Born 1959, Croydon, Surrey. Married 1994. Two daughters. Lived in Yorkshire since 1995. Worked as a journalist (1980-1995). Novelist since 1995. Creative Writing MA, University of East Anglia 1994. Creative writing tutor at Manchester University, Leeds University and Leeds Metropolitan University (2001-2009). Tutor on Arvon Foundation courses (2001- ). Senior lecturer in creative writing at Leeds Trinity University (2009- ).

Winner of Yorkshire Post Best First Work Award (1996) for ACTS OF REVISION. Shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards (2011) for FLIP. Winner of the Sheffield Book Award and Calderdale Book Award for FLIP.

Novels:

ACTS OF REVISION (Bantam Press 1996); EXIT, ORANGE + RED (Bantam Press 1997); THE HOUDINI GIRL (Viking 1999); BLACK CAT (Viking 2000); THE ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (Bloomsbury 2006). Novels for teenagers & young adults: FLIP (Walker Books 2011); NEVER ENDING (Walker Books 2014); TWENTY QUESTIONS FOR GLORIA (Walker Books 2016). Between them, these novels have been translated into 15 languages.

Short stories in various magazines, anthologies and on radio. Readings at literary festivals/events: Melbourne Writers' Festival(2006);Ilkley, Norwich, London, Sheffield, Bradford, Leeds, Brighton, Durham, Manchester. Journalism in various provincial newspapers, and The Guardian. Wrote and presented Radio 4 documentary SCENES FROM PROVINCIAL LIFE broadcast January 1998. Regular contributor of book reviews to the LITERARY REVIEW (2001-2009).

My name is John McAuliffe and I co-direct the Creative Writing programme at the University of Manchester. I worked alongside Martyn Bedford from Sept 04 -Sept 06.

On my arrival at Manchester, Martyn co-directed the MA programme with Suzannah Dunn. Suzannah was based in Brighton so Martyn did much of the administrative work. During his time here, student numbers increased at postgraduate level and many of these students came to Manchester because they were fans of his novels and had wanted to work with him in particular.

Martyn was a terrific, conscientious colleague, in particular because of his attention to detail and his careful planning of individual sessions and the general course structure. He was also a vital link with editors, agents, publishers and other writers who were coaxed into participating in our M.A. seminars and reading series. I know, however, that this administrative burden affected Martyn's creative work and it was this ever-increasing administrative burden which eventually caused him to decide to leave Manchester. This was particularly the case at post-graduate level, where he directed courses, handled student recruitment and managed the day-to-day running of a large MA group (of around 20 students).

More relevant to NAWE, however, is Martyn's undergraduate teaching. Martyn taught two undergraduate courses: Introduction to Creative Writing: Fiction (Year 2) and Fiction writing (Year 3). He is an inspiring and dedicated teacher and student feedback on these courses was consistently very enthusiastic about his instruction in the craft of writing as well as his detailed commentary on student work.

I recommend him without reservation as a leader of workshops and as a regular and reliable resource for an organization like NAWE.

School of Arts, Histories and Cultures The University of Manchester

Martyn Bedford has worked for the Arvon Foundation many times over the last six years, and he is a gifted, hard-working tutor. He has worked with both adults and children and his courses have been notable for the care and support which the students receive. He is thorough, organized and careful to offer honest, constructice advice to students, no matter what their ability or previous experience.

He responds to students with good humour and in a straight-forward, approachable manner. I have no hesitation in recommending Martyn for any teaching role. He is also a fine writer who deserves a higher profile in the literary world.

Administrator The Arvon Foundation, West Yorkshire