G. F. Phillips

Gordon Phillips could have gone into the print trade like his father, but 'he was never any good with his hands.' Leaving St Albans and work as an office clerk he crossed the North/South divide and became a mature student at Newcastle University. Here he specialised in writing, memory and culture for his MA. He has written articles, essays, book and theatre reviews for various magazines through the University of Chichester, Education Review, Arts North and The Good Book Guide of Whitakers. His poems have been published in Australia, the USA and Britain, in school textbooks and anthologies like New Angles by Oxford University Press and Enjoying English by MacMillan. His short story, Going Backwards to Go Forwards was recorded for the audio website listenupnorth along with several other short stories and poems. He has worked on several collaborations with composers, including a multi-media project with Essex schoolchildren called Five Operas, two classical music song cycles and a folksong cycle of northern sketches that provided training for two schoolgirl singers and composers. At the moment, he is completing the lyrics for a folksong cycle about the history of St Mary's Island on North Tyneside. He has worked part-time as an Adult Education Tutor on Literature and Creative Writing courses run by the WEA (Workers' Education Association) and Newcastle City Council. In 2011 he won a Northern Voices Award. He is a member of The Society of Authors and The Performing Right Society.

Credentials

G. F. Phillips in 60 seconds

When did you start writing?

At home and in my dreams

What do you love about short stories?

Playing with ideas about time and space

Do you write in other forms?

poetry, songs, song lyrics, essays, articles, book reviews

What distracts you from writing?

Paying the bills

Outside of writing, what are your other passions?

Theatre, philosophy, pedestrianism: town and country walks

What is your favourite book?

Metamorphosis

Who are your favourite writers?

Franz Kafka, Albert Camus and D. H. Lawrence

Where is your dream location?

A quiet riverbank

What one item would you put into Room 101?

Footballers who spit

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Try and kill off your favourite master or mistress storyteller