Meet the Team

Management Team

  • Beverley Ward

    FOUNDER & DIRECTOR

    (Writer, Writing Coach)

  • Lorna Partington Walsh

    DIRECTOR

    (Editor, Writer)

  • Rosie Carnall

    DIRECTOR

    (Writer, Creative Facilitator)

Associates

  • Hannah Boursnell

    Hannah Boursnell is an editor and copywriter with 15 years’ experience in nonfiction publishing, most recently at Little Brown. Now freelance, Hannah provides editorial services to various UK publishers and indie writers of nonfiction.

    Hannah is offering regular nonfiction meetups and occasional masterclasses.

  • Anna Caig

    Anna writes historical crime fiction, and her debut novel was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger prize.

    An experienced communications and PR professional, Anna works with traditionally, indie, and self-published writers to find their brand and find a wider audience.

  • Bryony Doran

    Bryony Doran is an author, poet and coach. In 2009, she published her first novel, The China Bird, which won the 2009 Hookline Novel Competition. In 2013, she published her short story collection, The Sand Eggs. Her poetry collection, Bullet Proof, was published in 2016 by Bloodaxe.

    Bryony currently offers writing-for-wellbeing classes.

  • Susan Elliot Wright

    Susan Elliot Wright is the bestselling author of five novels, most recently All You Ever Wanted (Simon & Schuster, 2022) and her accalimed novel, The Flight of Cornelia Blackwood (2019). A trained journalist, Susan has also published ten nonfiction books on health-related topics. A former associate lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University and a Royal Literary Fund Fellow, Susan is an experienced tutor and mentor.

  • Anne Grange

    Anne Grange is a Sheffield-based writer with an MA in Writing from Sheffield Hallam University.

    With her experience of self-publishing, Anne has helped many people publish their books.

    Anne offers Creative Life Writing workshops and heads the Climate Crisis Writers Meetup and Herding Cats Poetry Meetup.

  • Sarah Jay Hawley

    Sarah Jay Hawley is a platinum-winning singer/songwriter with a career spanning thirty years, best known for writing and singing “Dissolved Girl” on Massive Attack’s album Mezzanine. She is currently working on a multi-artform memoir (comprising spoken-word performance, songs, and a book) called “Zen, Drugs n Rock n Roll.”

    Sarah is currently offering songwriting workshops.

  • Tom Juniper

    Tom Juniper is a writer, performance poet and workshop leader. They have published two collections of poetry: Historical Plans Of How Romans Made Drains (Picaroon, 2017) and Monstrous (Allographic, 2022). They have taken two solo shows to the Edinburgh Fringe and have performed their work around the UK, United States and Europe.

  • Amanda Marples

    Amanda Marples is a writer, freelancer and mentor from Rotherham. She is the author of The Healing Workbook (2023), and her short stories and articles have appeared in various publications. As someone with ADHD and Tourette’s Syndrome, she runs workshops and provides mentoring for fellow neurodivergent writers, which involves supporting them to get to the page … and stay there.

  • Sally O'Reilly

    Sally O’Reilly is the author of How to be a Writer: The Definitive Guide to Making a Living from Writing (Piatkus/Hachette) and the novel Dark Aemilia (Myriad Editions/Picador US), which was nominated for the Kirkus Prize. Her short stories have been published internationally, and she has been shortlisted for the Cosmopolitan and Ian St James short story prize. She is the co-editor of Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings (OU/Routledge, 2022).

  • Carmel Page

    Carmel Page is an acclaimed oral storyteller, enchanting audiences across the region. She has written Yorkshire Folk Tales (for The History Press) and she has also self-published. She co-runs Story Forge, a storytelling club for adults. She also performs with a troupe of Flying Teddy Bears.

    Carmel offers support with storytelling, performance, writing for adults and children, and creativity.

  • Russ Thomas

    Russ Thomas was born in Essex, raised in Berkshire, and now lives in Sheffield. He is the bestselling author of the DS Adam Tyler series, set in Sheffield: Firewatching (2020, Waterstones Thriller of the Month), Nighthawking (2021, Sunday Times Book of the Month), and Cold Reckoning (2022). He now writes full-time and mentors new writers. 

  • Raquel Vogl

    Raquel Vogl is an American writer, musician, and teacher. Raquel loves helping people find their creative voice and has taught English and writing at the City University of New York and the Queens Library.

    She is at work on a collection of short stories. In her musical life, she has released multiple records and toured the United States with her band, Persona, recently releasing a record on the label Sonido Polifonico.

Associate Groups

  • Sheffield Authors

    Formed in 2015, Sheffield Authors membership is open to everyone who considers themselves a Sheffield author. SA celebrates and showcases Sheffield's writers, provides support and advice to fellow authors through the network, offers workshops, and hosts a website. They are constantly looking for ways to connect with readers, share experience, and promote their work. They run bookstalls at various local events.

  • Sheffield Novelists

    Open to all writers working on a novel from Sheffield and the surrounding area who are interested in getting feedback on works in progress. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out, or if you already have several novels under your belt, you’ll be very welcome.

    Membership of the group is free, and it meets on the third Monday of every month at 7.30pm. To join, visit the website.

  • Lapidus Sheffield

    Lapidus Sheffield meets (mostly online) once a month to write together, with different group members facilitating a writing-for-wellbeing activity. New activities to be scheduled.

    Lapidus Sheffield is part of Lapidus International. Members come from a range of fields – writers, health workers. counsellors, therapists, teachers and more. https://www.lapidus.org.uk/writing-for-wellbeing

  • Your Group Here!

    If you’re part of a writing group, consider joining the Writers Workshop! Contact Beverley Ward for information.

Are you a published novelist, poet or nonfiction writer and fancy joining the Writers Workshop as an Associate and helping our members develop?
If so, visit the Contact page and let us know!