Author Archives: Emma Claire Sweeney

About Emma Claire Sweeney

Lecturer in Creative Writing at the open University, Director of the Ruppin Agency Writer's Studio (a nationwide literary mentoring programme), and award-winning author of novel OWL SONG AT DAWN and co-author with Emily Midorikawa of non-fiction book A SECRET SISTERHOOD: THE HIDDEN FRIENDSHIPS OF AUSTEN, BRONTË, ELIOT AND WOLF.

A Writing Chance: Margins to Mainstream

Posted on 6th April 2022 by Emma Claire Sweeney

Stephen Tuffin, Associate Lecturer on OU Creative Writing courses A215 and A363, has recently won A Writing Chance bursary – an award that celebrates fresh perspectives and great stories from people whose voices have not historically been heard in publishing and … Continue reading →

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Memoir and Motherhood

Posted on 3rd March 2022 by Emma Claire Sweeney

Meghan Flaherty, Associate Lecturer on A215, has recently been awarded a Scottish Book Trust Ignite Fellowship. The fellowship offers talented professional authors practical and financial support for exploring new avenues or making new breakthroughs. Meghan will be working on her … Continue reading →

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Launch of new Language, Literature and Politics research group

Posted on 21st January 2022 by Emma Claire Sweeney

The Language, Literature and Politics research group is a cross-faculty initiative, bringing together researchers from the School of Arts and Humanities in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies. The aim of … Continue reading →

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Narrative Imperialism and Writing Home: A conversation between Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone, a new PhD student, and Sarah Butler, a recent graduate

Posted on 22nd November 2021 by Emma Claire Sweeney

Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone has just embarked on a PhD in creative writing funded by the Open-Oxford-Cambridge Arts and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Training Partnership. We put her in touch with Sarah Butler, who was recently awarded her own PhD in creative writing, … Continue reading →

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Climate Change and Creativity: Interview with Sally O’Reilly

Posted on 13th October 2021 by Emma Claire Sweeney

Sally O’Reilly is a novelist and Senior Lecturer here at the Open University’s Department of English and Creative Writing, where her role as Media Lead has included editing this blog. Before Sally’s appointment as a Central Academic in 2014, she’d … Continue reading →

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In conversation with Ellora Sutton, prize-winning MA student

Posted on 23rd March 2021 by Emma Claire Sweeney

OU Creative Writing MA student Ellora Sutton, winner of the 2020 Mslexia Poetry competition, talks to Sally O’Reilly, Senior Lecturer, Creative Writing. Can you tell me about yourself and your writing? When did you first start? Do you focus on writing … Continue reading →

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Elspeth Huxley and Time & Tide

Posted on 2nd March 2021 by Emma Claire Sweeney

Anne Wetherilt, PhD student, English In November 2020, a one-day online conference brought together scholars, journalists and readers to celebrate the centenary of the feminist magazine Time and Tide.  Speakers highlighted the magazine’s progressive interwar agenda, and the contributions of … Continue reading →

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Poetry and theology in lockdown

Posted on 16th February 2021 by Emma Claire Sweeney

Hannah Hunt, Honorary Associate, FASS, Soc Sci & Global Studies How has lockdown impacted your local community? And how can you stay creative when so much is in flux, and expected ways of being together are denied us? These are … Continue reading →

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Belfast film poem awarded Berlin prize

Posted on 18th December 2020 by Emma Claire Sweeney

Creative Writing Associate Lecturer Csilla Toldy has won an award for Best Street Art Film at the Berlin Underground Film Festival for her film poem ‘Belfast Exposed’. Sally O’Reilly interviewed her about her work and how this project developed. You … Continue reading →

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Gender and Otherness in the Humanities (GOTH)

Posted on 10th November 2020 by Emma Claire Sweeney

Interview with (Peg) M A Katritzky, Senior Research Fellow, Department of English & Creative Writing Can you tell me more about Gender and Otherness in the Humanities (GOTH)? In 2019, GiTH (Gender in the Humanities) a research group active in … Continue reading →

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