On 17th May at 10.30am BST online, I’m delighted to be part of a roundtable at Münster University called “Culture v. Commerce in the UK Publishing Industry”.

Fellow panellists Cat Mitchell, Dr Audrey Laing and myself will give three 15-minute presentations on the tensions within the UK publishing field that have arisen due to the conflict between commerce and culture in 21st-century book publishing. Our presentations will be followed by a discussion and Q&A, chaired by Chiara Bullen.

The event is FREE and open to all, register here. For more info, click here. Hope to see you there!

I’m delighted to be co-organising the ASLE-UKI Seminar on Environmental Displacement, part of the ASLE-UKI Seminar Series.

Date and Time: 17 March 2022, 5.30 pm
How to Take Part: Register FREE via Eventbrite

Speakers: Jos Smith (University of East Anglia), Charne Lavery (University of Pretoria and the Oceanic Humanities for the Global South project based at WISER, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa), Giovanni Bettini (Lancaster University)

What does displacement mean in our warming world? Placing three researchers from the environmental humanities in conversation with one another, this seminar will explore cross-disciplinary approaches to conceptualizing Anthropocenic mobility. How is both human and non-human movement understood in the context of climate change? How do literary and cultural artefacts anticipate displacement? What is the relationship between land and sea in underrepresented areas such as the Global South? Join us 17 March 2022, 17:30 GMT, for a free online ASLE-UKI seminar exploring ‘Environmental Displacement’.

Convenors: ASLE-UKI Postgraduate and Early-career Representatives (Demi Wilton, Jasmin Kirkbride, Vera Fibisan)

For more info about the ASLE seminar series, visit: https://asle.org.uk/events/seminars/

I’m delighted to have a haiku in ‘Temple: The British Haiku Society Anthology 2021’.

This annual anthology is a wonderful read and it’s always such a treat to get through the post, what a pleasure to be published amongst so many fellow haiku enthusiasts.

Many thanks to the whole British Haiku Society team and especially the editor Iliyana Stoyanova!

It’s been a busy and exciting fortnight since ‘Sand’ was published – a huge thank you to everyone for your kind words and comments about it, I’ve been really blown away! ❤️

You can also now buy Sand as an eBook for only 71p at your local digital bookseller – the link is on the Tor.com story page.

Excitingly, since the eBook launch, the story’s had a couple of reviews…

⭐ Long and Short Reviews gave it 4 stars, saying it was thoughtful and admirably compassionate.

🪐 Tangent called it bizarre, strange and ‘likely to split reader opinion’ (always an exciting thing to do!)

🚀 It’s also been listed on Rocket Stack Rank with Tor.com’s other October short stories, which is a long-time daydream of mine and feels really nice!

BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK? You can now review the book on GoodReads and on eBooks stores like Amazon. So, if you’ve found the story interesting, think about dropping it a star-rating or written review – it honestly helps the story have a longer, happier cyberspace life!

Thanks again for all the gorgeous feedback and encouragement – you’re the loveliest readers in the world! xXx

I’m excited to be taking part in the CHASE Summer Readings series. The first event is tonight, Monday 19th July, chaired by myself and featuring readings from Petra McQueen from University of Essex, Caroline Millar from University of Kent, Kaja Knudsun from University of East Anglia and Susannah Dawes from University of Essex.

Then, next week on Monday 26th July, it’ll be my turn to read, along with Cat Conway from University of Goldsmiths, Gillian Laker from University of Kent, and Daniel C Jeffreys from University of Essex. We’ll be chaired by the lovely Ashley Barr.

These are private events for researchers at CHASE institutions – if you’re at one, tune in online from 7pm, the invite will be in your inbox!

Dialling back in a time a bit to share this one!

A few weeks ago I was on the ‘Writing the Anthropocene’ panel at the UEA CW50 EACWP Conference. As part of that I wrote (and painted!) a little thing about my dear study at home for the Journey Around Our Rooms project with the University of Kent. Here’s a little extract:

“I spent the autumn and winter building a nest, plaiting moss and twigs to my shape. I still can’t believe it stays together when the once-sea winds pelt across the Norfolk flats.

“My study was the first room I finished, two days after moving, just in time for term to kick back in. The painting makes it look bigger than real life. But the things that make us free are always larger in our mind’s eye. Six years freelance, with my job sharing the same psychic space as my bed, but I’ve finally built a border between work and life. That unassuming door makes a hang of a difference – and just in time. Since I moved in, my whole world’s been on this desk: social life; paralegal, editing and teaching work; research; writing… I built a border, but that doesn’t mean I can balance it. The pandemic didn’t help, collapsing the geographical telescope. Still, I was lucky it locked me down in here…”

You can read on for free right here.

Between 11:30-12:30 on Thursday 24th June, I’m thrilled and honoured to be chairing Hallie Rubenhold’s keynote at the CHASE Virtual Encounters conference 2021 .

Historian Hallie Rubenhold is the author of three works of non-fiction and two novels, of which two, The Covent Garden Ladies and Lady Worsley’s Whim, have inspired television dramas – Harlots (Hulu/Amazon) and The Scandalous Lady W (BBC2). Her debut book, The Covent Garden Ladies, captured the imagination of millions when it brought to public attention the history of the Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies, an infamous 18th century guidebook to sex workers. Alongside her writing, her extensive experience extends to presenting TV documentaries, advising on period dramas, teaching, lecturing and curatorial work. You can find out more about her here.

Hallie will be talking about her book The Five, research methodology, and history as something live and relevant, incorporating the conference themes of ‘futures’ and ‘community’. 

For more information about the conference, and to register, click here.

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