Edwin Morgan (1920-2010) became Scotland's first National Poet, or Makar, in 2004. His poetic output was hardly dimmed by increasing age; Collected Poems (Carcanet, 1990) and Collected Translations (Carcanet, 1996) were succeeded by several later volumes of poetry, including Dreams and Other Nightmares (Mariscat Press, 2010). He was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2000.
Ken MacLeod was born in Stornoway, and graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology. He is an internationally acclaimed science fiction writer whose works include The Fall Revolution series, The Engines of Light Triology and The Corporation Wars.