Biographies
Jess is a queer, disabled writer and performer. Their debut novel Dear Lina was commissioned by Audible and published in 2020. It has been called 'A queer dystopia for our troubled times'. Read more about it here.
Jess was awarded second place in the Dinesh Allirajah Prize for short fiction 2024 for her uncanny short story ‘Hairless’. Other short fiction has appeared in anthologies for Spread the Word, For Books' Sake, and Waywords. In addition, their work has appeared in Novelty Magazine, Severine Lit, The Tiny Narrative blog, and on Dear Damsels. Her play ‘Dyke Drama’ was longlisted for BOLD Playwrights 2024.
They write alongside an incredible, inspiring creative collective of writers who met through the Write Like a Grrrl course.
They are currently working on a horror/weird fiction short story collection, a memoir about living with (and nearly dying from) endometriosis, and second novel: a gothic story drawing on their years of working in professional theatre.
Jess performs their fiction at spoken word nights and events, and can be booked via the contact page here. They are also a singer and Drag King.
Jess has run theatre workshops and worked as a teacher for fifteen years, working with children, teenagers, students and adult professionals. This year, she hopes to start teaching writing workshops. For workshop enquiries, please click on the contact me page.
Jess is often to be found procrastinating with cake.