I'm a writer, teacher and researcher, and I’ve been working with others using creative writing in education, health care and professional development for the past twenty-five years.

I’m the creator of Restorative Writing, an approach designed to restore us to ourselves, one another and our planet through embodied creativity.

My bestselling novels The Dress and Miss Mary’s Book of Dreams have been translated into eight languages. My poetry has received a number of awards including the Arvon-Jerwood Young Poets Award and the Elmet Prize for Poetry. My collection Refugee was informed by my work with the pioneering Write for Life group at Freedom from Torture.

I’m an Associate Professor at Teesside University in the North East of England. My academic page at Teesside is here.

Over the past twenty years, I've designed and led courses, workshops and writing communities, online and in person, for universities, businesses, voluntary organisations and in the community. 

Drawing on my background in psychodynamic and mind-body therapies, I research the connections between creative writing and wellbeing and the ways in which writing and other creative practices can help us to think, learn, understand ourselves and other people, collaborate, innovate and grow. You can find out more about my current research here and Creative Writing Lab, our team of inspiring doctoral researchers here.

Mind-body approach
My interest in mind-body and somatic approaches is something that I’ve developed throughout my life, beginning with professional dance training to the age of 16. 

I studied English Language at the University of Edinburgh (MA Hons) and then worked for Reuters for a number of years before studying with Dr Celia Hunt, a pioneer of writing and wellbeing at the University of Sussex. I became Celia’s first doctoral student and my PhD thesis, Writing the body: Ways to facilitate a felt, bodily sense of self, developed a model for writing in education and health care settings.

I am a clinical hypnotherapist, having trained over the years in a range of modalities, including mindfulness, yoga nidra and Emotional Freedom Technique, as well as psychodynamic approaches.