Book Review Competition 2025: Call for Entries!

Recently, our popular review blog, Everybody’s Reviewing, passed half a million readers. To celebrate this milestone, Everybody’s Reviewing and the Centre for New Writing are running a book review competition. 

The competition is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students in the School of Arts, Media & Communication at the University of Leicester. First prize is £100 in Amazon gift vouchers. There will also be two second prizes of £25 each in vouchers. All entries will be considered for publication on the website. 

All you have to do is write a short book review (200-400 words) of a book you’ve read recently and enjoyed. The review should be positive overall. The book you choose doesn’t have to be new: it can be any work of fiction, creative non-fiction or poetry from any time, by any author. Please include a short (2-line) biography of yourself at the end of the review. 

Please send your entries (no more than one per student) to this email address: everybodysreviewing@gmail.com. You can also use the same email address for any queries you have about the competition. 

The deadline for submissions is 9am on Monday 23 June 2025. 

Nearly Easter News 2025

It's been a while since our last News post, and lots has been happening in the last few months in the Centre for New Writing, so here is an update on student and staff news at Leicester. Congratulations and thanks to everyone who helps make this such a vibrant place to be! You can read our previous News article, from November 2024, here. 

News

Firstly, congratulations to all the MA Creative Writing students and MA Modern and Contemporary Literature and Creative Writing students who graduated in January 2025!

Congratulations to everyone involved in the hugely successful Literary Leicester Festival, 19th to the 22nd March 2025. It was an amazing celebration of literature, with lots of different events and authors. Special congratulations here to all the students involved in this year's Creative Writing Student Showcase, who made it such a brilliant event. Speakers included Sonya Hundal, Anna Walsh, Joe Bedford, Aidan Trulove, Laura Besley, Olivia Peachey, Kimaya Patil, Cate Morris, Shauna Strathmann, Daneil Hibberd, Nina Walker, Aarini Mehta, Sandra Shaji, Dave Clarke. 

There have also been lots of wonderful Centre for New Writing events this term with visiting authors and writing professionals. You can read about this term's guest masterclasses and workshops here. There are still more to come after Easter, including a public masterclass by Kit de Waal on Tuesday 13 May (see details here), a talk by author Sophie Haydock on 30 April (see details here), and the Annual Creative Writing Lecture, this year given by Eimear McBride on 6 May (see details here). 

Everybody's Reviewing, our review blog, has now had over 500,000 readers, and Creative Writing at Leicester has now had 350,000 readers! Thanks to all our authors, editors, students, reviewers, bloggers and readers. If you've not done so already, do have a look at our "Favourite Reads of 2024" round-up on Everybody's Reviewing here.  

Rosalind Adam, MA Creative Writing graduate, has had her poem "Decomissioned" published in Amethyst Review here. 

Kirsten Arcadio has reviewed Android Author by Sapphira Olson on Everybody's Reviewing here. Kirsten has now completed her PhD - congratulations! 

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Laura Besley, who was named as a Top Tier Finalist in the Globe Soup Open Short Story Competition 2024. You can see more details here. She also won Second Prize in the Cranked Anvil Flash Fiction Competition. You can read her prize-winning story, "Perhaps on a Summer's Day," here. Her story "Like a Memory or Maybe Only a Dream" was shortlisted for the Mini Welkin Writing Prize. You can read it here. Laura's story "That meeting point where something is as close as it is far away" was runner-up in the Flash Fiction Festival Online Competition. You can read it here. Laura's story "When We Were Raucous" has been published by The Manchester Review here. 

Congratulations to New Walk Editions, which is co-directed by Nick Everett, and which was shortlisted for this year's Michael Marks Awards for poetry pamphlet publishers!

MA Creative Writing graduate Tracey Foster has reviewed The Path of Peace: Walking the Western Front Way by Anthony Seldon for Everybody's Reviewing here, and Fewer Better Things by Glenn Adamson here. Tracey's haiku was longlisted for the Haiku Foundation's competition on the theme of dreams. You can read her haiku and other longlisted entries here. 

Kim Wiltshire has reviewed The Granite Kingdom by PhD graduate Tim Hannigan on Everybody's Reviewing here. 

Kathy Hoyle, PhD Creative Writing student, has stories published in both the Northern Gravy Children's and Young Readers' Anthology and the Northern Gravy Fiction Anthology. Her story "Cockleshell Girl" has been nominated by South Florida Poetry Journal for Best Small Fiction 2024. Kathy's story "Humbug Shark" is published by Does It Have Pockets? here. Kathy's story "Gallows Pole" has also been nominated for Best Microfiction by New Flash Fiction Review. In March, Kathy chaired a discussion at Sunderland Museum with author Louise Powell about oral history and poetry. You can read more about this discussion here. Kathy has interviewed Louise Powell for Everybody's Reviewing here. 

