Dr Philippa Holloway

Senior Lecturer

Digital, Tech, Innovation & Business

Philippa is an author and active researcher in prose fiction (short stories and novels) and creative non-fiction. Her main research interests include psychogeography, nuclear landscapes, creative processes and methodologies and creative pedagogy.

I am an Author and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing with a specialism prose fiction and creative non-fiction.

After completing my degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, I enjoyed a career developing and teaching bespoke First Aid and Health and Safety courses, while working closely with paramedics to provide medical cover for various sporting and arts events. During this time I continued writing, and undertook a part-time MA in Creative Writing, and my short fiction/non-fiction/research is now published in the US, Canada, Australia, S. Africa, Europe and the UK in various publications including Ascent, Bukker Tillibul, New Contrast, Litro, Nightjar Press, Lunate, The Commonwealth Writers, New Writing and The Conversation. My debut novel, The Half-life of Snails is published by Parthian Books (2022).

I have won prizes in various literary awards including the Rhys Davies Prize, the Fish Publishing Prize and the Writers and Artists Working Class Writers Prize. My short memoir 'Energy Crisis' was highly commended in the inaugural New Welsh Writing Awards, from which I was commissioned to curate a special feature for the New Welsh Reader on artistic responses to nuclear power stations and landscapes entitled ‘Power in the Land?’ drawing on collaborative work undertaken with visual/digital artists and poets. This fed into my Doctoral Research, and I visited Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone as research for my PhD, which used an autoethnographic approach to examine nuclear psychogeography as a methodology for fiction writing. I am also Writer in Residence at Hack Green Nuclear Bunker.

Prior to my Academic career I taught writing workshops for the Mental Health Charity MIND, helping a number of participants achieve publishing success, and have led interactive writing sessions at literary/arts festivals. More recently I was the Hedge Arts Short Fiction Competition Judge in 2018, the Future U Lockdown Diaries Judge 2020 and the Future U Outside the Window Judge 2021. I am a member of University of Liverpool’s Literature and Science Research Hub and contributed to the Material Cultures of Energy research group and the Cognitive Sensations project, as am a peer-reviewer for New Writing: The International Journal of Creative Writing Theory and Practice. I co-founded and co-curated the 100 Words of Solitude: Global Voices in Lockdown project and co-edited the subsequent print collection (Rare Swan Press, 2021).

Professional memberships and activities

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Academic qualifications

PhD, Borderlands: A Novel and Poetics Autoethnographically examining Nuclear Psychogeography as a Methodology for Fiction Writing, Edge Hill University, 2019
Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education, Edge Hill University
MA in Creative Writing, Bangor University
BA (hons) English Literature with Creative Writing, University of Wales, Bangor

Expertise

Prose Fiction (long and short form)
Creative Non-Fiction
Creative Writing Process Theory
Creative Writing Pedagogy
Nuclearity and Nuclear Issues
Psychogeography
Landscapes and Settings in Writing and Literature
Energy Communication and Narratives
Interdisciplinary Methodologies and Collaborations

Research interests

Prose Fiction (long and short form)
Creative Non-Fiction
Creative Writing Process Theory
Creative Writing Pedagogy
Nuclearity and Nuclear Issues
Eco-critical writing
Psychogeography
Landscapes and Settings in Writing and Literature
Energy Communication and Narratives
Interdisciplinary Methodologies and Collaborations

Enterprise and commercial interests

I been commissioned to contribute to several projects related to energy production and use, and associated communication methods, including the Material Cultures of Energy Project, for which I delivered a guest workshop and co-authored a section of the Energy Communications Toolkit (2021). I am currently working with scholars at Lancaster University to support their Nuclear Futures interdisciplinary research project, and have previously contributed to knowledge exchange activities at the Tate Liverpool to engage the public with writing and artistic representations of energy use and production in literature (Made From Light, 2018).

I am the Writer in Residence at Hack Green Nuclear Bunker, engaging the public in writing activities as well as producing new work for the Cultural Fallout publication.

I am the co-founder and co-curator of the 100 Words of Solitude global writing project, begun during lockdown to unite writers and readers across the world in literary documentation of the pandemic, and now moving forward to capture responses to the pandemic as it evolves and we re-establish a ‘new normal’. This involves liaising with the European publishers Rare Swan Press and Literati Magazine to network and promote new writing.

I have an established network of interdisciplinary professionals including visual artists, nuclear experts and museum curators.

Teaching

Undergraduate

Storytelling
Narratology
Microfictions
The Art of the Short Story
Characterisation
Form and Structure in Prose
Creative Non-Fiction
Non-Fiction Research Methodologies and Ethics
Creative Research Methodologies
Creative Writing Theory and Practice
Professional Editorial Practice
Critical Reflective Practice
Psychogeography
The Art of the Personal Essay
Curatorship
Professional Writing
Embodied Research
Writing Identities
Researching and Writing Place and Settings
Creative Problem-Solving

Independent projects

Postgraduate supervision

PhD supervision
The Novel
Creative Writing Research and Practice

Philippa welcomes PhD enquires in Prose writing, especially those related to landscape/setting, nuclear issues, psychogeography and/or family dynamics.

Publications

Commissions/works in progress:

Holloway, P., and Jordan-Baker, C. (eds) (tbc) Settings:‌ ‌Writing‌ ‌Landscape‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌Anthropocene‌ ‌and‌ ‌Beyond.

