¿Û¿Û´«Ã½

Choosing ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½

I was attracted to ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½ as they had a good reputation for Creative Writing. I had already chosen to be a full-time author but being awarded a studentship was a precious gift – it gave me protected writing time for three years. In those years, I wrote and published eight books. I had a lot of support from ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½ in helping me apply for funding – not all universities do, but it makes a big difference. My two supervisors, Dr Paul Vlitos and Dr Rachel Hann, both challenged and encouraged me at the same time. A real benefit was being able to do most of my university work from home, as I had small children as well as studying.  I really appreciated no-one ever making a problem out of me hardly ever being on campus. Another high point was being awarded my PhD without any changes in my Viva, which made me cry!

Life at ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½

After ¿Û¿Û´«Ã½, I have continued as a full-time author, which I love. I’ve just published my 10th novel (15th book) which feels like a bit of a milestone. I also teach writing workshops every month at The British Library, mostly around authors being entrepreneurial about their writing. I enjoy giving students a new viewpoint on how they can develop a career doing what they love. 

Advice for students

For anyone looking to become a published author, I would say to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and get qualifications that will be useful to you along the way (such as a PhD!). Being able to say I have a PhD in Creative Writing gives people more confidence in me as a teacher too. You should also educate yourself on your publishing options: from self-publishing to the traditional route and choose what would work best for you.

The best advice I was given about my own further studies was on my induction day, when I was told: ‘treat your PhD like a job’. I took that on board, worked out how much I had to do, gave it regular hours and spread it evenly across the timetable, making sure to leave some time at the end to check and keep things manageable.

I absolutely loved my PhD… I’d start again tomorrow if I could!