Alison Stewart

We all have our stories to tell. I find mine tucked away on shelves, scribbled in exercise books, neatly typed or impressed on a page after the ink has run out but my thoughts have not. It's what I do and have done for as long as I remember but mostly in secret. It took more than thirty years after leaving school with nothing before my writing was taken seriously and I returned to study.

I completed an MA in Writing at the University of Warwick and trained to teach. I work part time at an FE college and particularly enjoy teaching an A level Creative Writing course launched by AQA in 2013.

If I could leave a message for my younger self it would be this... stop berating yourself for being a dreamer. Write and believe you can write.

Credentials

Alison Stewart in 60 seconds

When did you start writing?

1978 Under my bed covers with a torch of sorts.

What do you love about short stories?

Startling and intimate precision.

Do you write in other forms?

My first sestina got shortlisted for Bridport 2012 and I have a novel to finish.

What distracts you from writing?

Most things.

Outside of writing, what are your other passions?

J. Stewart's art and The Gillespies' bass player. Also, nothing better than a good friend, apart from a friend with a good chai latte and slab of cake.

What is your favourite book?

Always find this impossible...Time Traveler's Wife?

Who are your favourite writers?

Audrey Niffenegger, Ian McEwan and Judith Kerr - so cosy with children.

Where is your dream location?

Family home in About Time by Richard Curtis

What one item would you put into Room 101?

My procrastination.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Read and write with a passion for perseverance. Is that one piece of advice or two? Rubbish at counting.