Higher Education Committee and Writing in Practice Editorial Board
The Higher Education Committee represents all members who share an interest in Higher Education, and has a number of very important duties to perform: responding to government consultations, participating in the REF (Research Excellence Framework) - the next exercise takes place in 2029, working closely with other subject associations, raising concerns affecting the sector, and publishing our online, open access, peer-reviewed journal Writing in Practice (members of the HE Committee form the editorial board). Members of the Higher Education Committee attend three online meetings per year and participate actively in the work of the Committee. Members serve for three years and can stand for further terms.
Higher Education Committee 2025 - 2028
Following elections in November 2025, we are delighted to welcome the following members who will form the new Higher Education Committee for 2025 – 2028.
Dr Emily Bullock, The Open University
I'm a Staff Tutor and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, and Media Fellow (FASS) at The Open University. I started at The Open University as an Associate Lecturer, undertaking my PhD and then moving into faculty. I’ve taken roles to support the career progression of others with the Assistant Director of Student Support and working to improve student outcomes. Currently, I am Media Fellow for Arts & Humanities focusing on OU/BBC co-productions like Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius, and Morning Live inserts ‘Future of Reading’. I also promote individuals’ research and faculty priorities via OpenLearn, a free learning platform. I enjoy outreach and engagement, recently based on the IOW (designated within the top 20% UK deprived locations).
Dr Alexia Casale, Bath Spa University
I am an author of Middle Grade, Young Adult, and adult Crime fiction (Bloomsbury, Faber, Viking/Penguin Random House), published in over ten languages, and a script consultant for theatre, TV and Film. As Programme Leader for MA Writing for Young People, I also launched MAWYP Online to increase access and inclusion. I previously taught Literature at Essex University, following a role as research project leader at Cambridge. At BSU, I spearhead major industry and international-HEI partnerships with the US, Norway and India, including Literature Across Borders, and am Knowledge Exchange Lead for the School of Writing, Publishing & Humanities and an elected member of Academic Board, scrutinising policy, guidance and the university’s performance. As SRR, I’m part of BSU’s REF29 submission and was an invited participant in the REF29 PCE scoping workshops, contributing to the design of the PCE questionnaire. I have over 12 years’ experience as a non-fiction human-rights editor, including as Executive Editor of an international peer-reviewed academic journal, editing two special issues chosen for the Council of Europe and UN reading lists on prevention of torture. I am on the editorial board for LEAF (a peer-reviewed creative writing journal) and the just-about-to-launch Learning Innovation journal. I am keen to support sector-wide conversations and have just set up the cross-institutional PhD Supervisors Discussion Café to foster HEI and non-HEI peer learning, with support from NCACE and BA-ECRN. I have wide-ranging experience as an external examiner. MA Social & Political Sciences (Psychology major, Cambridge), MPhil Educational Psychology & Technology, Cambridge), PhD Creative Writing (Essex), PGCHE (MAPPHE expected 2026), SFHEA.
James Draper, Manchester Metropolitan University
James DraperJames Draper is Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for the MFA/MA Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he is also Deputy International Lead for English and GoGlobal Lead for Arts & Humanities. From 2006-2023 he was Manager of the Manchester Writing School, one of the UK’s most successful literary centres. He directed the international Manchester Writing Competition, awarding £240,000 to writers, and Carol Ann Duffy’s WRITE Where We Are NOW project, with 174,000 online views and 3-million media reach. From 2010-2016 he was Co-Director of Manchester Children’s Book Festival and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Carrie Etter, University of Bristol
Carrie Etter is Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Bristol and long-time FE tutor. She has published five books of poetry, most recently Grief’s Alphabet (Seren, 2024), as well as short stories, essays on poetry and creative writing pedagogy, and numerous reviews. Particular interests include the teaching of poetry at all levels and the restoration of the Creative Writing A-Level.
Dr Francis Gilbert, Goldsmiths, University of London
Dr Francis Gilbert is Head of Subject (Education) and Senior Lecturer in Education at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he also serves as Academic Director of the Connected Curriculum. A former secondary school English teacher, he is an experienced curriculum designer and pedagogical leader, with particular interests in inclusive, multimodal, and accessible education. His research explores creative writing as a vehicle for educational transformation, digital and reflective pedagogies, and mindfulness in teaching. He is the author of The Mindful English Teacher and several works of fiction and nonfiction. Francis regularly blogs on his website - recent posts include a series of blogs about the controversy concerning the memoir The Salt Path. He co-edits Writing in Practice with Dr Kate North and is a trustee of the National Association for Writers in Education.
