Christina Bunce

Originally a nurse and then a medical journalist Christina is a pioneering online educator, author and academic excited by the potential of technology to transform learning and accessibility to talent development opportunities.

She is co-founder of Professional Writing Academy, delivering online learning and communities for organisations including Faber Academy, John Yorke Story and universities across the UK and Europe.

She led the set up the world’s first fully online masters in writing in 2007 - MA Professional Writing - at Falmouth University.

Christina spent the early part of the century riding the dotcom boom with zeal as the Content Director of Dr Miriam Stoppard's digital arm, experimenting with database books and as editor of a groundbreaking online editorial and community CPD resource for nurses justfornurses.co.uk. She also worked as a consultant for organisations from the NHS to pharmaceutical companies and printers helping adapt to the new world of digital communications.

Susannah Marriott

Susannah is a founding director of Professional Writing Academy and has been teaching people how to write online since 2007, when she helped develop the world’s first fully online masters degree in writing, at Falmouth University.

She works closely with PWA clients including Faber Academy, John Yorke Story and a multitude of organisations to devise and deliver engaging, practical online courses and live learning experiences that work for learners from all backgrounds around the world.

Prior to that she worked for many years in the publishing industry, as a managing and commissioning editor for publishers including Dorling Kindersley, Octopus, Watkins and Pinter & Martin, developing new ideas and authors, and building health and wellbeing lists. She has edited authors including BKS Iyengar, Penelope Leach, Sheila Kitzinger, Professor Robert Winston, Zita West, Deborah Bull, Rowan Williams and Jo Fairley.

Susannah is author of 24 books herself on yoga, meditation and complementary health, translated into 17 languages. She is a graduate of UEA.

Nic Drew

Nic is Technical Director of the Professional Writing Academy. He has led the development of the online platform supporting all the company’s courses, including in therapeutic and reflective writing.

Nic has been working in web technologies since 1997. His background is in complex web platforms and system architecture, but his specialty is in technology that transforms the way we learn and consume information.

Nic has worked for clients including Royal Air Force, RNLI, Eden Project, PricewaterhouseCoopers, HRH The Prince of Wales, Northcliffe Media.

His work has been recognised by many prestigious industry awards, including BIMA Award (British Interactive Media Association), Interactive Media Award (Interactive Media Council) and the United Nations Social Investment Pioneer Award.

Fiona Egglestone

Fiona is the face of the Professional Writing Academy community. She’s spent much of her career managing and developing communities both face-to-face and online.

She's worked on a variety of projects with adults and young people, including an arts outreach scheme for Cheltenham Borough Council and community-based projects for the YMCA in Tauranga, New Zealand.

Fiona has been with PWA since 2015, focusing on the student experience and course development.

She works with students to support them both during their course and afterwards, via the growing Alumni Area, where participants join an active and supportive international community as they continue their writing journey.

Fiona has a PGCE, MA in Professional Writing and an MFA from Falmouth University.

Sarah Farley

A technically minded content strategist, as well as an experienced business writer and editor, Sarah helps us continually develop our online classroom and works alongside our tutors to create our courses.

Drawing on her years of experience in customer service and business, she’s written stories and developed digital content for major brands, and has helped develop and nurture online learning communities.

She loves working on unusual creative projects and is a D&AD Writing for Design award winner for collaborative writing project, From Home to Home and for Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Postal Services — a unique letter exchange where children can write to and receive replies from fictional monsters.

Sarah used to run a scuba diving school in the Caribbean, but gave it up to follow the dream: being a writer. She has an MA in Professional Writing.

Kate McBarron

Kate is a writer, editor and writing for wellbeing practitioner & researcher. She is passionate about words and their ability to enhance our daily lives, from relaxation to self-discovery and workplace wellness. Kate is cofounder of WritingForLife.co.uk and founder of WriteToRelax.com.

She is a London branch coordinator for Lapidus International – a words & wellbeing organisation, and a member of NAWE (National Association of Writers in Education).

Carolyn Jess-Cooke

Carolyn lives in Glasgow with her husband and four children. Her novels have been published in 23 languages and her poetry has won many awards. Two of her books are currently optioned for film.

She holds a PhD in Literature from the Queen’s University of Belfast and is currently Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, where she researches creative writing interventions for mental health.

Carolyn founded the The Writing Depression project in 2014 to explore the links between writing and mental illness, to investigate ways that writing can support mental wellness, and fundamentally to empower anyone suffering from mental illness. She is currently leading the next phase of the project.

