As a self-confessed nature nerd, I’d nabbed a front row seat to absorb writer and naturalist Stephen Rutt’s talk. I’d also brought my own copy of his book Wintering to be signed. Yep… definitely a nerd.
Stephen’s interest in the natural world dates to his early teens and a birdwatching trip to RSPB Minsmere. There he heard, then spotted, “the bird that started it all” – the elusive Cetti’s Warbler. Soon, he was identifying and photographing birds for his blog – his first foray into writing.
After university, Stephen worked in London, but dissatisfied with city life, he relocated to North Ronaldsay (Orkney) where he volunteered for seven months at the Bird Observatory. There, his blog evolved into an “island diary” and gained a growing readership. This experience led to his debut book Seafarers – an immersive study of nine seabird species. Incredibly, he signed his first book deal at just 24.
Now based in Dumfries, Stephen has since published another two books – Wintering and The Eternal Season. His creative non-fiction work, The Saltmarsh Library, was commissioned by Wigtown Book Festival.
Stephen read from Seafarers – a descriptive passage which transported us to the guano splattered rocks of North Ronaldsay, where noisy tysties (black guillemots) were being ringed.
Speaking about his writing process, he confessed that he never writes notes in the field but instead takes photographs to spark his memory. Through his powerful, evocative language he aims to inform his reader without sounding like a dictionary of facts.
He offered simple advice– if you want to write, you can’t be precious about where or when – just write. He recommends we write on our phones, on the bus, or even sitting in Wetherspoons.
After tea-break, Stephen set us a short writing exercise: either describe a robin as if seeing one for the first time or recount a personal wildlife encounter. 
Heads down, we scribbled for fifteen minutes. Four members shared their impressive pieces –the unexpected visit from a snail, an inquisitive garden robin, a rare sighting of a corncrake and a kayaking adventure involving a grey seal.
Before taking flight to head south, like the Wintering geese, Stephen treated us to a sneaky extract from his soon-to-be-published fourth book – Waterlands. Shhh…we heard it first!
Kirsty’s Last Word, a fairytale inspired flash fiction, closed our evening.
Then we slipped into the night to begin our own migration journeys across Ayrshire and beyond.
Linda Brown