Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and Creative Industries
I currently teach on: MA Publishing and MA Creative Writing programmes and the undergraduate creative writing modules Writing Fiction, Scriptwriting and Working with Words. I also supervise student projects at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD level.
I am also involved with: York Literature Festival
tell us about yourself!
Where did you study? I studied English Literature and Language, graduating from the University College of Ripon and York St. John in 1999. I then spent ten years in the book retail industry, focusing upon event management. In 2010, I became a literature and creative writing tutor in the lifelong learning sector as well as undertaking an MA in Literature at York St. John University, graduating in 2012. My PhD – once again, studied at York St John University – is also in Literature Studies and explored the depiction of monsters and landscapes as social commentary in the work of China Miéville. My research focuses upon genre theories, science fiction and fantasy, contemporary fiction, and creative writing. I also work within the creative industries, specializing in literary events. I am Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the York Literature Festival.
What is the primary genre you write in? I primarily write in the genres of fantasy, science fiction and horror but I also love the experimentation of weird fiction. I am currently attempting to write a science fiction novel.
Who are the writers who have influenced you the most? As well as China Miéville, I also admire the work of Ursula Le Guin, N. K. Jemisin, Jeff VanderMeer and Neil Gaiman.
What did you read as a child? All my current passions developed from a childhood appreciation for C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the fantastical worlds of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks and the 80s/90s TV show Knightmare.
What is so appealing about working at YSJ? I have been a lecturer at York St John University since January 2020 and I love the community feel of the institution, the wonderful creative writing team, and the inspirational students.
what have you had published?
Academic publications
- O’Connor, R. “A Tentacular Teratology: The Abcanny Monstrous”. Fantastika Journal. Vol 6, Issue 1, February 2022, p56-72. [Electronic Journal]
- O’Connor, R. “More Human than Humans: Replicants, Memories and Posthuman Identity in Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049”. Blade Runner 2049 and Philosophy, edited by Robin Bunce and Trip McCrossin, Open Court Publishing, 2019.
- O’Connor, R. “A Tourist Guide to Besźel and Ul Qoma: Unseeing, the Brutality of Borders and the Re-interpretation of Psychogeography in China Miéville’s The City and the City”. The Luminary, no.7, 2016, pp. 75-87.
- O’Connor, R. “A Novel in Every Genre: China Miéville and the problems of genre classification in the twenty-first century”.Vector: The Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association, no. 282, 2016, pp. 10-15.
Conference papers
- O’Connor, R. ‘“The Navel Between Cities”: Copula Hall and the representation of Borders and Interstitial Space in China Mieville’s The City & The City’. Walls and Barriers: Science Fiction in the Age of Brexit Conference. Sept 2020, Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy, Anglia Ruskin University [online].
- O’Connor, R. “A (New) World Teratolology: The tentacular monster as abcanny body in the work of China Miéville”. Embodying Fantastika Conference, Aug 2019, Lancaster University.
- O’Connor, R. “Ted Chiang and the Deferred Effect: “Afterwardsness” in the Science Fiction Worlds of Exhalation and Story of Your Life”. After Fantastika Conference, July 2018, Lancaster University.
- O’Connor, R. “The Fantastical Flâneur: Social Commentary in China Miéville’s Map of New Crobuzon”. International Conference of the Fantastic in the Arts, Mar 2017, Orlando, Florida.
- O’Connor, R. “Weird Pictures, Monster Mansions and Time Pockets: Gothic Obscurities and Temporal Displacement in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”. Temporal Discombobulations Conference, Aug 2016, University of Surrey.
Creative writing
- O’Connor, R. “Storm”. Over Yonder: An Anthology. Greenteeth Press, 2021.
- O’Connor, R. “Flicker”. Horrifying Tales, Greenteeth Press, 2021.
- O’Connor, R. “Going Home”. Science Fiction for Survival: An Anthology for Mars, edited by R. Edgar and L. King, Valley Press, 2019.
- O’Connor, R. “The Beekeeper”. The Pollination Project Anthology, York St John University, 2017.
- October 2017, Short Story judging panel, The Big City Read Flash Fiction Competition.
- O’Connor, Rob. “Dawning”. Threads, University of Brighton, 2016.
- November to December 2014: short story judging panel, Aesthetica Creative Writing Award.
You can find more about Dr Rob O’Connor and other members of York St John’s staff on the university’s website.
Or, you can stay here and check out more of our Creative Writing Staff Profiles.