A TILLICOULTRY poet who rose to prominence during the Covid-19 with her poems has been named as a Sunday Times bestseller.

Donna Ashworth has entered the bestseller charts with I Wish I Knew, a collection of more than 70 poems inspired by her struggles with mental health.

The poems cover issues such as body image, self-esteem, depression, pressure, acceptance, growth and relationships and the collection was published as a book in April.

Donna will be making an appearance at Waterstones in the Thistles Centre in Stirling this Saturday, July 30.

She will be speaking to Scottish TV presenter Joy Dunlop with the event being held between 11am and 12noon.

There will be an opportunity for books to be signed at the bookshop thereafter.

The event is free, but people are asked to book by calling 01786 478756.

I Wish I Knew: Poems to Soothe Your Soul and Strengthen Your Spirit, has appeared regularly in the top 100 of the Amazon Bookseller lists ever since and was, at the time of writing, positioned at number three in the Sunday Times hardback/non-fiction bestselling list.

Donna said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that I Wish I Knew has entered the Sunday Times bestseller charts.

“Having struggled in my teenage years with perfectionism, eating disorders and depression, poetry really is my passion project.

“I love to think that my poetry provides inspiration to those struggling and those in need of some uplifting and comforting words.

“Life is tough – even more so now as we emerge from the pandemic, which has had such devastating long-lasting effects on everyone.

“I’d like to think that my poetry is a manual to life in the modern world.”

Donna has more than 850,000 followers across her social media channels and her work has been turned into songs, videos and has been read by well-known names online such as Nadia Sawalha, Fearne Cotton and Lisa Snowdon.

Her next three works Love, Life and Loss will be published in October 2022.