I am a poet and academic. My BA First-class honours was in Art History from the Manchester Metropolitan University, and I have two MAs (both Distinctions), in English Studies and in Creative Writing, from the University of Manchester. The latter took place within the Centre for New Writing, where I was taught by Vona Groarke and Jeanette Winterson. My first Ph.D. was also awarded by the University of Manchester, in English Studies, and I have a second Ph.D. from the Open University in Creative Writing. I am particularly interested in twentieth-century and contemporary British and American poetry, prose poetry, ekphrasis, word-image relationships, hybrid forms of writing, and how Creative Writing and English Literature intertwine.

About

I am an award-winning author from Manchester, UK. My debut poetry collection Full Sight of Her (2020) was nominated for the John Pollard Prize. This was preceded by a pamphlet, Nullaby (2017). Both books are published by Eyewear. My second collection, Exit Strategy, is published by Broken Sleep (2025).

My poems have appeared in Magma, Poetry Ireland, Poetry Wales, The North, and The London Magazine.

Along with poetry, I write short stories, flash fiction, lyric essays, and I am working on a memoir. 

I am an Associate Lecturer and Honorary Associate at the Open University, where I teach English Literature and Creative Writing.

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and have been nominated for a FASS award for Exceptional Teaching. 

I hold a First-class BA in the History of Art and Design from the Manchester Metropolitan University, along with two MAs (Distinctions), one in English Studies and the other in Creative Writing, from the University of Manchester.

I was awarded my first PhD in English Studies by the University of Manchester in 2007, and my second PhD in Creative Writing by the Open University, in 2022. 

I am a creative writing tutor and have organised a range of outreach activities. This has included poetry workshops at the University of Cambridge, the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Museum, the Poetry School, Imagine Festival (Belfast), Bloomsbury Festival, City Lit, and Lancashire Libraries.