Barbara Henderson, Sunderland University
Under my writing name of Bea Davenport, I’m the author of five commercially published novels for adults, children and teens. I’m programme leader for Creative and Professional Writing at Sunderland University, where the recently established but growing course supports students from diverse and often disadvantaged backgrounds. As a former BBC and print journalist my current research and works in progress straddles true crime, memoir and campaigning, as well as prose fiction. I’m interested in accessibility, reaching diverse audiences/ communities and promoting the value of creative writing for all, as a skill to be enjoyed and as a route to employability.
Andrea Holland, University of East Anglia
I teach creative writing at The University of East Anglia, specialising in poetry and creative collaboration; I sit on the Board of the European Assoc of Creative Writing Programs and have been part of NAWE’s HE Committee for 12 years, the last year as Deputy Chair of the Committee and am keen to continue contributing to the committee’s work. I helped create the QAA Benchmark Statement for Creative Writing and am editing an academic book on creative writing and employability, including AI. I contributed to The Portable Poetry Workshop (Macmillan) and have two collections of poems, Broadcasting (Gatehouse Press) and Borrowed (Smith/Doorstop).
Dr Holly Howitt-Dring, Liverpool John Moores University
I am a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Liverpool John Moores University. I have been teaching Creative writing at HE level for 20 years and have worked at many institutions across the UK, working as a programme leader for MA students between 2010 and 2017. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I have been a member of the NAWE HE Committee since 2012 and would love to be re-elected.
Dr Zoe Lambert, Lancaster University
I am a lecturer in creative writing at Lancaster University, with a PhD from MMU. I have taught in universities for over twenty years. I have published numerous short stories, including The War Tour (Comma Press). I recently developed my memoir in progress into a one person show, performed in Morecambe, Lancaster and Montreal. I’m developing a trauma informed approach to writing for wellbeing workshops, and particularly a methodology for working with survivors of religious trauma. I am the Lancaster institutional lead for NAWE, a board member of the International Cultic Studies Association, and I peer-review for Short Fiction in Theory and Practice.
Dr Adrian Markle, Falmouth University
Originally from Canada, Dr Adrian Markle is Senior Lecturer and Course Leader of BAs in English and Writing at Falmouth University, where he has been teaching since 2019. Before that, he taught at Exeter where he was conducting his PhD research. He is the author of the novel Bruise and a number of short stories. He has been writing about CW pedagogy since his PhD and is an editor of two upcoming books for Bloomsbury: The Creative Writing Workshop in the 21st Century: Practical Strategies for a Modern Era and Writing Europe - Art, Craft and Translation in Contemporary European Short Stories.
Peter McAllister, University of Exeter (PhD representative)
A second-year creative writing PhD student at the University of Exeter, I've have been a postgraduate rep for my department since January. I work as a Teaching Associate on both Exeter's campuses and also teach MA students online for Hull University; my goal is to work towards a full-time academic position when I complete my PhD. I volunteer as an organiser for the Penzance Literary Festival, was recently appointed Director of the North Cornwall Book Festival and run a small literary magazine/publishing-house called Inkfish. I have, in the past, acted as an issue editor for NAWE's Writing in Practice.
Dr Alison McManus, Durham University
I hold a PhD in Creative Writing and English from Newcastle University, and an MA in Creative Writing from Northumbria University. With over 20 years’ experience in Widening Participation and teaching non-traditional students at Durham University, I currently serve as Director of Learning and Teaching for Foundation Programmes and am a Senior Fellow of the HEA. As co-director of PopUpPoetry Durham I have led several community-based creative writing initiatives. I am Chair of the Board of Trustees and Artistic Contributor to The Poetry Exchange, an award-winning podcast and anthology (Quercus, 2024) dedicated to creative voices and cultural exchange. My teaching and supervision spans pre-undergraduate, undergraduate and postgraduate English Literature, Creative Writing, and Academic Writing. Most recently I am leading a project on using creative writing to increase belonging/ wellbeing and support transition to higher education amongst under-represented groups.
Dr Kate North, Cardiff Metropolitan University
I teach at Cardiff Metropolitan University where I am Reader in Creative Writing. I write poetry and fiction and am interested in applications of writing practice in health and wellbeing contexts. I have served three terms on the HE Committee and I am Co-Editor for Writing in Practice. In recent years I have worked with colleagues to ensure Writing in Practice articles are DOI listed for the current REF cycle. I would like to enhance the visibility of the journal further by working to get it listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals.
