DIY Publishing Panel
University of Aberdeen Linklater Rooms, Elphinstone Hall., Aberdeen, AB24 3DR
Wednesday 7th October 2026
Get inspired by our panel of creatives putting their work out there on their own terms! Artist and writer Rachel Bride Ashton of Stickman Press publishes literature and art in collaboration with her father and brother, while self-published writer Elisabeth Flett sold out the first print run of their novel, No Such Thing as Kelpies. They’ll be joined by Cameron Collie, editor of Oracle Bones, a new student literature magazine at the University of Aberdeen. The event will also feature readings from these publications and the chance to pick up your own copies!
Rachel Bride Ashton is a Scottish multi-disciplinary artist, writer and musician who lives off-grid in Aberdeenshire. Having made her living as a self-taught artist for over twenty years, she returned to formal education in Dundee in 2019 and is the recipient of the Freelands Painting Prize 2022. Graduating from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design with a first-class honours degree in 2022, she won the Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) Award, Generator Projects Prize and the James Guthrie Orchar Prize for her degree show installation which featured female empowered birth practices, separation compost toilets and good bacteria. She is currently completing a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of Aberdeen and is working on a novel set in a world full of sentient fungi.
Elisabeth Flett (she/they) is an award-winning writer, theatre-maker, musician and general feminist trouble maker. Elisabeth has competed in multiple Loud Poets Slams, headlined Speakin Weird and UnHushed, and is the 2021 winner of University of Aberdeen’s Literary Lights Non-Fiction Prize. Her poem ‘Problem’ was one of the winning entries for Counterpoint’s 2026 Digital Creator Awards. Their writing has been published by publications including Coin-Operated Press, Glasgow Zine Library, Snowflake Magazine and Out on the Page. Their queer folk theatre show The Selkie's Wife enjoyed critical acclaim at Edinburgh Fringe 2024 and they released their debut self-published queer folklore novel No Such Thing As Kelpies in November 2025.
Oracle Bones is a new free student literature magazine based at the University of Aberdeen, edited by Cameron Collie. It is available to pick up from Books and Beans, Assai Records, Maidinvinyl, Somerville Books, Nevermind Tattoo Shop, and Gaelic Lane Cafe and Studio.
Find the full programme, including accessibility information, at www.waywordfestival.com
Rachel Bride Ashton is a Scottish multi-disciplinary artist, writer and musician who lives off-grid in Aberdeenshire. Having made her living as a self-taught artist for over twenty years, she returned to formal education in Dundee in 2019 and is the recipient of the Freelands Painting Prize 2022. Graduating from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design with a first-class honours degree in 2022, she won the Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) Award, Generator Projects Prize and the James Guthrie Orchar Prize for her degree show installation which featured female empowered birth practices, separation compost toilets and good bacteria. She is currently completing a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of Aberdeen and is working on a novel set in a world full of sentient fungi.
Elisabeth Flett (she/they) is an award-winning writer, theatre-maker, musician and general feminist trouble maker. Elisabeth has competed in multiple Loud Poets Slams, headlined Speakin Weird and UnHushed, and is the 2021 winner of University of Aberdeen’s Literary Lights Non-Fiction Prize. Her poem ‘Problem’ was one of the winning entries for Counterpoint’s 2026 Digital Creator Awards. Their writing has been published by publications including Coin-Operated Press, Glasgow Zine Library, Snowflake Magazine and Out on the Page. Their queer folk theatre show The Selkie's Wife enjoyed critical acclaim at Edinburgh Fringe 2024 and they released their debut self-published queer folklore novel No Such Thing As Kelpies in November 2025.
Oracle Bones is a new free student literature magazine based at the University of Aberdeen, edited by Cameron Collie. It is available to pick up from Books and Beans, Assai Records, Maidinvinyl, Somerville Books, Nevermind Tattoo Shop, and Gaelic Lane Cafe and Studio.
Find the full programme, including accessibility information, at www.waywordfestival.com
