Isabel, winner of the 2008 Mail on Sunday Novel Competition, will work with undergraduates and the university community to deliver creative masterclasses, literary salons and one-to-one writing clinics. Her experiences, tips and observations will be captured in a monthly university blog, where students will be encouraged to join in the conversation with their own comments and thoughts.
Mail on Sunday competition judges Fay Weldon, Michael Ridpath and the late Sir John Mortimer, described Isabel's winning entry as
“magnificent ... made every word work and left the reader anxious to read on”.
Her debut novel Glasshopper was released in 2009 to critical acclaim. Her second novel Hurry Up and Wait was named amongst Amazon's Top 100 Customer Favourites for Kindle in 2011, and her new novel, Summer of '76, has just been released.
Her appointment is the start of a three-year partnership with her publishers, Myriad, which will see authors from across the publisher’s fiction and graphics lists work closely with the university’s Faculty of Arts.
Isabel’s nine-month residency begins this month (October). She said: “There’s nothing like meeting and chatting with ‘real’ writers to help demystify the art and craft of creative writing. I hope to help facilitate further opportunities of this kind at the university, with the support of my publishers and the writing community.”
Dr Jessica Moriarty, Subject Leader for Creative Writing at the 91¶¶Òõ, said: “Isabel’s residency will enrich not only the experience of students of creative writing and literature but also that of students and staff from across the university. This is a brilliant opportunity for Isabel to share her ideas and experiences with the craft of writing, and the Faculty of Arts is thrilled that she will be working with us.’