About Me

I have been a practising writer for over 20 years. Throughout this time I have been deeply involved in the literary community of West Yorkshire. I am part of the network of local writing groups and have participated, as either a performer or organiser, in a variety of literary events within the region.

I have delivered creative writing workshops to students ranging in age, ability and ethnicity and as well as working with a focus on the simple and satisfying pleasures writing can bring, I also work with an emphasis on the therapeutic qualities of literature: the way it can address and raise awareness of many important contemporary issues, create balance and bring diverse communities together.

As an experienced writing workshop facilitator, I am able to offer engaging and informative sessions which involve stimulating practical exercises as well as teaching elements of the theories of fiction/poetry writing.

I am a graduate of Huddersfield University’s English with Creative Writing BA, and have previously made a living as a busker, a cleaner, a gallery attendant, an oral historian for Age Concern , a lollypop lady , a poet in residence at Bradford Library,  and a Creative writing lecturer. I currently make my living through teaching creative writing at schools and other communities throughout the region and at a weekly writing workshop I run at Dean Clough, Halifax.

My debut poetry collection, Dr James Graham’s Celestial Bed was published in 2006 by Comma Press. My second collection, Lifting the Piano with one hand was published in 2013 by Comma Press. My third collection, Where The Road Runs Out, was published by Comma Press in 2017. I am currently working on short fiction for my debut short story collection, He Used To Do Dangerous Things.