𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Kennard said growing up in a quiet town had an impact on his “creative impulse”.

“You stay in your room playing the clarinet or writing a poem – there’s a certain virtue to being a little bit bored sometimes, and just having to amuse yourself.”

Kennard attended Holyrood Academy from 1992 to 1999 and studied both GCSE and A-level English Literature.

He added: “It was the teachers that I had who really encouraged my writing- that’s quite foundational.”

Kennard said the former head of English, Paul Coffman, would read his short stories during break times, and leave him notes and suggestions.

“He was the first person who really got me to take my writing seriously.”