This text was written for a talk on leadership, given at Bath Spa Uni, 11 May, 2021.

When I was interviewed for my first academic job – a 0.5 Readership in Creative Writing and New Media – in 2005, I was asked by the Dean of the School where I saw myself in five years’ time. I replied, ‘Doing your job,’ which was my idea of a joke given how far I was from a) understanding how universities work and b) being interested in academic leadership or management of any kind. The Dean was not amused. But I did get the job.

And, for the record, I still have zero interest in becoming a Dean.

So how did I get there, to that Readership? Well, I’ll back track and give you a little personal history.

My first book, a book of short stories called Tiny Lies, came out in 1989 when I was a mere sprite. [Read more…]