Lesley Benzie

Lesley Benzie is an Aberdonian, who lives in Glasgow. She won Wigtown’s Scots Poetry Prize in 2024. Previously she received Highly Commended in FWS Vernal Equinox and Runner-up in McCash Scots Poetry Competitions and in 2022 a nomination for 'writer of the year' in the Scots Language Awards. 

Writing in both Aberdonian Doric and English, her work appears in numerous magazines/anthologies, and she has two poetry collections Fessen/Reared (Seahorse Publications), and Sewn Up.

Touring widely with the collective ‘Wanderlust Women’, together they have collaborated in three poetry collections: Three Poets 2021, Extra Baggage 2023, and She’s Some Woman 2025 (Seahorse Publications).

She’s one of three poets, including Sheila Templeton and Sheena Blackhall, in the Doric collection, Norlan Lichts 2022 (Rymour Books), nominated for book of the year at the Scots Language Awards. 

She has a long history of involvement in a range of charities both as a manager and as a trustee, and recently retired from the NHS to devote more time to her own writing and related activities. 

https://linktr.ee/lesleybenzie  instagram.com/lesleybenzie/