years she studied for an MA in Creative Writing at Sussex University. An SAC writer-in-residence took her to Caithness, where she wrote the novel that became her Kelpies-prize winning Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest in 2009.

Her children’s novels feature Magnus Fin, a young boy who is part human, part selkie – a mythical sea creature. Her latest novel, Magnus Fin and the Selkie Secret, is published by Floris books.