BA Journalism student Saskia Kabongo undertook work experience on Everybody's Reviewing for a couple of weeks in February. She interviewed authors Lisa Bent and Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm for the site, and reviewed Loveless by Alice Osman here, Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid here, and Me Before You by Jojo Moyes here. Congratulations and thanks to Saskia! 

Congratulations to Amirah Mohiddin, who passed her viva for her PhD in Creative Writing in November. You can read more about Amirah's PhD project on Creative Writing at Leicester here. 

Congratulations to Creative Writing graduate Hannah Mitchell, whose essay "Three" has been published on The Audacity here.

Anna O'Sullivan, MA Modern and Contemporary Literature and Creative Writing graduate, has written about her MA Dissertation in Creative Writing here. 

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Cathi Rae, who passed her viva in December! Congratulations too for the re-publication of her poetry collection, Your Cleaner Hates You, by Coalville C.A.N. You can read more about the collection here. One of the directors of the publisher is MA Creative Writing graduate Constantine. 

Sally Shaw has reviewed Red Runs the Witch's Thread by Victoria Williamson for Everybody's Reviewing here. 

Extracts from Jonathan Taylor's memoir, A Physical Education: On Bullying, Discipline & Other Lessons, have been published on MIT's Press Reader here.  His article "Ten Things I Wish I'd Known About Bullying" is in the Morning Star here. His article for the charity Kidscape, "Bullying Is ...", is published here. 

PhD Creative Writing student Jane Simmons has four poems featured in the new anthology Lincolnshire Folk Tales Reimagined, ed. Anne Milon and Rory Waterman (Five Leaves, 2025).

PhD student Nina Walker has written about Amateur Hour's second zine and her experience of workshopping with this group of graduates and students on Creative Writing at Leicester here.  

Anna Walsh, MA Creative Writing student, has written about the regular Leicester event "Rough Draft" on Creative Writing at Leicester here. 

Congratulations to Harry Whitehead, whose novel White Road will be published by Claret Press in September 2025! You can read more about it here. On the 22nd April 2025, Harry will be reading from his novel and talking to Kevan Manwaring as part of the "Writing the Earth" online event hosted by Bournemouth Arts University. You can sign up for this free event here. 

PhD Creative Writing student Lee Wright has reviewed Father's Father's Father by Dane Holt on Everybody's Reviewing here, The Viaduct by David Wheldon here, and Two Sisters by Blake Morrison here. His personal essay, "Old Oslo," is published by Cigarette Fire Literary Magazine here. 

Summer News 2023

Lots has been happening in the Centre for New Writing at the University of Leicester since our last News post (which you can read here), so we thought it was time for an update ...

Firstly, our well-known review site, Everybody's Reviewing, has recently passed 250,000 readers! Thank you to everyone involved over the years: our reviewers, interviewers, interviewees, readers and editors. We've also recently redesigned the site, and now have an Instagram account too (@everybodyreview). Creative Writing at Leicester has a new Twitter account: @cwaleicester.

Congratulations to MA Creative Writing graduate Rosalind Adam, whose poem "Market Square" has been published by Songs of Eretz Poetry Review here. 

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Joe Bedford, whose story "Maria" won third prize in the Evening Standard's Stories Competition 2023. You can read Joe's story here. And not only that: Joe's story "The Christening" was shortlisted for the prestigious ALCS-Tom Gallon Trust Prize, run by the Society of Authors. You can see the shortlist here. Joe has also written an article for Everybody's Reviewing: "A Book That Changed Me: Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh," which you can read here. 

Congratulations to MA Creative Writing student Laura Besley, whose story "Safe" was shortlisted for the Free Flash Fiction Competition. You can read Laura's story here. Laura's story "More Than Sleep" has also been published by 50-Word Stories. You can read it here.

Louise Brown, MA Creative Writing graduate, has reviewed Eastmouth and Other Stories by Alison Moore on Everybody's Reviewing here. 

Tracey Foster, MA Creative Writing graduate, has written a review for Everybody's Reviewing, "Punk: Rage and Revolution," which you can read here. She has also started a new writing blog called Small Sublime, which you can see here. 

Beth Gaylard, PhD Creative Writing student, is editor of Frontier, University of Leicester's journal for PGR students. You can read the current issue here, which also includes an essay by Joe Bedford, "‘Giving Succour’ to Fascism? Nationalism, Indigeneity and Conspiracy in the work of Paul Kingsnorth."

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Kathy Hoyle, whose novella-in-flash, Chasing the Dragon, has been published by Alien Buddha Press. Kathy launched the book at a brilliant online event co-hosted by Writers' HQ on Thursday 6th July. You can watch a recording of the launch event on Youtube here. You can read more about Chasing the Dragon on Creative Writing at Leicester here. Kathy has also interviewed author Lisa Blower for Everybody's Reviewing here. 

