HE Committee Elections
Following an invitation to all members of the HE Network, the NAWE members listed below have been elected to the HE Committee 2010-2013. The results were announced at the NAWE AGM on Saturday 13 November. The new Chair and Vice-Chair will be decided at the first committee meeting in February. Steve May has kindly agreed to be Acting Chair in the interim.
1. Craig Batty - University of Bournemouth. I have only been a NAWE member for a few years now, but have been suitably impressed by its vision, scope and commitment to raising both an awareness of and levels of writing in education. I am passionate to be more involved so that I can help to keep the subject alive. My specialist area is screenwriting; this is an often-neglected area within creative writing-based organisations, yet an area that is rapidly becoming popular. I have been involved in various NAWE activities specifically relating to screenwriting (conference papers, articles, a CPD course), and thus would be honoured to represent this important area.
2. Helena Blakemore - I have been a member of the NAWE HE Committee since its inception in 2007, was co-author of the Subject Benchmark Statement for Creative Writing, and have been active in representing our work at the annual NAWE (UK) and AWP (USA) conferences. As programme leader for BA Creative & Professional Writing at the University of East London I am particularly interested in issues relating to professional development for undergraduates and postgraduate research in creative writing. As a committee member, I hope in the coming year to collate information on European universities which teach creative writing, for networking and student exchange purposes.
3. Hayden Gabriel - University College Marjon Plymouth. As a novelist published by mainstream publishers in the UK and USA, and as the leader of a Creative Writing undergraduate programme, I feel I can contribute a balance of perspectives as practitioner, tutor and course organiser. Previous experience as a teacher of English in a secondary school context means I am keen to see the development of Creative Writing as an 'A' Level subject - an important stepping stone for students thinking of taking creative writing in a tertiary environment.
4. Susan Greenberg - Roehampton University. I have very much appreciated the help that NAWE provides and have sought its help on many occasions. I was unable to participate as fully as I would have wished in the last few years, because of personal circumstances; now that I am more available, I would very much like to contribute to the work of the NAWE HE Network Committee, and hope I would have some useful experience and insights to offer during a period of huge change. Since entering HE full-time six years ago, after nearly 25 years as a writer and editor, I have worked consistently to engage in the wider dialogue. As programme convenor for both the BA and MA degree I developed an interest in curriculum design and in writing-as-research. I steered our ReWrite research centre proposal through all stages of approval; it is now been running successfully, and last year hosted a successful international conference. I also served as an external on a PhD panel and am currently the exams officer for our programme.
5. Graeme Harper - Graeme Harper is Professor of Creative Writing in the UK, and honorary professor in the USA and Australia. Recently a Director of Research, Deputy Head of College and Head of School, since 2003 he has been a panel member of the AHRC. He is also the creative arts member of JISC. He founded the Great Writing international conference in 1998, and has examined creative writing in c. 40 universities. Latest books are 'On Creative Writing' (2010) and the novel 'Medicine' (2011). Stepping down as HE Committee Chair, he looks forward to supporting writers as an active NAWE HE Committee member.
6. Andrea Holland - Andrea Holland is a .1 Tutor in Creative Writing at UEA and part time Contextual Studies lecturer & Summer School Co-ordinator at Norwich University College of the Arts, she also works as a freelance editor and tutor. She brings the experience of hourly paid / part time lecturers to the NAWE HE committee. She is a poet and her collection of poems 'Borrowed' (Smith/Doorstop books) was first stage co-winner of the Poetry Business competition. Other poems appear in journals such as The Rialto, Smith's Knoll, The North and she was a runner-up in this year's MsLexia poetry competition. Other publications include articles in The Journal of Writing in Creative Practice and The Writer in Education.
7. Barbara Large - As a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and Director of the Winchester Writers' Conference, an eight day event which reaches out to a vast number of keen writers. I will happily contribute to the committee in this capacity. In addition, as a part time creative writing tutor for a local Further Education College I would also like to represent the views of the many writers of all ages and ethnic backgrounds in the community who attend such classes as an creative writing opportunity. In many cases these aspiring writers need support as their prepare their portfolio as potential MA students in Critical and Creative Writing and Writing for Chlldren. With the current cutbacks in this sector, this group are under-represented.
