Employment and Freelance Work
2014 – present Project Maker. Freelance
Time and Time (Lancashire Archives Project); Tales from the Towpath (Manchester Litfest); Frankenscience (Manchester Science Festival, Clore Duffield funded)
2012 – 14 Marketing & Productions, Arc Publications
Marketing, publicity/pr, fundraising, strategic planning, partnership building, tour production.
2011 – Mentor and coach for writers. Freelance.
Coaching Assessor for Relational Dynamics 1st
2010 – 2011 Northwest co-ordinator, The Poetry School.
Devising, programming, marketing of poetry workshops in NW England. Partnership building.
2006 – 2011 Publishing Development Manager, Litfest, Lancaster.
Editor, CPD, event, project and strategic management; partnership building, marketing.
2003 – 2005 Poet in Residence, Calderdale Libraries, Yorkshire.
Workshop leader, event, project and strategic management, partnership building, writing, staff liaison, publicity, press and pr.
2002 – 2006 Prison project manager. Freelance.
Initiating, devising, supporting residencies. Liaising, problem solving, producing launch events.
1999 – 2004 Writer and Project Administrator. 3dV, Company of Writers. Fundraising, workshop leading, writing, tour planning and booking, admin.
1996 – present Writer in Residence: in schools, through Creative Partnerships and independently; in HMPs Lancaster Castle, Lancaster Farms, Preston and Kirkham; other arts venues.
Creative Writing Tutor: in universities, adult education, community and mental health settings.
Selected Publications/Performances
2015 Colne Rising. Site-specific performance. Bear Hunting and Other Ways to Walk. Exploring impact of sea level rise and coastal storms in West Yorkshire. Kirklees Council & Wedo Creativity. Self-guided audio and artist book.
A dock is not a solid thing. Artist poetry booklet. Based on a Jacob’s ladder design card, ribbon,
Lune Rising. Self-guided Audio Walk for Lancaster Arts City, First Friday Exploring sea-level rise and longevity of plastics
2014 Tales from the Towpath. Immersive story-telling through geocaching, augmented reality, micro print & performance. Made in collaboration with three other writers/digital artists. Shortlisted for the international 2014 New Media Writing Prize.
Sealegs. Poetry and music collaboration of Hymas&Lewis. Performed Ilkley and Lancaster Literature Festivals 2014 and StAnza 2015. Preview excerpts at Lancaster Maritime Museum, Hepworth Gallery Wakefield,
In Good Weather the Sign Outside reads Danger Quicksand prose poetry artist boooklet. Ltd edition of 48. Letterpress cover, card, transparent photographs & recycled rubber bands
2013 Sea Creatures. An artists’ book of poems, illustrated with charts. Hand stitched.
Nothing as Quiet as a House film screened at Filmpoem Festival, Scotland
2012 Solstice. Commissioned, edited and promoted a limited edition anthology of 24 poets.
2012 Lune. An artist’s booklet: long poem. Runner up. Sabotage Awards. Featured in The Guardian
2011 All Hands – text for pyrotechnic show. Commissioned by The World Famous
2010 Host (poetry). Waterloo Press.
2009/ 2010 I Wish You Love. Play commissioned by Gambolling Arena, staged around Europe.
2007 Flocking. Libretto, improvised opera, commissioned for Lancaster Jazz Festival.
2005 Reach for the Light. Comic strip, from interviews with inmates and staff, commissioned by Lancaster Young Offenders Institute.
2005 Reading is Believing. Poetry Art book collaboration with painter and photographer commissioned by Calderdale Libraries.
2005 – 2008 Secrets of The Bay, Asunder and Other Auras and LEAP! Hymas&Lewis, poetry/music performances in NW
2003 – present Poems published in magazines including, New Writing 15, Magma, The Rialto, Poetry Wales, Warwick Review, Washington Square Review, Stand, Tadeeb, Keystone, Iota, Staple, Tears in the Fence, Rain Dog, The Leeds Guide, Orbis, Agenda, The Slab, Smiths Knoll, Shadowtrain, Cadenza, Raconteur. Also in multimedia exhibits, dance videos, theatre programmes, pamphlets, public installations and as lyrics.
2002- 04 Inverse Stories. A series of six poetry pamphlets, sold in NW.
1999- 2004 Be Careful What You Wish For, A Crowd of Three, The Empire. 3dV. Toured NW.
1994 Closet Collection(short stories). Businesslike Publishing
1992 – 2001 JD Hoo, a cartoon recipe strip, The Vegan magazine
Bursaries
2011 Hawthornden Fellowship
2008 ACE Editorial support and Digital marketing of Host
2006 ACE R&D for collaboration with Steve Lewis
2005 ACE Mentoring scheme with Bernadine Evaristo
2003 ACE writer’s grant for Inverse Stories
1997 Residency at Delfina Studio Trust, Manilva, Spain
1994 South East Arts. Young writer’s bursary