I’m a writer, a teacher, a speaker and academic. Most of all, I’m a lover of words and all things story. We are all storytellers, whether we label ourselves as such or not. I’m continuously interested in the stories we tell and the way we tell them – I’m interested in how these things are constantly developing, too. Thinking about all this is my life’s work!
I’ve lived a fairly varied life in three different countries and about 25 different houses (and still counting!). I consider myself both British, Australian and also nothing at all. Living in so many different places has meant my nationality and nationhood doesn’t really mean all that much to me.
I did a Bachelor in Creative Arts in Melbourne University and then an MA and PhD in Creative Writing in Bath Spa University. I also run residential retreats around the world, speak at book festivals and other events, visit schools to talk about my work and about creative writing, and also do private manuscript assessment and creative writing coaching.
I love all of it, but I especially enjoy the moments where I run creative writing workshops with young readers and writers.
In between writing, and talking about writing, I do lots of other things! I hang out with Rocket, a very energetic lurcher, I also ride horses when I can, travel a lot to visit all my family and friends across the world, and, of course, read loads of books. I like to read all sorts of stories, from picture books to adult literary fiction to digital stories to poetry. I like to try to write it all too, just for fun mostly!
