ABOUT ME
I am a writer and artist. I was born in Salford and spent my youth lurking around the westerly fringes of Manchester. For a long time I supported a sculpture habit with a string of jobs including building opera sets, working in a bronze foundry and teaching art students. Writing was always there in the background, but a few years ago it took over. I took time out to study for an MA at the University of Chichester, where my work was awarded The Kate Betts Memorial Prize.
My short stories have been published in various anthologies and magazines, and have won prizes or been shortlisted in a number of competitions including The Bristol Short Story Prize, The Bridport Prize, The ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award, The Fish Prize, The Fiction Desk Newcomer Award, The Wells Short Story Competition, The Yeovil Literary Prize, The Hilary Mantel Short Story Competition, The Bath Short Story Prize, The Earlyworks Short Story Competition and The Willesden Herald Short Story Prize. In 2019 I was longlisted for BBC Short Story Award. I also write non-fiction which, like my artwork, explores the themes of landscape and memory. My non-fiction work has appeared in journals and magazines.
As an artist I have exhibited all over the UK (and occasionally in more far-flung venues). My sculptures won numerous prizes, including awards from The Royal Society of Sculptors and The Manchester Academy of Fine Art.
In 2021 Nightjar Press published my story ‘Return’ as a signed, limited-edition chapbook. You can buy a copy here.
My first collection of short stories, ‘Forgetting is How We Survive’, is published by Salt. You can buy a copy here - or support your local bookshop by buying it from them.
My new chapbook, 'The Hours of Our Lady', containing poetry and very short fiction, is published by Salò Press. You can buy a copy here.
I am currently working on 'The Remembered Landscape', a project exploring the relationship between memory and landscape. This year-long project is supported, using public funding, by Arts Council England.
Contact me here.
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