“I believe the stories we tell can enhance our appreciation of the natural world. They can even change the world we live in.”
Dr Kevan Manwaring (FHEA) is Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Arts University Bournemouth. A BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinkers 2022 finalist, his research focuses on ecology, emergent forms, and Fantasy. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Hawthornden, and the Eccles Centre for American Studies (British Library), plus an Honorary Associate of the Open University. He is the author of the interactive novel Hyperion, The Long Woman, Lost Islands, and editor of Heavy Weather: tempestuous tales of stranger climes (The British Library) as well as collections of folk tales for The History Press (Oxfordshire Folk Tales; Northamptonshire Folk Tales; Ballad Tales). His audio dramas include ‘Black Box’ and ‘Sunkenkirk’. He has contributed articles to peer-reviewed journals such as Writing in Practice, New Writing, TEXT, Axon, and Revenant. His first television appearance was performing live as a storyteller on BBC Breakfast TV (Roman Baths Special, 2000). Since then, he has been the academic consultant for The Secret Life of Books: Cider with Rosie (BBC 4), filmed in conversation with novelist Joanna Trollope (2015); and was interviewed on Antiques Road Trip (BBC 1) by Mark Stacey in Slad about Laurie Lee (2016). Most recently, he participated in a panel discussion on Free Thinking (BBC Radio 3) about Vikings. He is the convenor of Writing the Earth: a week-long programme of events using creativity to explore environmental issues in celebration of Earth Day (22nd April, 2022). He is giving the AUB Open Lecture in April on ‘Co-designing the eco-village of the future.’
He blogs and tweets as the Bardic Academic. https://thebardicacademic.wordpress.com/
Writing the Earth 