I hold a BA (Hons) from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, a PGCE (English method) from the University of Bristol, MA (Distinction) and PhD from York St John University.
Research interests lie at the intersection of historical events and fictional narrative, the nature of authenticity for a writer, the effect of music on the writing process, dialogue and accent, language as music and character psychology.
I am currently developing projects including: a crossover novel, a series for television and a play.
I teach on the BA (Hons) Creative Writing degree, with specialisms in scriptwriting, genre and historically set work.
Modules taught on include: Scriptwriting, Writing Reality, Reading for Writers, Contemporary Writing 1: Innovation and Writing Genres.
I have also taught on modules in American Studies and English Literature.
I recently co-authored a publication with Dr Jim Cooper, 'Ronald Reagan’s 1984: Politics, Policy, and Culture' (Palgrave, 2024), considering the cultural context of the run up to Reagan's re-election.
My PhD thesis explored the concept of authenticity in historically-set, long-form drama, through the creation and analysis of the complete opening season of a series set in New York City in 1945, supervised by Professor Robert Edgar.
Previous work has traversed theatre and screen: performance, direction, dramaturgy and devising. My MA thesis explored the genre of Film Noir and my undergraduate thesis considered the use of musical motifs in the work of Stephen Sondheim.
I have had work performed at the York Literature Festival and published in the Beyond the Walls anthology, as well as completing commercial script work, most recently for Orillo Films.
I have directed productions from 'A Clockwork Orange' to 'Hamlet', and performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for a number of years, in productions including 'Kindertransport', 'Abducting Diana', 'Alice', 'Widows' and 'The Recruiting Officer'.
My work in education includes teaching on the Creative Writing BA (Hons) and previously at secondary level as Head of Drama and as teacher of English. I have also led workshops for both theatre and film.