Dr Joanne Reardon, Senior Lecturer at The Open University
I’m Qualification Lead for Creative Writing at The Open University contributing to the writing and delivery of courses across undergraduate and postgraduate level for the 2000+ students a year who study Creative Writing at the OU. I’ve been a member of NAWE for over 20 years, the last year as Chair of the HE committee. It’s been a privilege to work with this committee, and I hope to continue the work we’ve been developing over the past year. As a writer, work includes drama produced on BBC Radio 4 and a novel, The Weight of Bones, published by Cinnamon Press in 2020.
Dr Amy Spencer, Bath Spa University
Dr Amy Spencer is a writer and postdoctoral researcher based in the Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries at Bath Spa University. She works as part of MyWorld, researching the future of creative technology innovation, and leads the Narrative and Emerging Technlogies (NET) Lab. Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher working at UWE Bristol as part of the Ambient Literature project. Her previous books include DIY: The Rise of Lo-Fi Culture and Ambient Stories in Practice and Research: Digital Writing in Place. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths.
Anita Slater, Manchester Metropolitan University (PhD representative)
Anita Slater is an interdisciplinary writer in her fourth year of doctoral research through the Leverhulme Unit for the Design of Cities of the Future scholarship at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research explores the 'poetics of guidance' in the city, looking at guidebooks and manuals in relation to creative practice. Anita has presented her research at conferences including Livable Cities in New York and the Northern Network for Medical Humanities Research Congress. She has taught two undergraduate Creative Writing modules as an Associate Lecturer, and this year will be teaching Creative Methods in Sociology, and running poetry workshops. She was a 2023 Comino poet-in-residence, carrying out a poetry project in a secondary school in Bolton, and has facilitated numerous creative writing workshops. Anita works regularly with Manchester Poetry Library, and she put on an exhibition of her visual and written work in 2024.
Edwin Stockdale, Leeds Trinity University
Edwin Stockdale was the first person to gain a PhD in Creative Writing (Poetry) from Leeds Trinity University, where he now works as a Visiting Lecturer in Creative Writing. Widely published in the UK, he has two pamphlets with Red Squirrel Press: Aventurine (September 2014) and The Glower of the Sun (January 2019). His debut full collection, Winter Wolf, written with funds from Arts Council England through the Developing Your Creative Practice fund is forthcoming from Red Squirrel in March 2026. He has published scholarly articles on his practice-based research in Writing in Practice, New Writing and two Routledge chapters.
Kim Wiltshire, Edge Hill University
Kim writes script and short fiction as well as critical work around theatre for social change and arts for wellbeing. She is Reader and Programme Leader for Creative Writing at Edge Hill university, where she is also chair of the Arts and Humanities Ethics Committee, Convenor of the Fiction Writer's Network and a member of the Arts and Wellbeing Research Centre. In 2022/23 she was a British Academy Innovation Fellow exploring ways of embedding arts into healthcare settings, is on the editorial board of the Journal for Applied Arts and Health and she is also part of the AHRC Peer Review College.
Patrick Wright, Open University
Patrick Wright holds two PhDs, one in English, from the University of Manchester, and another in Creative Writing, from the Open University. He is interested in prose poetry and ekphrasis. He has two poetry collections, Full Sight of Her (Eyewear, 2020), and Exit Strategy (Broken Sleep, 2025). His poems are published in Magma, Poetry Ireland, Poetry Wales, The North, and The London Magazine. He has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and the Pushcart Prize. He is an Associate Lecturer and Honorary Associate at the Open University, teaching English Literature and Creative Writing, and a Senior Fellow of Advance HE.
Dr Sarah Gibson Yates, Anglia Ruskin University
I am a writer, director, FHEA and Senior Lecturer in filmmaking and writing, having taught filmmaking and screenwriting in HE, schools and community education contexts across London and the East of England since 1998. My Creative Writing PhD (2021) explored the languages and practices of multimedia as a means of writing digital culture into young adult fiction. Interest in the relationship between technology and storytelling continued in British Academy-funded research into screenwriting with AI (2024). In 2023 I co-founded the Cambridge Writing Centre dedicated to widening participation in writing culture and education. I have published articles and chapters about technology and storytelling in academic journals and books, present regularly at national conferences on AI, creativity, writing, filmmaking and education. I would like to join the HE committees to contribute to conversations on the creative and ethical challenges of generative AI for writers and writing, as well as offering expertise in screenwriting, screenwriting research and creative writing with AI.