Dr Rob O'Connor

Teaching

My principal role is as lead tutor for the MA in Publishing and I teach on all of the modules associated with that programme. I am also currently module director for the second year undergraduate module Working with Words: Publishing and Performance, overseeing the students' work on the Beyond the Walls Creative Writing anthology and Student Showcase event.

I also regularly teach on the undergraduate creative writing programme modules. My focus is on work-related experiential learning within the creative writing programme, as well also teaching aspects of genre fiction and aesthetics. I also contribute to teaching on the MA Creative Writing as tutor on the module Writing Speculative Fiction.

I also supervise third year and MA creative writing projects, particular those focused around my research interests of publishing and genre fictions, especially science fiction, fantasy, weird fiction and body horror.

I also supervise MFA and PhD students in creative writing and publishing studies.

Research

My PhD research was on the work of British science fiction and fantasy author China Miéville, focusing upon the use of monsters and conceptual landscapes as a means of social commentary. The thesis is split into two distinct sections: an evaluation of Miéville's work within the conceptual landscapes of genre fiction, urban environments and socio-political landscapes; and then a bestiary depicting Miéville's monstrous creations and exploring how they are physical manifestations of these three conceptual landscapes.

As part of my PhD development I have presented at a number of conferences, not only on Miéville but also other aspects of genre fiction, literature and creative writing. My research interests have expanded to include contemporary literary theories (such as posthumanism and psychogeography) and contemporary interpretations of genre resulting in the blurring and challenging of genre boundaries.

I am also interested in research around the creative industries and publishing, especially how creative industries can be used in a pedagogical capacity. I am also interested in publishing as an academic subject and the links between the professional industry and critical and theoretical perspectives. I am particularly interested in the role of micropresses and small publishers and their place within the industry and cultural impact.

I am keen to work with students on projects focused on my interest of the contemporary publishing industry, book cultures and the history of publishing. I am also interested in research projects focused on genre fiction, especially speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, weird fiction and horror. I supervise both critical and creative practice PhDs.

Professional activities

It is always important to me to highlight the role creative writing can play in a variety of professional practices, including enterprise. It is my aim to encourage students to try writing in genres or forms they have never even considered before and have a greater understanding of creative writing as a professional and vocational pathway.

• Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
• Work-related Experiential Learning (WREL) specialist for Creative Writing.
• I am currently the Learning and Training Lead for the School of Humanities.
• I have been a member of both the Ethics and Quality panels for the School of Humanities.
• York Literature Festival Board of Trustees, 2010-present. I am currently Chair of the Board of Trustees.
• Editorial work for Dreamcatcher Magazine and Beyond the Walls Creative writing anthology.
• Literary Event management since 2000. I have been Director and Programmer for York Literature Festival and the Mexborough Poetry Festival.

Publications and conferences

I am currently working on research into various aspects of publishing studies as a discipline.

Books

Rob O’Connor. China Miéville’s Bas-Lag Books: A Critical Companion (under contract, 2026), Palgrave Science Fiction and Fantasy: A New Canon. London.

Book chapters

O’Connor, Rob. “Alan Garner and Folk Fantasy”, in Edgar, R, Johnson, W & Marland, J, (under contract, 2026) Alan Garner: A Work of Time, Manchester University Press, Manchester.

O’Connor, Rob. ‘“More Human than Humans”: Replicants, Memories and Posthuman Identity in Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049’, in Blade Runner 2049 and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy), Open Court Publishing. 2019.

Published articles

O'Connor, Rob. A Tentacular Teratology: The Abcanny Monstrous. Fantastika Journal, 6 (1). pp. 56-72. 2022. Online.

O’Connor, Rob. "China Miéville." In Oxford Bibliographies in British and Irish Literature [website]. Ed. Andrew Hadfield. New York: Oxford University Press. 2021. Online.

O’Connor, Rob. ‘“A Tourist Guide to Besźel and Ul Qoma”: Unseeing, the Brutality of Borders and the Re-interpretation of Psychogeography in China Mieville’s The City and the City’, The Luminary, Issue 7: Summer 2016 [Electronic Journal], Lancaster University. 2016.

O’Connor, Rob. ‘"A Novel in Every Genre:" China Mieville and the Problems of Genre Classification in the Twenty-First Century’, Vector No. 282, Winter 2015/2016 [Print] British Science Fiction Association. 2016.

Conference papers

O’Connor, Robert. ‘“There weren’t many Google hits for ‘telepathic octopus’”: The ‘realism’ of the non-human in Ted Chiang’s “The Story of Your Life”, Nnedi Okorafor’s Lagoon and Doug Johnstone’s The Space Between Us.’. In: Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment – UK and Ireland (ASLE-UKI) Online Seminar, “The Animal and the Other”. April 2025. Online.

O'Connor, Robert. “The Navel Between Cities”: Copula Hall and the representation of Borders and Liminal Space in China Mieville’s The City & The City. In: Walls and Barriers: Science Fiction in the Age of Brexit. Anglia Ruskin Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy. September 2020. Online.

O’Connor, Rob. ‘A (New) Weird Teratology: The tentacular monster as abcanny body in the work of China Miéville’, Embodying Fantastika Conference, Lancaster University. August 2019.

O’Connor, Rob. 'Ted Chiang and the Deferred Effect: 'Afterwardsness' in the Science Fiction Worlds of “Exhalation” and “Story of Your Life”', Speculative Futures Conference, York St John University. May 2017.

O’Connor, Rob. '"The Fantastical Flâneur:" Social Commentary in China Miéville’s Map of New Crobuzon', International Conference of the Fantastic in the Arts, Orlando, Florida. March 2017.

O’Connor, Rob. ‘Weird Pictures, Monster Mansions and Time Pockets: Gothic Obscurities and Temporal Displacement in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’, Temporal Discombobulations conference, University of Surrey. August 2016.

O’Connor, Rob. ‘Walking the Streets with a Sloth on Your Back: Notions of 'Otherness' in the Urban Landscapes of Lauren Beukes' Zoo City and Nnedi Okorafor's Lagoon’, Global Fantastika conference, Lancaster University. July 2016.

O’Connor, Rob. ‘"The History of All Hitherto-Existing Societies is the History of Monsters:" The Bestiary and the Depiction of Monsters as Social Commentary’, Current Research in Speculative Fiction (CRSF) conference, University of Liverpool. June 2016.

O’Connor, Rob. ‘“Write what you know or write what you imagine?” Creative writing as a tool for contemporary social commentary’, Creative Writing in the World conference, York St John University. June 2015.

Creative writing

O’Connor, Rob. "Storm", short story, Over Yonder: An Anthology, Greenteeth Press. 2021.

O’Connor, Rob. "Flicker", short story, Horrifying Tales, Greenteeth Press. 2021.

O’Connor, Rob.  “Going Home”, short story, Science Fiction for Survival: An Anthology for Mars, Valley Press. 2019.

O’Connor, Rob. “The Beekeeper”, short story, The Pollination Project Anthology, York St John University. 2017.

O’Connor, Rob. “Dawning”, short story, Threads [online], University of Brighton. 2016.

Short story judging panel, Aesthetica Creative Writing Award. November to December 2014.

Creative Writing and Literature tutor for the Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of York. 2010 - 2020.

Project facilitation for the following student-led publications and creative projects:

• Beyond the Walls: New Writing from York St John University. 2020-present. Currently published through Valley Press.
• York Literary Review. 2021-presnt. Currently published through Valley Press.
• YSJ Folklore Anthology. 2024-presnt. Privately published.

Where Ideas Grow: York St John Creative Writing blog. 2021-present. Online publication.