Manda Scott

Manda Scott is a Scottish vet, podcaster, acupuncturist, regenerative smallholder, columnist, homoeopath, blogger, life coach, renegade economist, contemporary shamanic teacher — and author of 16 novels, several screenplays and one non-fiction book.

Manda Scott was born in Scotland. She grew up in a home full of injured birds: her mother ran a Raptor Rehab centre, which made for a less-than-standard childhood. Manda studied veterinary surgery in Glasgow. She practiced in a specialist equine clinic in Newmarket before teaching at the universities of Cambridge and Dublin.

Her writing career began with a crime trilogy set in Scotland. The first book was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and the third received an Arts Council Award. Following this, her standalone thriller, No Good Deed, was nominated for an Edgar Award, noted for its dark and edgy narrative.

Scott gained international acclaim with her Boudica: Dreaming series, initially intended as a trilogy but expanding to four books. These novels, translated into over twenty languages, depict pre-Roman Britain, focusing on what was lost through colonization. The series continues to attract readers with its connection to ancient British mythology.

Following the Boudica series, Scott wrote the Rome series, another set of four books featuring the spy, Sebastos Pantera. These novels explore espionage and survival in the ancient world, following some characters from the Boudica series through Gaul and Rome. In later works, she incorporated dual timelines to depict espionage.

Into the Fire, a Times 'Book of the Year', explores the myths and truths surrounding Joan of Arc. A Treachery of Spies, a Sunday Times 'Book of the Decade,' weaves contemporary thriller elements with historical threads from the Second World War. The book won the 2018 McIlvanney Prize and was shortlisted for the Saltire Award.

Since 2021, Scott has focused on Thrutopian fiction, mapping routes to a sustainable future. Her 2024 novel, Any Human Power, is a seismic political thriller blending mythology with contemporary issues.

Any Human Power centers around Lan, who, as she lies dying, make a promise binding her to the Beyond. A decade later, her teenage granddaughter is caught in an international storm of outrage, igniting a generational revolt against the establishment. The novel weaves myth, technology, and radical compassion, challenging perceptions of power and envisioning new pathways to hope and change.

Manda Scott resides in the borderlands between England and Wales but remains a Scot at heart.

Photo credit: mandascott.co.uk