Elaine Ewart

National award-winning poet and winner of the inaugural Fenland Poet Laureate Awards in 2012, Elaine Ewart is currently studying for an MA in ‘Wild Writing: Literature and the Environment’, at the University of Essex. She writes poetry and short fiction, as well as creative non-fiction about the natural world. Elaine, a former lawyer, lives in Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Her poetry blog can be found at: www.flightfeather.wordpress.com

Credentials

Elaine Ewart in 60 seconds

When did you start writing?

I have written stories ever since I was very young.

What do you love about short stories?

I love the challenge of creating a whole believable world in a short space of time. Also, the opportunity for open-endedness and surprise.

Do you write in other forms?

I also write poetry and creative non-fiction.

What distracts you from writing?

Internet videos of ravens pushing snowballs down hills. Stuff like that.

Outside of writing, what are your other passions?

I am passionate about wildlife conservation and choral singing.

What is your favourite book?

Villette by Charlotte Bronte.

Who are your favourite writers?

Alice Munro, and Penelope Fitzgerald have written some amazing short stories and I also admire the work of the poet Kathleen Jamie.

Where is your dream location?

On a remote Scottish island with seabirds. But not for too long.

What one item would you put into Room 101?

Misplaced apostrophes. (A rash reply, perhaps…)

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Keep going.