• Five Key Things I Learned About Mental Health First Aid

    🧠 Just Completed Mental Health First Aid Training—Here’s What I Learned This week I completed the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course at Goldsmiths, led by the amazing Alicia Nagar (MHFA England). It was one of the most powerful, practical training experiences I’ve had in years. 💬 In just two days, I learned how to:…

  • Guerrilla CPD: Why Research-Informed Teacher Collaboration is the Future

    I co-wrote “Guerrilla CPD” with Debbie Bogard to shine a light on the power of informal, grassroots teacher development. Debbie is a brilliant, research-informed practitioner working in Further Education, and collaborating with her was both inspiring and energising. Together, we drew on our shared belief that CPD works best when it emerges organically—through dialogue, creativity,…

  • Five Salty Lessons from The Salt Path: Walking the Edge of the World

    I wrote Five Salty Lessons from The Salt Path after watching the new film adaptation of Raynor Winn’s powerful memoir. Having read the book, listened to the radio version, and walked sections of the South West Coast Path myself—often with my son—I was moved by how the film captured the raw, weather-beaten truth of Raynor…

  • The Mindful Creative Writing Teacher

    This blog introduces The Mindful Creative Writing Teacher—my book for anyone teaching or facilitating creative writing, whether in schools, universities, prisons, or community spaces. Drawing on decades of experience, I offer a fresh, practical, and compassionate approach to teaching writing that blends mindfulness, creativity, and social justice. In the blog, I explain why I wrote…

  • 7 Transformative Lessons from First Story’s Creative Writing Approach – A Goldsmiths Reflection

    In this blog, I reflect on an inspiring session led by novelist and First Story writer-in-residence Pete Hobbs. Drawing on seventeen years of working with young writers, Pete shared a wealth of practical, playful exercises and a deeply inclusive pedagogy that reimagines creative writing as a space for experimentation, voice, and community. From evoking memory…

  • Seven Things Creative Writing Teachers Should Know About Safeguarding

    I’m Francis Gilbert, and I’ve just published a vital blog post: Seven Things Creative Writing Teachers Should Know About Safeguarding. Drawing on a powerful masterclass led by Danja Sanovic at Goldsmiths, I reflect on how safeguarding isn’t just a legal box-tick but a deeply creative, relational act. Whether you’re teaching in schools, leading workshops in…

  • 6 Ways to Design Effective Creative Writing Lessons

    I’ve written this blog to share some of the key insights from a recent seminar I delivered for students on the MA in Creative Writing and Education at Goldsmiths—and for anyone interested in designing more mindful, engaging creative writing lessons. Drawing on the CASTERS framework, James Nottingham’s “Learning Pit,” and ideas around publishing, reflection, and…

  • 📎 CUT + COPY + TEACH: 5 Ways Uncreative Writing Will Turbocharge Your Teaching

    As a writer and educator, I’ve long been fascinated by how creativity works in the classroom. In this blog, I explore Uncreative Writing, a radical teaching approach developed by Dr Cath Clover. Drawing on her powerful workshop at Goldsmiths, I show how copying, remixing, and reframing existing texts can spark critical thinking, accessibility, and genuine…

  • 5 Ways Creative Writing Can Fuel Creativity

    I’ve long believed that creative writing isn’t just for the English classroom—it’s a radical, transformative practice that can fuel creativity across the curriculum. In my new chapter for The Oxford Handbook of Creativity and Education, I explore how freewriting, diagrarting, critical literacy, and compassionate feedback can empower learners of all ages. Drawing on decades of…

  • Publishing as Pedagogy: Why Creative Writers and Teachers Need to Understand the Industry

    In this article, I explore why knowledge of the publishing industry is essential for both creative writers and educators. Drawing on my experience teaching publishing to MA students, I argue that understanding how books are produced, marketed, and circulated can empower writers and transform the way we teach creative writing. This piece is both a…

  • Teaching Hubs

    Curated Teaching Hubs Explore these dedicated teaching hubs, where I’ve gathered my key teaching materials, resources, and reflections on English education, creative writing pedagogy, and the publishing world. Each page offers structured access to blog posts, teaching materials, and research insights tailored to educators, writers, and industry professionals. Teaching English This hub supports English teachers…

  • Five Ways to Decolonise the Teaching of Creative Writing

    In April 2025, I had the joy of welcoming back Carinya Sharples—a former student of mine from the MA in Creative Writing and Education I lead at Goldsmiths—for an unforgettable session on Decolonising Creative Writing Pedagogies. Carinya held the space with grace, rigour and radical care, sparking vital conversations about power, voice, and language. In…

  • The Publishing Industry

    What is it all about? This page brings together my writing, teaching, and research on the publishing industry, with a particular focus on how it intersects with creative writing and education. Whether you’re a student, writer, or teacher, understanding how publishing works—from acquisitions to marketing, from editorial decisions to reader engagement—is crucial. Here you’ll find…

  • Reimagining the Future of Publishing: Five Observations on YA, Pedagogy, and Digital Literature

    In this blog, I explore how contemporary YA literature acts as both a cultural mirror and a critical tool—reflecting the world young people live in while helping them make sense of it. Drawing on Suico et al.’s content analysis and Warner’s ideas about literature as ritual, I look at how YA fiction engages with themes…

  • The perils and pleasures of creative writing competitions and prizes: 5 key points

    Prizes often symbolize external recognition, but what if I reimagined them as personal milestones—self-awarded markers of creativity, persistence, and growth? In this blog, I explore how literary prizes shape careers and confidence while offering five strategies to navigate competitions and create personal benchmarks. I introduce ‘internal prizes’—small yet meaningful ways to celebrate achievements, from finishing…

  • Only Connect: Creative Writing Comes Alive at the British Library

    Only Connect: Creative Writing at the British Library was a vibrant and inspiring event that brought together twenty creative minds to explore the power of writing. Led by MA Creative Writing and Education students from Goldsmiths, participants engaged in a carousel of interactive workshops, each designed to spark creativity and deepen connections with the British…

  • Creative writers and marketing: some thoughts and observations

    Marketing isn’t just about selling books—it’s about finding the right readers, refining your creative process, and sharing your work with confidence. In this blog, we explore marketing in the publishing industry through the lens of the writer as a healer, teacher, researcher, and reflective practitioner.

  • Digital storytelling, translation and publishing

    In an era of rapid digital transformation, storytelling, translation, and publishing are evolving in unprecedented ways. This article delves into the power of digital storytelling as a tool for inclusivity and multilingual expression while critically examining the role of AI in publishing and its potential biases. Drawing on Federico Ivanier’s novel, Never Tell Anyone Your…

  • Using publishing tools to create thriving creative writing communities and cultures

    Publishing isn’t just about books—it’s about shaping identity, community, and activism. This blog explores how the MA Creative Writing and Education at Goldsmiths uses publishing as a pedagogical tool, from internal dialogues between the Writer, Publisher, and Healer within us, to global projects like GlobalGRACE and Creative Voices, which use storytelling, theatre, and art to…

  • How can writers benefit from learning about the Publishing Industry? Three key points and two questions

    This blog post explores how creative writing teachers can learn about the publishing industry, and invites them to think about how it can used to develop their craft, their pedagogy, and generally help them learn and grow.