Lincoln. It’s not just the name of a dead American president. For nearly a thousand years before his assassination, “Lincoln” referred to a small cathedral city in the East Midlands.
Why am I writing this? Because I’m very pleased to announce that from October, I’ll be joining the English and Journalism Department at the University of Lincoln as its newest Lecturer in Creative Writing.
The university is built around Brayford Pool, a natural lake around which the city’s earliest settlements were based. Recently, the university enjoyed a dramatic rise in the national rankings, leaping to 17th in the UK in The Guardian’s 2020 rankings, while the Sunday Times awarded it Modern University of the Year in 2021.
Lincoln’s writing programme is young and dynamic, making it an exciting place to teach. I’ll be joining writers at work in a range of disciplines, from fiction and poetry to drama, screenwriting and science fiction.
Indeed, the approach taken in the creative writing programme has much in common with my experience studying at the University of British Columbia, where students were encouraged to “cross-train” in multiple genres.
I’ll also be designing a brand new module in children’s literature and writing for young adults. Needless to say, I’m honoured to be joining the team—and eager to get cracking.
For anyone unfamiliar (and I suspect you are legion), Lincoln is the capital of Lincolnshire, an English county renowned for its agricultural produce. Good news to this foodie. You’ll find it on a map north-east of Nottingham and east of Sheffield.
Also, it’s quite pretty:
