Writer. Survivor. Putting unspeakable things into galvanising words.
I wrote a novel in the voice of Christopher Marlowe. I also spent eight years in an abusive marriage I couldn’t explain to anyone, because he never hit me, and he was very good at being charming to other people. These two facts are not unrelated. Understanding how stories work — including the ones we tell ourselves to survive — is the thread that runs through everything I do.
I’ve spent decades as a public speaker: on creativity, on literature, on the writing life. The literary festival circuit —Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Oxford, Brighton — has been comfortable for me. BBC Radio 3 and 4 too. What I’m bringing now is the other part of the story — the less comfortable part — the part I’ve been writing about on Substack to 6,500+ people. Showing how your worst experiences can become your greatest strengths
What I talk about
“Firehose Your Fears: From Mess to Success”
Keynote · ideal for trauma-informed organisations, healthcare, therapeutic conferences
The abuse that doesn’t leave bruises is the hardest kind to name — and the hardest kind to escape, because you can’t point to anything. I lived this abuse for eight years before I could call it what it was. This talk is about what it takes to get out, what it takes to recover, and what becomes possible once you do. I use EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) in my daily practice and share what happens once you clear the static of emotional damage: mental clarity, spiritual uplift and bombproof stability. People leave this talk feeling less alone, and with something concrete to try.
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“The Creative Process in a Nutshell: Transforming Pain to Gain”
Keynote · literary events, creative conferences, writing organisations, universities
I won the Desmond Elliott Prize and Authors Club Best First Novel Award. I also spent years when I couldn’t write a word — when the life I was living had crushed the part of me that made things. This talk is about creativity as survival, about what blocks us and why, and about how the worst experiences can become the very thing that gives you something worth saying. For writers, for artists, for anyone who used to make things and somehow stopped.
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A bit of background
I have a PhD in English Literature and have spent 27 years teaching in universities, and organisations such as the Arvon Foundation and the Poetry School. I was a senior lecturer in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London. My debut novel The Marlowe Papers won the Desmond Elliott Prize, and the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize. My second novel, Devotion, was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature’s Encore Award. I am a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund. My poem Material is on the ‘A’ Level Syllabus in England and Wales (EdExcel) and the collection it titles was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. I’ve appeared on BBC Radio 3 and 4. I’ve spoken at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Oxford Literary Festival, and Brighton International Festival, among others. I’m also an advanced (Level 3) EFT Practitioner with close to 20 years of experience.
I’m based in Brighton.
Logistics
Booking Information
My speaking fee is tailored to event type and budget.
– Book a 15-minute discovery call ↗