About the Society

The Hampshire Writers’ Society was founded in 2011 by Barbara Large MBE, FRSA, HFUW. Today, the Organising Committee oversee the running of the society ensuring that the events are fun and insightful for writers in the Hampshire area. Past speakers have included well-known local authors such as Claire Fuller and Beth O’Leary, as well as agents and editors.

Gary teaches English at the University of Winchester, in particular the literature of the Romantic period. He has published widely, for example in Studies in Romanticism, Gothic Studies and New Formations. Several workshops for writers have been run by him at the Winchester Writers’ Conference, and he has been for a number of years the adjudicator of the Short Story Competition at the Hampshire Chronicle.

E: Gary.Farnell[AT]winchester.ac.uk; T: +44(0)1962 827267

Karin grew up in London and spent her career as a primary school teacher in Hampshire. She loved making up stories for her own children, and writing music and scripts for school productions. She gained an MA Writing for Children at The University of Winchester and enjoys writing children’s stories, TV and film scripts.

Since 2019 Mark has been writing science fiction and fantasy. Previously he worked as Creative Director at Quicksilva (1981-1984); a holographer, freelance writer, game designer, and entrepreneur (1984-1999); Head of Design at Rebellion (1999-2003); Course Leader and Section Lead at the University of Portsmouth (2003-2019), also completing a PhD in game design. Founded Women in Games in 2004. Advisor to games trade association TIGA (2007-2020). Awarded TIGA Person of the Year in 2017. He has written series for comics ‘2000 AD’ and ‘Sonic the Comic’ and published in Fear magazine.

E: mark[AT]eyl.es W: https://www.eyles.co.uk

After 20 years as a software engineer at IBM, Catherine left work to pursue her interest in writing. Since then she has self-published a number of fantasy novels.

E: inquiries[AT]hampshirewriterssociety.co.uk

Damon holds an MA in Creative and Critical Writing from the University of Winchester, and Ten Little Astronauts—the novella he submitted as the final project for that course—has since been accepted for publication by Unbound. He writes everything from humour to horror, and produces a brand new work of flash fiction every day during July each year. Damon also writes interactive fiction and games, and recently provided the story and dialogue for Craft Keep VR, which has been nominated for a Game of the Year award at Login Vilnius.

E: damon.l.wakes[AT]gmail.com

Lynn grew up by the sea in Devon and then spent many years living in London and Kent where she worked as a research psychologist and then had a smallholding while raising her four children. Latterly she worked as a writer for an educational publisher and has self-published a memoir. Her second book, The Interview Chain is an exploration of connections and was published by Holland House in 2021. She is currently working on her next book. 

Molly studied Creative Writing at the University of Winchester, where she discovered a love for both reading and writing fantasy and horror. She is currently working on a dark, magical realism novel and writes articles about fashion and film, which she posts on her website. 

Janey has been writing literary fiction since 2011 and has an MA in Creative and Critical Writing from the University of Winchester.

Her first novel, The Star Chamber, charts a woman’s metamorphosis and transformation through hypnotherapy & past life regression. 

She is currently working on her second novel, The Hollowing.

She previously worked as a youth counsellor and on community arts projects. She is beginning a collection of collages, interweaving photos, ephemera and words, exploring roots and loss and the links that bind us together.

After a career at IBM, Sally has retired to pursue her writing interests. With her fellow authors, she has published three books of short stories set in and around Winchester and Chandler’s Ford. 

For any queries relating to the Hampshire Writers’ Society workshops, please email showardhws@gmail.com.

Issy is studying English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Winchester. Inspired by natural landscapes and their stories, she has spent recent years involved in creative community projects, in both France and the UK, that invite reconnection to the self and environment. She is currently the chair of the allotment society at the university. Her writing is influenced by the worldly tales of folklore, and she enjoys experimenting with storytelling forms that invite others to engage with these narratives.