About

Gabrielle Barnby lives in Orkney where she writes novels, short stories and poetry. She facilitates creative writing groups in the community with participants from eight to eighty and has a strong interest in writing for wellbeing.

 Gabrielle studied Human Sciences at Oxford University and has a Phd in the genetics of autism, yet she has always been torn between her interest in science and her passion for literature. The opportunity to take a career break and develop her writing came during a period living in New Zealand. From the outset writing proved both compulsive and satisfying.

 For Gabrielle the creative process is exploratory, a journey that includes research, observation and emotional connection. She draws on local history and personal experience to inform much of her work.

 Since arriving in Orkney Gabrielle’s writing has gained a wider audience, and her work has been published and included in numerous anthologies and magazines. She is proud to be twice winner of the George Mackay Brown Fellowship writing competition.

 Gabrielle also teaches psychology at Orkney College and enjoys being an amateur pianist and birdwatcher. She loves taking beach walks with her husband and children, especially when they are followed by homebakes and a hot flask.