Writing: An Introduction
Gerda is a writer of poetry, prose, drama and children’s stories. Her poetry has been published in newspapers, magazines and anthologies. She has dramatised several novels for BBC radio.
Drama:
2007 - dramatisation of Sir Walter Scott’s epic novel The Heart of Midlothian, BBC Radio 4’s Classic Serial, Autumn 2007. Nominated for the 2008 SONY AWARDS.
2007 - Island Blue, a drama serial, for BBC Radio 4.
2006 - co-writer of Pentlands At War, a Lottery funded community play for stage, published by Scottish Borders Art Services, 2007;
2005 - dramatisation of The Gowk Storm, a novel by Nancy Brysson Morrison, BBC Radio 4.
2004 - dramatisation of Agnes Owen’s novel For The Love Of Willie, BBC Radio 4.
2003 - dramatisation of Self-control, a novel by 18th Century Scottish writer Mary Brunton.
Poetry:
Gerda’s poetry has been published in the Scotsman, Cencrastus, Spectrum, The Eildon Tree, Down’s Ed News & Update, and will be published in the forthcoming issues of Chapman, and Parnassus Poetry in Review (New York), and in a new anthology of Scottish Women’s Writing: Cleave (pub. Two Ravens Press, summer 2008). She was short-listed for the British-wide Eildon Tree Wilderness competition, 2005, and published in the subsequent competition anthology.Her first collection:Invisible Particles - New Writing from Scottish Borders, was published by Scottish Borders Council Art Services in 2002.
Bella Day, a short story, published in The Eildon Tree magazine, Issue 14, 2007.
The Candlemaker & Other Stories (pub. Kahn &Averill, 1887), children’s stories, with her own illustrations. She has run many writing and story-telling workshops in schools.
Press quotes on writing:
“Thank goodness for the 15 minutes per day of sheer enjoyment provided by this week’s Woman’s Hour Drama (weekdays, Radio 4, 10.45am). It’s an adaptation of SELF-CONTROL, by Mary Brunton, 1810, and it deals with the powerlessness of women in the 19th century, via the mechanism of a bodice-ripping romance. Marvellous.” H.S., Scotland on Sunday, March 30th, 2003.
“We've recently had a hugely affecting version of Agnes Owens' FOR THE LOVE OF WILLIE, adapted by Gerda Stevenson.” Chris Dolan, The Herald, April 17th, 2004.
PENTLANDS AT WAR:
“Triumphant...beautifully co-ordinated, directed and co-written by Gerda Stevenson...the stories' deep local roots give a fine edge of unpredictable detail. The quality of the staging was at least as impressive as the writing and structuring of the script.” Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman, January, 2006.