Congratulations to undergraduate Creative Writing students Joseph Joyce, Mariam Lulat, and Emily Wood, who are joint winners of this year's John Coleman Creative Writing Prize for undergraduate prose submissions. 

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing graduate Hannah Stevens, whose book of stories, In Their Absence, has been translated into Bulgarian by Ana Pipeva, as Когато ги няма. It's published by Altera and is available from Helikon books.

Congratulations to Shauna Strathman, BA English with Creative Writing student, who is winner of this year's G. S. Fraser Poetry Prize. 

Jonathan Taylor, Associate Professor of Creative Writing, has published his new book of short stories, Scablands and Other Stories. You can read a complete story from the collection on Creative Writing at Leicester here. 

Paul Taylor-McCartney, PhD Creative Writing graduate, has written a review of Connective Tissue by Jane Fraser, which you can read on Everybody's Reviewing here. 

Harry Whitehead, Associate Professor of Creative Writing, has published a piece of creative non-fiction in Hinterland Magazine, called "On Dead Chickens." 

Lisa Williams, MA Creative Writing graduate, has published her story "Swipe and Pay on the Last Bus of the Day" on Friday Flash Fiction here. She has reviewed The Last Dance by Mark Billingham on Everybody's Reviewing here. Lisa will be featured on Leicester Community Radio every Thursday, reading her 100-word stories. 

Christmas News 2022

It's been a busy term, and before we break up for the holidays, we'd like to share some of the recent news from students and staff at the University of Leicester.

 

Third-year Journalism with Creative Writing student Ayan Artan continues to publish non-fiction articles. You can read two recent articles by Ayan here and here. 

MA Creative Writing graduate Jess Bacon continues to write and publish numerous articles for magazines and newspapers, including an article on Matilda the Musical, storytelling and trauma for the Metro, which you can read here. 

Congratulations to MA Creative Writing student Laura Besley, whose story "No Matter What" has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Sunlight Press. You can see more details here. Laura's micro-fiction, "At the fairground," was recently published by Paragraph Planet, and Laura's story, "A Closed Book," was published by 101 Words here. 

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Andrew Craven-Griffiths, who recently passed his PhD viva. 

Congratulations to Kit de Waal, whose memoir Without Warning and Only Sometimes was recently named by The Guardian as one of their "Best Memoirs and Biographies of 2022." More details here. 

November saw the publication of the two latest New Walk Editions pamphlets of poetry, co-edited by Nick Everett in the Centre for New Writing: Rebecca Farmer’s A Separate Appointment and William Thompson’s After Clare. See here for further details - and to order copies!

MA Creative Writing graduate Tracey Foster has reviewed Modern Nature by Derek Jarman for Everybody's Reviewing here. 

MA Creative Writing graduate Thilsana Gias has reviewed The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-Mi Hwang for Everybody's Reviewing here. 

Undergraduate English with Creative Writing student Jess Hollis recently performed her poetry at Word! in Leicester. 

Congratulations to PhD Creative Writing student Kathy Hoyle, winner of the prestigious Bath Flash Fiction Award. You can read her winning story, "The Metamorphosis of Evaline Jackson" here.

Felicity James's essay on Elizabeth Gaskell, "String Is My Foible," has been published by Slightly Foxed Quarterly. 

Congratulations to Karen Powell, who recently passed her PhD in Creative Writing. Her thesis was entitled Bloodlines: Exploring Family History in Poetry. 

Congratulations to English with Creative Writing student Georgia Sanderson, winner of the inaugural Belvoir Prize for Poetry. 

PhD Creative Writing student Jane Simmons has reviewed Standing Up with Blake by Philip Dunn on Everybody's Reviewing here and Kathryn Simmonds's Scenes from Life on Earth here. 

Congratulations to second-year English with Creative Writing student Shauna Strathmann, winner of this year's G. S. Fraser Prize. You can read two of her winning poems here. 

Jonathan Taylor's book of short stories, Scablands and Other Stories, will be published by Salt Publishing later in 2023. 

Congratulations to second-year English with Creative Writing student Sara Waheed, winner of this year's John Coleman Prize. You can read her winning story here. 

Harry Whitehead's groundbreaking research project, Creative Climates: Creatively Communicating the Climate and Biosphere Emergency, which links artists and writers with climate change researchers to create new art, received developmental funding from Leicester Institute of Advanced Studies (LIAS). 

MA Creative Writing graduate Lisa Williams's seasonal story, "I Believe," has been published by Friday Flash Fiction here. Her story "The Split" has also been published by Friday Flash Fiction here. 

Wishing everyone a happy Christmas and New Year from Creative Writing and the Centre for New Writing at the University of Leicester!