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 resources that demystify the industry, reflect critically on its structures, and offer practical insights into how publishing can be taught and understood as a creative and pedagogical practice.
To begin exploring, I recommend starting with this article:
👉 Publishing as Pedagogy: Why Creative Writers and Teachers Need to Understand the Industry
It offers a grounding overview of my approach and explains why publishing literacy matters in creative writing education.
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 call to action and a practical guide for integrating publishing literacy into the creative writing classroom.
A Great Place to start
The History of Publishing in 7 Objects
This article explores the Publishing Industry in 7 objects. It starts with the dawn of humanity to the present day.
Finding and honing your own publishing Methodology
Towards a methodology for creative writing educators to use publishing to develop their writing and teaching
An article which discusses how creative writing educators might develop their own methodologies so that they can become fruitful creative writers who use publishing to develop the literary and pedagogical practices that work for them.
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 amplify marginalised voices. Discover how publishing extends beyond the page to empower writers, challenge dominant narratives, and foster creative communities. Read more about how publishing can be a process of transformation, resistance, and education.
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.
What all writers should know about publishing
In what ways can publishing support writers’ emotional needs?
This blog explores how publishing does and does not meet writers’ emotional needs. It introduces and explains the concept of emotional needs, and then shows how publishing might address these.
Learning to write, publish and teach, all in one go!
This blog explores how learning to write, publish and teach can help creative writers in multiple ways; they can hone the craft of their writing and pedagogy by using publishing as a pedagogical tool. A truly innovative approach…
3 Articles to help creative writers ‘wise up’ about the Publishing industry
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 Name (Ediciones Santillana, Montevideo, 2023), the piece explores the complexities of online identity and security, linking them to the responsibilities of writers as reflective practitioners. Emphasizing the importance of research, compassion, and self-care in writing, the article highlights how storytelling can be a means of healing and deep engagement with the world. Whether you’re an author, educator, or translator, this article provides valuable insights into navigating the modern literary landscape with awareness and integrity.
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 a tough draft to inspiring students. Drawing on insights from Kei Miller, Kristin Neff, and literary organizations, I invite you to rethink success and resilience. Prizes have power, but they don’t define your worth. Honour your journey—on your terms.
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.
Focus upon genre, Creative Writing and Publishing: Young Adult fiction
Five key lessons about S.E. Hinton’s ‘The Outsiders’ and publishing
This article explores how and why outsiders, in the form of writers, readers and texts, came to shape the publishing industry, particularly Young Adult novels.