Recently published:

Holloway, P. (2022) The Half-Life of Snails. Cardigan: Parthian Books

Holloway, P. (2022) 'Five Walks to Save the World: How Psychogeography Can Help you Confront the Climate Crisis'. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/five-walks-to-save-the-world-how-psychogeography-can-help-you-confront-the-climate-crisis-178239

Holloway, P. (2022) Borders. For the ‘Notes of Solidarity' with Ukraine series. Wales Art Review. (March 2022)

https://www.walesartsreview.org/philippa-holloway-borders/

Holloway, P. (guest) (2022)'Psychogeography with Dr. Philippa Holloway' Your Brain on Climate podcast.

https://www.yourbrainonclimate.com/1817605/10116997-psychogeography-with-dr-philippa-holloway

Holloway, P., (2021) ‘Walking in Imaginary Shoes: Psychogeographic Approaches for Fiction Writing.’ NAWE, Writing in Practice: The Journal of Creative Writing Research.

Holloway, P., (2021) ‘A Cloud of Starlings’ in Take a Bite: The Rhys Davies Short Story Award Anthology. Cardigan: Parthian

Alexis‐Martin, B., Turnbull, J., Bennett, L., Holloway, P., et al. ‘Nuclear Geographies and Nuclear Issues.’ In International Encyclopaedia of Geography (eds D. Richardson, N. Castree, M.F. Goodchild, A. Kobayashi, W. Liu and R.A. Marston). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg2109

Holloway, P. and Holloway, S., (eds) (2021). 100 Words of Solitude: Global Literary Responses to Covid-19 Lockdowns. Geneva: Rare Swan Press.

Holloway, P., (2021). ‘The Weight of a Shoe.’ Lunate.

Holloway, P. & Lynall, G., (2021). ‘Power Lines: Energy Narratives,’ in Energy Communications Toolkit. Material Cultures of Energy, AHRC funded national research project.

Holloway, P. and Holloway, S., (curators/eds) (2020-) 100 Words of Solitude. https://100wordsofsolitude.wordpress.com/

Holloway, P., (2020). ‘100 Words of Solitude: A Lockdown Inspired Anthology. How we turned lockdown isolation into a global polyphonic collection.’ Writers and Artists.

Holloway, P., (2020). ‘No Blue Skies’. Literati Magazine.

Holloway, P., (2020). ‘Skill set’. Commonwealth Writers.

Holloway, P., (2019). ‘The Last Firework’. Lunate.

Holloway, P., (2019) ‘Entering the City – Embodied Perception and the Digital World’. Commissioned by: Cognitive Perceptions. [online] Available from: https://www.cognitivesensations.com/blog/entering-the-city-embodied-perception-and-the-digital-world-nbsp

Holloway, P., (2019). ‘Handprints’. Narrative Research Group Anthology.

Holloway, P., (2018). ‘Cold War’. Cultural Fallout. Hack Green Nuclear Bunker

Holloway, P., (2018). ‘Half-lives’. Cultural Fallout. Hack Green Nuclear Bunker

Holloway, P., Heeley, K., and Evans, J., (2018). ‘Syllable’. Cultural Fallout. (Words by Kea Heeley and Jason Evans, Fusion created by Philippa Holloway)

Holloway, P., (2018). The Message. Nightjar Press: Manchester

Holloway, P., McDonald, R., and Behan, A., (2018). ‘Tell Me: A poem for the Nuclear Industry.’ Tate Exchange – Made From Light. University of Liverpool Literature and Science Hub. (words by Robert McDonald and Anthony Behan, Fusion created by Philippa Holloway)

Holloway, P., (2018). ‘The ‘Wicked’ Problem of developing critical understanding in Creative Writing Students.’ New Writing: The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing. Taylor and Francis

Holloway, P., (2017). ‘Light Up’ in The Scythe Prize Anthology 2017. Rusty Scythe Publishing: Nebraska

Holloway, P., (2017). ‘Undetermined’ in The Fish Prize Anthology 2017. Bantry, Ireland.

Holloway, P., (2017). ‘A Sudden Rush of Air’ Litro Story Sunday feature. [online] https://www.litro.co.uk/?s=a+sudden+rush+of+air

Holloway, P., (2016). ‘Exploring History’ Travel Expert.

Holloway, P., (2016). ‘Piracy and Process: Plagiarism Within the Act of Creative Writing’ in Exploring Creative Writing. (Ed Harper, G). Cambridge Scholars Press: Cambridge.

Holloway, P., (2016). ‘Follow the Pylons’ essay in New Welsh Reader #111. Aberystwyth, UK.

Holloway, P., (2016). ‘Power in the Land? Special Feature.’ New Welsh Reader. Aberystwyth.

A Commission to curate a selection of essays, poetry and artwork, comprising artwork by the X10 Art Collaboration, and contributions from the poets Carol Rumens, Phil Bowen and Alys Conran.

Holloway, P., (2015) ‘Energy Crisis: A Memoir of Summer.’ New Welsh Reader #108. Aberystwyth.

Holloway, P., (2015) ‘Manhattan Skyline’ in New Contrast: SA Literary Journal 169. Claremont: South Africa.

Holloway, P., (2015) ‘The Capybara’ in Communion Magazine. Tasmania, AU: Walleah Press

Holloway, P., (2014) ‘Silent Walls’ in Ascent Magazine, Moorhead, MN: Concordia College

Holloway, P., (2013) ‘Ultraviolet Radiation’ in Bukker Tillibul: Australian Journal of Creative Writing and Practice-led Research, Victoria, AU: Swinburne College.

philippa.holloway@staffs.ac.uk