Miriam J. Johnson

Miriam’s professional career includes work as a second hand and collectible bookseller, founder of The Istanbul Review, and in working with Scottish PEN and Scottish Book Trust, as well as developing an immersive literature project in Edinburgh in conjunction with The Bridge Awards and Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature (echoesofthecity.com).

Her academic research blurs the lines between creative writing and publishing in digitally social settings. She is currently researching the relationship between social media platforms, the writers and communities they produce, and the traditional publishing industry – including the roles of gender, genre, and the power dynamics involved.

In her PhD at Edinburgh, she specialised in poetry and role of rap music in modern poetic rhythms.

Her current research interests look more closely at the place where social media and the publishing industry come together. Including how these new outlets give rise to new types of authors, the role of community, and the issues of gender and power that hover just under the surface in both the traditional publishing industry and within the communities in digital settings, including the growth and adoption of the metaverse.