Teaching creative writing
teaching english

All articles on this site

  • Aesthetic literacy and autobiography

    This article explores how I became ‘aesthetically literate’ in my life; how I used other artistic work to educate and heal myself. It argues that ‘aesthetic literacy’ is just as important, if not more important, than other forms of literacy because of its therapeutic dimensions.

  • Mindfulness and English Teaching

    Is English a mindful subject? How can mindfulness help English teachers teach their subject? This article explores these issues, arguing that mindful awareness of the present moment can assist teachers, and help learners appreciate the qualities of literature.

  • Dreaming of a Better World

    An explanation of a creative writing and reading project the author carried out with students at Deptford Green school, which involved putting the principles of Reciprocal Teaching into practice. Reference: Gilbert, Francis. 2017. Dreaming of a Better World. Teaching English, [Article] TextDreaming of a Better World FGilbert NATE Magazine June 2017.docx – Accepted VersionAvailable under License Creative Commons…

  • The Creative Writing Teacher’s Toolkit

    There are certain pedagogical strategies, such as encouraging freewriting, using prompts and fostering flow which can significantly help learners to write creatively.

  • But sir, I lied – The value of autobiographical discourse in the classroom

    This article aims to examine the benefits of teachers using their own autobiographical writing in the classroom. It explores the blurring of truth and fiction in autobiographical writing and argues that teachers can help students if they provide students with the cloak of fiction when writing about their own lives. Furthermore, it puts forward the…

  • Aesthetic Learning, Creative Writing and English Teaching

    ‘Aesthetic learning’ can be helpful for English teachers, because we are all ‘aesthetic learners’: we learn to appreciate the qualities of the worlds we inhabit, whether actual or virtual.

  • Decolonising Creative Writing

    You can access the PowerPoint for this lecture here. Please do not publish it without first gaining my consent. References •Begum, N., & Saini, R. (2019). Decolonising the Curriculum. Political Studies Review, 17(2), 196-201. •Crinson, M. (2003) Modern Architecture and the End of Empire. (Aldershot: Ashgate 2003) •Evaristo, B. (2020) The Long Form Patriarchs, and…

  • Inspire: Exciting Ways of Teaching Creative Writing

    An anthology written by creative teachers with diverse experience. The focus is on how to teach creative writing in imaginative, practical and socially just ways, helping people of all ages and backgrounds to write.

  • Get a free copy of ‘Who Do You Love’ on audio here!

    Blue Door Press is delighted to announce that the audiobook version of Who Do You Love (BDP 2017) is now available for sale on Audible, Amazon and iTunes. It was quite a journey working with the voice artist and actor Christopher James on the novel during this lockdown period. He and I talked quite intensely…

  • Snow on the Danube: a wartime thriller and romance

    A thrilling historical adventure story set in war-torn Budapest. This story of one man’s quest to save his family, his friends — and, perhaps, his soul — is an unlikely comedy, a document of filial love and a compelling portrait of the horrors of war.

  • My Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Audio Book is now published: free copies available, read more here!

    I am delighted that my new audiobook Analysis & Study Guide: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: Complete text & integrated study guide (Creative Study Guide Editions) is now available here on Audible, Amazon and ITunes. The best audio version of the novel there is! I firmly believe that actor and voice artist Richard J. Bunn…

  • What happened to the New Man?

    As I’ve pointed out in previous blogs, the process of listening to the audiobook of Who Do You Love has been enriching for me, making me return to the text some years after writing it. Christopher James  reads the book more slowly than me, taking his time, giving the narrator’s voice a melancholic, deadpan quality.…

  • Listen to the first 15 mins of Who Do You Love for free here!

    I’m writing this blog post on the summer solstice, 20th June 2020, which is an important date in my novel Who Do You Love. In fact, I like to think the events on the summer solstice June 1988 in a Sussex wood, devastated by the hurricane of October 1987, are pivotal in the novel. They…

  • Making an audio book of my Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde study guide

    I’m very excited to announce that the marvellous actor and audiobook reader Richard Bunn will be reading my bestselling study guide ‘Analysis and Study Guide: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. The book has proved to be one of my popular books over the years and has continued to sell well. I was impressed by all…

  • Making an audio book out of my novel, Who Do You Love

    I’m very excited to be working on an audio book version of Who Do You Love, my novel which I published with Blue Door Press in 2017. I have investigated ways of doing this over the years, having a go at reading myself. I found that although I can be an expressive reader — some…

  • The Time Devil

    A fantastic time-travelling story in the format of a ‘teaching script’, which helps teenage readers improve their ability to skim, scan, summarise, and ask questions.

  • Who Do You Love

    By turns comic, tragic and romantic, Who Do You Love is a stirring novel which explores the big issues of passion, death and grief; a fast-paced contemporary love story but also moving exploration of what it means to be alive today.

  • Five Ways to Revolutionise Reading in Your School

    These suggestions are based on the points raised at the Reading Revolution Conference held at Goldsmiths, University of London on Saturday 23rd September 2017. ONE: Encourage Reading for Pleasure Read for the sake of reading. Read aloud, read in groups, read in pairs, read silently. Read poems, stories, articles, blogs, relevant social media and so…

  • The Mindful English Teacher: A Toolkit for Learning and Well-Being

    This unique guide aims to inject a genuine sense of joy into English teaching, using techniques that have been proven to work in a wide range of educational settings.

  • Shakespeare as cultural capital

    This article, in a slightly different form was initially published on the Teachit website. Shakespeare as Cultural Capital by Francis Gilbert on Scribd

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