Linda is a former Trustee of HPCLT and leads creative writing at Dun Coillich.
Linda Cracknell is a Scottish writer best known for her short stories, essays, and nature-inflected nonfiction, with a body of work that explores landscape, memory, belonging, and the quiet textures of everyday life. She lives in Perthshire and her writing is strongly shaped by Scotland’s rural environments, particularly upland and Highland settings.
Life and background
Cracknell trained as a teacher and later completed postgraduate study in creative writing. Alongside her own writing, she has worked extensively as a creative writing tutor, mentor, and editor, contributing significantly to Scotland’s literary and environmental writing communities. She has been involved with organisations such as Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre, where she has taught and mentored emerging writers.
Literary work
She is primarily known as a short-story writer, a form in which she has gained wide critical recognition. Her fiction often focuses on moments of emotional intensity or transition, paying close attention to place, atmosphere, and unspoken human relationships.
Key publications include:
Call of the Undertow (short stories) – her debut collection, widely praised and shortlisted for major literary prizes.
Doubling Back (short stories) – further established her reputation for precision, emotional restraint, and a strong sense of place.
The Other Side of Stone – a hybrid work combining memoir, nature writing, and essay, reflecting on walking, landscape, and personal history.
Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies, and she has been shortlisted for awards such as the Saltire Society Literary Awards and the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award.
Themes and style
Cracknell’s writing is noted for:
Deep engagement with landscape and walking
Subtle exploration of loss, connection, and memory
A lyrical but restrained prose style
Blurring boundaries between fiction, memoir, and nature writing
She is often associated with contemporary Scottish writers who combine literary craft with environmental awareness, though her work is character-driven rather than overtly polemical.
Contribution and influence
Beyond her published work, Linda Cracknell has played an important role in nurturing new writers in Scotland, particularly those interested in place-based and environmentally aware writing. Her influence is felt both through her books and through her long-standing commitment to teaching and mentoring.