Black Snow Falling was nominated for the 2019 CILIP Carnegie Medal, Historical Association’s Young Quills Award, and listed for Edinburgh International Book Festival First Book Award . It was the Scottish Book Trust Book of the Month December 2018. An earlier manuscript attracted Creative Scotland funding.
Blue; a lament for the sea, was performed at Voice PG Conference University of Glasgow and at Hidden Door Arts Festival in June 2022. The immersive 15-minute spoken word show takes place amidst an abstract underwater film created for Blue by digital fine artist, Jonathan Kearney. Field research on the Isle of Iona was funded by the University of Glasgow College of Arts Research Support Awards.
In addition, Macwhirter’s work has been recognised with the following funds: Publishing Scotland Author International Travel Fund and University of Glasgow College of Arts Research Support Fund for presentations at Finconn ’22, Aalto University, Helsinki; travel grant from Medium Aevum Fund for New Visions of Julian of Norwich at Somerville College, University of Oxford; International Medieval Congress (IMC) attendance 2023; University of Glasgow Seedcorn Funding from Scottish & Celtic Studies for an archival research trip to the Finlaggan Centre on Islay.
She is married to the writer and actor Rupert Smith, and has a daughter and two step-children.
PhD research supervisors: Professor Heather Walton and novelist Dr Carolyn-Jess Cooke.
Agent: Lindsey Fraser at Fraser Ross Associates
L.J. MacWhirter author 