About

My name is Emily Dodd and I’m a writer, science communicator and educator. For the latest news on what I’m up to, click here.

I’m a screenwriter for CBeebies and I write picture books for children age 3-6 years and nonfiction science books for adults and children. Here are a few of my books, see all of them here.

I do events, mostly in Scotland, get tickets and find out more here.

I love science! I spent seven years writing and delivering education programmes for museums. I also write theatre and radioplays (radio 4).

I love being outside! I like sketching, walking and wild swimming. I live in Scotland so I’m in a good place for outdoor adventures.

I deliver workshops for a variety of audiences including adults with mental health problems, young carers, retired arts groups and school children. You can book me through the Scottish Book Trust here.

I was the 2018/19 Scottish Book Trust Author in Residence at Annette Stree Primary School. We worked on writing nonfiction and they created a book about Volcanoes:

In 2013/14 I was the Creative Scotland and Scottish Book Trust Reader in Residence at Leith Library. I produced audio, video and photo content for the Leith Library blog and worked with teenagers to produce podcasts. I also dressed as a pirate and hid on a boat with books – that is a real parrot on my back!

I really love drawing and have a brilliant illustration mentor, John Fardell. The dream is to illustrate my own books one day! Here’s a couple of my animal illustrations . You can see more here.

I enjoy comedy and have written sitcoms and sketches and have performed my work professionally at the Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Some exciting projects I’ve done include writing science shows with excluded teenagers for the National Museums Scotland, creating digital stories with the Govan Reminiscence Group for Britain From Above and writing a Timmy The Turbine nursery workshop for a wind turbine company. I’ve also worked on several gaelic projects with Historic Environment Scotland.

I’ve written science theatre shows, workshops and storytelling sessions for Edinburgh International Science Festival, Edinburgh University, Our Dynamic Earth, the Scottish Seabird Centre, Changeworks and The National Museums of Scotland.

I am a John Muir Award leader and a storyteller.

Football

I play football for Scotland Writers Football Club, this is us in Switzerland:

Education

I took A-Levels in maths, physics and fine art and went on to take a degree in Geophysical Sciences and a Masters in Communicating Science. I recently went back to college 1 day a week for two years to study counselling. It was hard going but I now have an HNC in counselling.

Random Facts

I can make balloon animals (squeak).

My MSc was funded by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council and included a trip to Hawaii to go up a volcano, see a telescope and meet NASA (yey!). I also learnt to surf.

I am a planetarium presenter (I love space).

I performed a story I wrote about a puffin live to 1000 children on the Internet through national schools intranet Glow breaking a record. I also performed ‘Percy the Puffin’ to Her Majesty the Queen during the presentation of the Queens Award to the Scottish Seabird Centre.

I headed a football pinecone at my first book event at Edinburgh Interational Book Festival!

Image Credit: Chris Close

I made a ‘guess the poo’ interactive exhibit for the ‘Animal Imagine’ exhibition, Cardiff. It included Rhino poo and 13 other real samples. There was a poo or false section, a smell section and sound effects.

I lived on a research boat in Greece, counting fish and measuring seagrass with a ruler (I got land sickness).

I conducted a Geophysical Survey on the Caribbean Island of Nevis. I was searching for graves and training Southampton University Archaeology students in geophysical surveying techniques (It was hot and there were blue tarantulas!).

I have two nephews and two nieces (they rock). They draw pictures of me in robot form!

I like writing poems, stories and songs.