I am a fiction writer, poet and essayist based in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. I teach creative writing and offer one-to-one creative mentoring – see my ‘Teaching’ page for more information and do get in touch via the Contact form if you’re interested in working with me.
My first novel, For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023. Based on the lives of two medieval mystics, Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe, the novel explores medieval women’s lives, the effects of grief and trauma, and the genesis of women’s writing. My second novel, about the Victorian art critic and social reformer John Ruskin, will be published by Bloomsbury in 2025.
Accolades for For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain:
WINNER of the Scottish First Book of the Year 2023.
A GUARDIAN Fiction Book of the Year.
A SUNDAY TIMES Book of the Year.
A SCOTSMAN Book of the Year.
An IRISH TIMES Book of the Year.
“A tiny novel that contains multitudes … Lightly done but intensely felt, it’s mind-expanding stuff.” The Guardian, Summer Reading: 50 Brilliant Books to Discover
“An extraordinary novel about two extraordinary women … This slim novel is a pocket epic.” FRANK COTTRELL-BOYCE, The Guardian Book of the Day.
“It is an extraordinary feat of historical ventriloquism; the women’s inner lives, their religiosity, their sense of place in the world is miraculously conjured … This novel is brilliantly done.” ANTONIA SENIOR, The Times Book of the Month.
“Superlative … Striking, elegant … a novel like this requires exquisite balance … this achieves this admirably.” STUART KELLY, The Scotsman.
“Stunningly original … Her skill is in creating a story that goes much deeper than its slender spine and spare prose might suggest.” Editor’s Pick, Best Books of 2023, Marie Claire.
“A beautiful book. I loved it. Margery and Julian are both so alive. The invisible balancing and weighing MacKenzie has done across the whole to bring them dialogue with each other and to bring the reader into emotional and spiritual connectedness with them is just so brilliant. And it’s funny. It warmed my heart.” MAX PORTER
I am represented by Sam Copeland at Rogers, Coleridge and White.
Say hi @forthygreatpain
Upcoming Events:
Previous Readings & Media Appearances:
I’ve read at many book festivals and literary events including the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Wigtown Book Festival, Outwith Festival, the National Centre for Writing (Norwich), the Ullapool Book Festival, The Scottish Poetry Library, Topping & Company Bookshop (St Andrews and Ely), Lighthouse Books (Edinburgh), The New College Festival of Books & Belief (University of Edinburgh), The University of Oxford and MTNS MADE Creative Salon in Katoomba, Australia.
Podcasts and Radio:
I’ve been a guest on a number of writing podcasts including: Confessions of a Debut Novelist, A Pair of Bookends, Little Atoms, Mostly Books and The Writing Life.
I’ve also been a guest on Radio Four’s Front Row, discussing my novel with Shahidha Bari, and on Radio 3’s Free Thinking programme, together with Dr Hetta Howes and Dr Claire Gilbert, discussing Julian of Norwich and the 650th anniversary of her book, Revelations of Divine Love.
In May 2023 I was in conversation with Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh, discussing my novel and Arusha Gallery’s NYC exhibition, ‘Hawthorn and the Feast of Julian’.
Victoria MacKenzie 