Luciana Medrano
I am currently a third year Creative Writing student from Bolivia at York St John University. As an international student, having the opportunity of following my passion of becoming an author is a dream come true. I’ve been creating and writing stories for as long as I can remember.
In June of 2023 I published my debut dystopian novel, ‘Golden’, with Editorial La Glorieta, a publishing house from Bolivia. It makes me so excited that it’s finally out in the world, as it is a project that I have dedicated endless hours and amounts of love to. I am currently working on the first draft of a new fantasy novel. Books are my passion, and as much as I want to be a professional, full-time author, I also strive to become part of the publishing industry as an editor and help bring out writers’ best stories.
I am the biggest fan of dystopian, fantasy, historical fiction, and romance stories and novels, so if you enjoy writing in those genres (or anything in fiction, really!), I will be the happiest to read the stories you’ve got that the world can’t wait to immerse into. <3
Becca Green
I am a third year Creative writing and English literature student at York St John University and am currently doing my placement year at Warner Bros. Discovery!
I love the writer’s community that York has to offer as it has allowed me to carry on my passions of writing and reading into my studies which is all I have ever wanted to do. Over the last year I have become so passionate about the blog as it has been such an incredible opportunity and has helped profusely in securing my placement. Working and living in London has been so amazing and a life-long dream of mine, but I am glad to be working on the blog for another year as a sense of comfort and familiarity.
During my time at a local young writers group partnered with hive South Yorkshire, I was given the opportunity for one of my poems Grand Piano to be published in the 2023 anthology After Hours. As a group we also put together our own unpublished anthology in print, which featured 3 of my poems; Dad, Saturday, and Legacy of Your Name. Both anthologies were my first taste of having my work professionally recognised and I haven’t looked back since!
I especially love reading and writing poetry. It is my favourite form of creative writing, and I particularly favour the works of Sylvia Plath and Carol Ann Duffy for their feminist voices and raw, emotional themes that are present in their writing.
Raisa Ahmed
I am a postgraduate student from London, currently studying Publishing & Creative Writing at York St John University.
For the past year, I have been working on my first novel, an adult fantasy fiction project that’s been both a new challenge and an absolute joy. My dream is to become a published author and to work within the publishing industry as an editor, supporting other writers in bringing their stories to life.
When I’m not immersed in my novel, I enjoy writing free verse poetry, often sparked by late night bursts of inspiration around 2 am. My latest reads include Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. I’m most passionate about fantasy fiction, but I’m also drawn to dystopian and romantasy stories across both young adult and adult fiction.
Ethan
I’m Ethan I’m a creative writing and publishing MA student from Wales. I’m a big lover of shorter prose whether it be fiction or nonfiction and poetry!
My favourite book at the minute is Rachel Cusk’s Parade, I love the interconnected feel that permeates the collection despite each story being completely separate from each other. My favourite author is probably Kurt Vonnegut I went on a deep dive of his bibliography this year and I’ve read about half of his stuff now.
Fun facts: I’ve been published a handful of times and I’m always looking for more, I’m in four bands as of writing and I’m huge cat lover 🙂
Laura Beddow
I’m a postgraduate student from Staffordshire studying an MA in Publishing and Creative Writing. I’ve been writing stories for as long as I’ve known how, and I feel very lucky to work with words as much as I do.
My first published short story, Harvey’s Place, was featured in the 2024 edition of the York Literary Review, and I have had four more pieces included in similar anthologies since then. I focus most of my day-to-day writing energy on my Substack blog, My Paper Trail, and slice-of-life flash fiction and short stories when the creativity strikes. For the past five years, I’ve had a time-hopping historical fiction novel on the back-burner — the kind of project that’s teaching me the value of patience, good research, and just how messy a first draft can be.
I love prose writing in any form or genre it comes in, but I have a particular appreciation for historical fiction and anything with a good twist.
Frankie
I’m currently studying an MA in Creative Writing at York St John University. I love reading and writing all fiction and don’t really have a set genre I’m interested in. Currently I run a book club in York with quite a few members and have found some great reads that way. Also, I play the ukulele, am part of the university bouldering society, and have a very cute puppy called Chewie.
I’d say my favourite books are ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee and ‘The Secret History’ by Donna Tartt. I really enjoy books that are character driven, and definitely recommend giving them a go. I got to meet one of my favourite authors, R.F. Kuang, at a book signing for Katabasis recently, which was very inspiring. Eventually I’d like to be writing novels, but for right now I’m just working on short stories and have been published a couple of times. I’m looking forward to working with you on the projects you submit!
Aimee Wade
I’m a third-year Creative Writing student at York St John University, where I’ve also had the privilege of serving as the course representative for the past two years. I’m passionate about all things writing and love being part of the wider literary community.
I’m currently working on several novel projects and developing my social media presence as a writer. My work spans multiple genres, but lately I’ve been drawn to exploring political and social themes through both dystopian and historical fiction. I take inspiration from authors such as George Orwell and Ursula K. Le Guin, whose works use storytelling as a form of social commentary — something I aim to reflect in my own writing.
Alongside fiction, I’m also deeply passionate about poetry. I use it as a space to explore similar ideas, often focusing on environmental issues, animal welfare, and the human condition. I’m currently developing a poetry anthology titled R-A-W, which delves into the intersections between cruelty, nature, and survival. My published work includes a poem on dementia featured in the Beyond the Walls anthology.
