News | Thursday, 14th March 2019

Poet Malika Booker joins Manchester Writing School

The inaugural Poet-in-Residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company will support early career writers

Malika Booker
Malika Booker hailed Writing School as "one of the best and dynamic in the country"

Malika Booker, the poet, writer and spoken word artist, has joined Manchester Writing School as Lecturer in Creative Writing.

Booker is an international writer of poetry, radio and theatre and was the inaugural Poet-In-Residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Her first poetry collection ‘Pepper Seed’ was longlisted for the OCM Bocas Prize and shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney Centre prize in 2014.

She chaired the Forward Prizes for Poetry judging panel in 2016, and judged the Foyles Young Poet of the Year competition in the same year.

Summer school

Booker will teach on the BA (Hons) Creative Writing programme, will be supervising masters degree students, and will help the Manchester Writing School establish mentoring and development activities for early career writers through its annual Summer School.

Booker said: “This creative writing department is one of the best and dynamic in the country, with an array of prize-winning writers across genres, and I am delighted to bring my writing talents and passion for teaching and mentoring to this role.”

Andrew McMillan, Senior Lecturer at Manchester Writing School, said: “I am thrilled that Malika is joining our team of writers here at Manchester Metropolitan University; cementing us as the most exciting grouping of poets within a UK university. Malika is a world-class talent; as a writer, as a mentor, as a thinker she is peerless and fearless. Both her colleagues and her students are so lucky that she is here.”

This creative writing department is one of the best and dynamic in the country, with an array of prize-winning writers across genres, and I am delighted to bring my writing talents and passion for teaching and mentoring to this role.

Booker has worked with organisations including Arts Council England, BBC, British Council, Wellcome Trust, National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Arvon, and Hampton Court Palace.

Her short pieces for radio include ‘Bloodlines’ for BBC Radio 3 and ‘Scattered Experiences’ for BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.

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