Anna P. Read is a Polish writer living in Edinburgh. She used to write poetry and short stories in Polish. After moving permanently to Scotland, she began writing fiction in English.
Anna writes mostly historical crime fiction and has had some successes in competitions. She was shortlisted for the Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award 2021 and HWA/Sharpe Books First Novel Award 2020 ('Among the Wolves' entered as 'Behold the Man'). She was also a Pitch Perfect finalist at the Bloody Scotland festival in 2018. Anna is not represented by a literary agent, hasn’t had a book published in any format and hasn’t got a publishing contract.
Anna grew up in a small town in south-east Poland situated at the foot of the wild Bieszczady Mountains stretching over the Polish-Ukrainian border. She chose to set her first novel, 'Among the Wolves' in her home region. For her, it was a way of keeping connected with the place she comes from and its rich and complex history. At the same time, she hoped it would make for an exciting and unique setting and add a Polish voice to the publishing market as it becomes more diverse. Currently she is working on a murder mystery set in Krakow in 1906, titled 'Black Moth'.
Anna lives with her family in Edinburgh, where she works part-time and cares for her two children of primary school age. She holds an MA in anthropology and she completed a PhD on Icelandic folktales. Her fascination with folklore and local traditions is reflected in her writing.