8. Steve May - Steve May is Head of Department, Creative Writing, Bath Spa University. He has won awards for drama, fiction and poetry. As vice chair of the NAWE HE committee he coordinated the production of the NAWE Benchmark statement for undergraduate programmes. He says: "In these interesting times it's vital that we continue to work to establish Creative Writing as a credible academic discipline, a subject that continues to attract students and begins to attract large scale research funding. The NAWE HE committee has been extrmely effective in pioneering this work. I'd like to continue to contribute to that effort.
9. Nigel McLoughlin - University of Gloucester. I have published five collections of poetry and academic papers on poetics, creativity and pedagogy. I am a member of the AHRC Peer Review College and have served as a peer reviewer for several academic presses and journals. I have a wide body of international contacts and have developed a broad knowledge of the state of the discipline nationally and internationally. I have been a member of the Higher Education Committee since its inception and would like to continue to help NAWE identify and develop exciting new opportunities with regard to Higher Education in the three challenging years ahead.
10. Graham Mort - Graham Mort was the founding Chair of NAWE in 1997. He is now Professor of Creative Writing and Transcultural Literature at Lancaster University. He writes poetry and short fiction and his areas of academic and pedagogic expertise include eLearning, transcultural writing, and literature development in Africa (where he has worked extensively for the British Council). At Lancaster he directs postgraduate distance learning and the PhD programme, supervising 10 doctoral students in poetry, short fiction and the novel. He had a longstanding career as a freelance writer in education and has taught every age-group from reception children to undergraduates and postgraduates.
11. Derek Neale - Chairing OU writing courses gives me unique insights into HE provision. In writing online courses, dealing with thousands of students and hundreds of tutors, I’ve experience of creative writing teaching on the largest scale in the UK. I am committed to NAWE’s PhD networking project and its development of practice-led research bids. I would very much like to contribute to its evolving benchmark statements and its pursuit of subject association status. Recently appointed Director of Teaching for English at the OU - unusual for a creative writing academic - I believe my experience in this role would benefit the committee.
12. Sharon Norris - I am currently Senior Lecturer in Creative Non-fiction at Roehampton University, external examiner for Hull University's BA in Creative Writing, and a member of the research team for a Norwegian Research Council-funded project on critical reflection. I've worked in both broadcast and print journalism, co-translated a novel, written song-lyrics, been a writer for a social science website, and have extensive experience as an editor. I did my PhD on the Booker Prize - what kind of novels win and what don't. With this wide-ranging practical experience over 20 years in HE, and as a former HE journalist (for The Scotsman, THES, TES among others) I feel I could offer a more specialist knowledge to aid NAWE in responding to the current threats posed to our subject.
13. Sue Roe - Dr. Sue Roe is Senior Lecturer in Continuing Education (Creative Studies) at the University of Sussex, where she runs the MA in Creative Writing & Authorship. She is author of Gwen John : A Life (Vintage (UK) and Farrar, Straus & Giroux (USA)) as well as of The Private Lives of the Impressionists (Vintage (UK) and HarperCollins (USA)), which also appeared in translation in Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic and Korea. Her recent publications also include poetry in Agenda, New Poetries III (Carcanet) and New Writing (Routledge) and an article (in Autumn 2010) in George Eliot and George Henry Lewes Studies. She has extensive experience of teaching Creative Writing at D.Phil, M.Phil, B.A. and Certificate levels and a background as Senior Editor and Consultant Editor to two academic publishing Houses.
14. Robert Sheppard - Edge Hill University. I have served already on the committee and my particular joy has been my part in the development of the Benchmarks for Research, which are now widely used. I have a particular interest in reflection (poetics) as a mode of writerly speculation that I pursue through critical writing and teaching (and in practice-based research). I believe I have contributions in the areas of pedagogy, policy and practice, at all levels, but have a particular interest in MAs and in developing innovative forms of the PhD. I have supervised and examined a considerable number in recent years.