Lily Dunn

Writing well & writing to get well

I’ve been very privileged to be involved with a recent conference at Birkbeck, University of London, called Writing Well and Writing to Get Well, concerned with the links between mental health and creativity, particularly within the academy. The events happen each Friday evening, throughout May and culminate in a day conference on Saturday 27th. You…

Lost property of words

Last Saturday I left my writing book on the bus. It was red with a purple binding, with the words: ‘REACH FOR THE STARS’ embossed in gold on the front. A friend gave it to me for my birthday. I’d only recently started writing in it, and it lived beside my bed. I liked the…

Writing our way to recovery

Today, while cycling through Hackney, I had a wave of joy at a recent achievement. I think it’s called happiness. Not just the fulfilment of a personal pleasure – finishing a short story, or novel, even; getting through the day without losing my temper at my two children! – but the recognition that that personal pleasure will also…

The Fog and the Sea

Yesterday it was my birthday and also the publication day for an essay I’ve written about my father’s struggle with alcohol. You can read it here: https://granta.com/the-fog-and-the-sea/ Granta actually had a different piece of mine, which they were due to publish, when I sent the editor, Luke Neima, this piece. He liked them equally, but couldn’t…

Having fun in Higher Education

On Saturday London Lit Lab taught the new Screenwriting MA students at Bath Spa University. We were invited to do an ideas-generating session. Zoe and I took the role of Idea Hunters. We are Idea Hunters, we said (not exactly out loud). How – we asked – do we find ideas? Where are they? Are they…