You create the kind of city you want to live in. This means I’ve worked voluntary for various literary organisations over the past decade which culminated in Nottingham being accredited as a UNESCO City of Literature in December 2015.

Archivist, D. H Lawrence Society (2017 -) The DH Lawrence Society is based in Eastwood in Nottinghamshire, the place where Lawrence was born in 1885. We aim to promote knowledge and understanding of the life and work of DH Lawrence, one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. In 2019 I’m hoping to create a digital version of Lawrence’s Savage Pilgrimage with Paul Fillingham. dhlawrencesociety.com

Organisation Committee, East Midlands Heritage Awards (2017 -) Helped to brand the third annual awards as ‘celebrating creativity’. Commissioned poets, photographer and filmmaker to interpret the winning entries. Devised the ‘confessional booth‘ to record feedback from 150 attendees which was made into a short documentary. emms.org

Director, Nottingham City of Literature (2015 – 2016) Helped develop and deliver Nottingham’s successful bid to be accredited as a UNESCO Creative City of Literature. We’re now in the process of implementing our five year strategy and appointing a CEO/Development Director. The board is comprised of eight representatives of local literary organisations. nottinghamcityofliterature.com

Ray Gosling Archives (2014 – 2016) Ray made over 1,000 radio broadcasts and 100 television documentaries. Fortunately, he was a hoarder. The archives are based at Nottingham Trent University and are currently inaccessible to the public. I’ll be helping to digitise the archives to enable easier access as well as exploring ways that students can utilise original sources. Listen to a podcast with Colin Haynes here. raygosling.org

Being Arthur (2014) The first ever live 24 hour Twitter presentation of Alan Sillitoe’s Saturday Night and Sunday Morning for the inaugural digital humanities festival Being Human. beingarthur.co.uk

Dawn of the Unread (2014-2016) Online graphic novel serial exploring Nottingham’s literary history made available across digital devices. Included a unique gaming function to address issues surrounding literacy, civic engagement and economic cuts faced by libraries. Created placements for 120 students and won the Teaching Excellence Award at the Guardian Education Awards in March 2015. Funded through an Arts Council grant. dawnoftheunread.com

Chair, Nottingham Writers’ Studio (2012 – 2015) Developed the studio from a membership of 75 to 200 and helped write our five year strategy to create a self-sustaining business. Oversaw two successful Arts Council funding bids to broaden the aims of the studio. Developed various writing related programmes: Mentoring schemes, workshops, panel debates, journal. Moved studio to Hockley (Creative Quarter) and oversaw design of new building to include a unique performance space. nottinghamwritersstudio.co.uk

Director, Nottingham Festival of Words (2012 – 2014) Founding member of Nottingham’s first city-wide literary festival in 40 years that brought together over 30 locations across Nottinghamshire with over 100 events. Key note speakers included Will Self and A.L Kennedy nottwords.org.uk

The Sillitoe Trail (2012-2013) Commission for BBC/Arts Council England’s experimental multimedia platform The Space which was intended to be the future of broadcasting. Created an App and digital heritage trail that explored the enduring relevance of Alan Sillitoe’s Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Was voted in the top ten of content on The Space. sillitoetrail.com

Alan Sillitoe Committee (2011 – 2013) Raising awareness of one of Nottingham’s most prolific writers. Fund raising for community engagement projects: poetry and fiction competitions; two ‘Sillitoe Days’ exploring the writer’s work through film, audio, talks; literary heritage trail. sillitoe.com

Literature Editor, LeftLion Magazine (2004 – 2017) Helped create and establish a magazine promoting Nottingham’s arts and culture scene as a means of offsetting negative portrayals of the city in the press. All areas of editorial from subbing, feature writing, cover design, commissioning, etc. Other areas of development include: a literature podcast, regular spoken word events, festivals. leftlion.co.uk