In March 2020 Carolyn set up the Stay-At-Home! Literary Festival, in partnership with the creative writing incubator Paper Nations, in response to Covid-19 and as a venture to provide people with accessible, eco-friendly engagement with literature.

Helen Shipman

Helen has been teaching people to write for 30 years. She has devised and delivered writing courses from adult classes for recreational writers to undergraduate and masters degrees.

Her graduates are international prizewinners and have published adult, YA and children’s fiction, non-fiction and have had screenplays produced. They cite her down-to-earth approach and clear instruction as key to their progress.

Helen is a fiction writer and was a finalist in the Independent on Sunday short story competition.

She recently retired from university teaching to concentrate on finishing a novel – a contemporary thriller about a child’s murder – and to work with groups of writers in the wider community.

Jon Sayers

Jon has written his way through his professional life as a published poet, radio playwright, advertising copywriter, occasional journalist and greetings card scribe.

He has taught creative writing in Pentonville Prison, persuasive writing at the House of Commons, copywriting in London, Beirut and Dubai, and writing for wellbeing to Barnardo’s care leavers and older women carers through the charity Open Age. He has served as chair of the poetry magazine Magma and vice chair of The Poetry Society trustees. His play, A World Full of Weeping, a supernatural thriller revolving around the poetry of W.B. Yeats was twice broadcast on Radio 4.

Jon co-coordinates the Kent and Sussex Writing and Wellbeing Network for Lapidus and is a certified Journal To The Self facilitator with the Therapeutic Writing Institute in Denver, Colorado. He also works as a transformational coach, specialising in creativity and writing.

Jo Beaver

Jo has been working in online learning for almost a decade and specialises in the development, implementation, and administration of online learning systems, and the creation of high quality e-learning that enhances the learner's educational experience.

Rosie Venner

Rosie is an award-winning digital illustrator based in Bristol. She completed a BA in Illustration at Bournemouth University and an MA in Children's Publishing at Bath Spa.

In 2019 she won the Purple Dragonfly Book Award for children's book The Ugly Bug Club.

Kathryn Godfrey

Kathryn has many years of experience as a journalist and in developing online learning products in partnership with different organisations. Her focus is always on how the online resource can best serve its audience and on how partners can work together to get the best result for both involved.

A former nurse and health visitor, Kathryn is a trained Buteyko breathing therapist where she has learnt the important relationship between how we breathe and how we feel both physically and mentally.

Claire Maguire

Claire has developed and taught online and face-to-face courses in creative writing and communications as a lecturer at the Centre for Talented Youth (CTY Ireland) at Dublin City University.

Previous to this she worked for more than 20 years as a writer and columnist with a particular interest in health and wellbeing, including for the Irish Independent, Irish Examiner, Evening Herald, Sunday Tribune and Sunday Times. She also had a successful 10-year broadcasting career with RTE and Ireland AM, and worked as Senior News Reporter and Anchor for Independent Network News Agency, Today FM and Newstalk radio stations.

The path of yoga and meditation called her to open a private school in Dublin where she has successfully helped many students navigate their life back to wholeness and wellbeing. Claire understands that there are many holistic approaches to healing, and has witnessed how writing for therapeutic purposes has a profound and positive impact on individuals. Claire wishes that for anyone who reaches out and welcomes WriteWell into their space.

Georgia Northall

Georgia is WriteWell's Marketing Lead. She completed a degree in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University in 2018 and went on to achieve certification in Digital Marketing.

About us

We're the Professional Writing Academy - a team of educators, authors, learning technologists and therapeutic writing experts.

Collectively we have decades of experience using writing and online learning to support mental health and wellbeing, and we are pioneers in building happy, engaged and creative online communities.

Click on a team member below to find out more about them.

Christina Bunce

Director

Susannah Marriott

Director

Nic Drew

Technical Director

Fiona Egglestone

Online Academy Manager

Sarah Farley

UX and content editor

Kate McBarron

Lead Tutor

Carolyn Jess-Cooke

Lead Tutor

Helen Shipman

Tutor

Jon Sayers

Tutor

Jo Beaver

Developer

Rosie Venner

Illustrator

Kathryn Godfrey

Partnership and Business Development

Claire Maguire

Community Guide

Georgia Northall

Marketing Lead

Why you're in safe hands.

WriteWell comes from the Professional Writing Academy:

Pioneers in online community building since 2007

More than 5,000 learners in 84 countries

90% average completion rate for our therapeutic and reflective writing courses

Growing new and effective ways to teach creative skills online

Tried and tested ideas from our team of educators, technologists and wellbeing experts

Meeting increased international demand for therapeutic and creative writing since the global lockdown

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