Writing

My work spans poetry, plays, interactive fiction, and non-fiction. I was the winner of the Creative Future Writer's Award for poetry (2024), and a member of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective. I was shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Prize (2025) and the Hastings Book Festival Poetry Prize (2024), and longlisted for Nine Arches Press' Primers (2025). In 2023, I was commissioned by Chronic Insanity's Digital Literary Department. My work has been featured on BBC Upload and BBC Radio Oxford as well as in the publications listed below.

 

I'm an experienced facilitator, having delivered writing workshops for Creative Future, Fusion Arts, Oxford Brookes University, the Ashmolean Museum, and Oxford Playhouse. I've run workshops for young people, homeless and vulnerably housed people, and those living with mental illness. I founded Getting Started with Poetry, Oxford Poetry Library's flagship workshop series, and facilitated monthly sessions for those new to writing poetry from 2022-2023. I remain part of the OPL volunteer coordination team. 

I am always excited to facilitate more, and offer affordable and flexible workshops and mentoring. This includes:

Poetry workshops for beginners, in community settings, and for more experienced poets. I’ve been told I run 'well-led and gentle open space[s]… with everyone given time and care' and that my workshops for those further along in their writing were ‘the most productive I’ve ever been to’. My workshops centre enjoyment, meaning, and connection. I can develop workshops specifically for you, or if you are on a budget (eg. charities and community groups), I may be able to charge a reduced fee for a workshop I’ve run before, with themes including nature, the everyday, poetic portraits, or giving thanks.

Zine-making workshops: I can help groups create zines from inception to final creation, including learning what a zine is and where they come from, creating a zine on a set theme or through a co-creative process, and design and editing. Contact me for past examples.

 

Mentoring: I mentor young people, new poets, and more experienced poets working towards a specific project. Mentoring is tailored to you, but might include editing support, reading suggestions, exercises, and discussion of who you want to be as a poet. I can help you work on recurring habits or obstacles in your writing, and understand what it is you want your poems to be doing.

You can contact me here: hello@mayalittle.co.uk and read a full list of publications below: