Julian Colton was born in Manchester and has an MA in American Literature from Keele University. He has lived with his family in Selkirk in the Scottish Borders region for many years, currently working at Sir Walter Scott’s Courtroom Museum in Selkirk, giving guided tours to mark the 250th anniversary of Scott’s birth. He was also Writer, Researcher, Actor and Director of the Selkirk Ghost Tours and co-ordinator of community drama performances, including Scott’s Selkirk, an Annual Celebration of the Life and Times of Sir Walter Scott. 2005-2015.
Colton has had five collections of poetry published, including Everyman Street (Smokestack Publishing), Cold Light of Morning (Cultured Llama) and Two Che Guevaras (Scottish Borders Council). In 2002, his pamphlet DH Lawrence was short listed for the Callum MacDonald award and he has published widely in magazines and anthologies, including Stand, Rialto, Northwords Now and Poetry Scotland and he has published four collections of poetry. Much of his writing concerns social interaction, concepts of memory and themes as diverse as football, history and animal life.
Elsewhere, he fulfilled a Poetry commission interpreting Scottish composer Hamish MacCunn’s Highland Memories, Op. 30 (Three Scottish Scenes), writing a suite of poems inspired by MacCunn’s music. Colton read the poems at The Eastgate Theatre, Peebles, as part of an orchestral performance.
Colton has recently written film scripts for the Trimontium archaeological site and museum in Melrose, Stories, Stones and Bones, funded by Heritage Lottery. The film is used to support teaching of Roman history in schools and is shown to the public as part of the exhibition. His poem, Trimontium III, was included in the 100th Anniversary Anthology on Curle’s Archaeological Legacy (Published by National Museums of Scotland in conjunction with the Trimontium Trust, 2012.).
Colton has gained extensive experience delivering literacy and cross-curricular projects in primary and secondary schools, and has been involved in projects across Scotland. He was CREATE Writer in Residence for Dumfries and Galloway in 2008/2009. He has also led numerous writing projects, working with Schools, Museums, the Samaritans, Abbotsford and other Trusts around Scotland, including workshops with LGBTQ Groups and Groups with Additional/Complex Needs.
He co-edited The Eildon Tree magazine, contributing articles and reviews over 20 years and co-edited Wilderness- an Eildon Tree anthology from the Borders Book Festival (Scottish Borders Council, 2005) as well as Eildon Leaves- a CD Anthology of the best writing in the Borders (Scottish Borders Council, 2004).