Publications and Prizes
MILESTONE
January, 2020
In January 2020, Bethany graduated from the University of Warwick with an MA in Creative Writing
Chimera Anthology Launched in London
June, 2019
In June, Chimera (an anthology of writing from the University of Warwick's MA in Writing students 2019) was launched! The official launch was held in the Piccadilly branch of Waterstone's where many of the contributing authors, benefactors and agents enjoyed an evening of reading and networking.
Bethany was last to read in the evening and read a portion of Single Woman, Looking the piece included in the anthology. It was a wonderful experience, hopefully one of many!
'What I Never Said' published in Kamena
June, 2019
'What I Never Said' follows a woman years after her divorce, writing to her re-married ex-husband who lives in their home with his new wife. This is a story of self-worth, self-doubt and cockroaches.
This story was published in the June edition of Kamena (the official publication of the Warwick Writing Society).
Extract: "I find it strange that you still live there, in the house your mother told us not to buy because the roof was falling in and the sink crawled with cockroaches. I remember the look on your face as you disobeyed her for the first time, a mix of exhilaration and fear. You put your half of the deposit down the next day and I did the same, even though it left me with $40 to my name. We were childhood sweethearts, and we thought this was us growing up."
Read the full story on Kamena's website via this link.
'When the Nursery was Black' published in Kamena
March 2019
This story follows a woman after her third miscarriage, struggling to cope with feelings of emptiness and abandonment - especially once her husband leaves her because "he'd gone through it too, you know." This short story was originally written for an assignment when Bethany attended Iowa State University - the aim was to make a board game that told a story, hence it being written in second person. This story was published in the sixth issue of Kamena (the official publication of the Warwick Writing Society).
Extract: "This is how it goes: pee on a stick. Wait anxiously for a bit of plastic to tell you if there’s the beginning of a real life human inside your stomach. If not, try again. Buy double the number of tests and pee on it once every week.
Finally, it tells you what you want to hear. You run to the bedroom screaming ‘it said yes!’ as if the pregnancy test were your new fiancé. Each time this happens you get less and less excited. Each time you can’t decide if you can handle another yes that turns in to a no at some unspecified time in the future."
Read the full story on Kamena's website via this link.
'First Impressions' published in Kamena
February, 2019
This story explores the sometimes paralysing importance of first impressions and follows a character who finds herself instead imagining interactions from the safety of a seat in the corner of a bar. First Impressions was written for and performed at the Scratch Works Open Mic night on 10/01/2019 on the theme 'Beginnings and Openings' (see the 'Videos' tab for the full recording).
This story was published in the fifth issue of Kamena (the official publication of the Warwick Writing Society).
Extract: My table is near the door and I’ve pushed my chair far enough back that the spotlight above me illuminates my knees onwards. If we were on the beach, I’d wear sunglasses, but here I’m taking advantage of the darkness to provide cover. His dark brown hair is lightly gelled into a quiff reminiscent of a 2000’s pop star and he swirls his glass for some time before each sip. He’s wearing a Ted Baker charcoal blazer with matching straight leg trousers and burgundy boat shoes. He must work in the City, probably at a hipster marketing firm where no one wears socks.
Read the full story on Kamena's website via this link.
'On Sundays, I am sad' published in Kamena
December 2018
This experimental short story takes the idea that our personalities change when our mood changes and considers what a week would look like if a person embodied a single mood each day. This story was published in the fourth issue of Kamena (the official publication of the Warwick Writing Society).
Extract: "On Fridays, I am elated. My French plait forms perfectly, my new power suit (80s style flared trousers with maroon pinstripes) arrive before I leave the house and Jerry lets me 'delegate' a pile of work to an intern on the floor below. For lunch, I eat a steak burrito with sour cream, cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole (even though it's 80p extra), white rice and black beans. Or a Greggs BLT meal deal. Or a chocolate crepe from a stall in the park. Or all three."
'Single woman, looking for' published in Kamena
November 2018
This short story about a middle-aged woman navigating the eccentric world of speed dating was published in the third issue of Kamena (the official publication of the Warwick Writing Society).
Extract: "I suck in my stomach and, putting one foot directly in front of the other, I sashay across the sticky floor. In front of me is a large woman in a zebra print mini-skirt made for someone half her height and weight. Her ankle fat bulges between the straps of her gladiator-style, neon yellow heels as she totters to the next table. The imprint of her bottom left behind on the squishy, faux-leather chair engulfs me, throwing off any attempt to appear dignified."
Read the full story on Kamena's website via this link.
Honourable mention in the Literary Taxidermy Short Story Competition with '10 Cents'
October 2018
This short story using the first and last lines of 'The Thin Man' by Dashiell Hammett received an honourable mention from the judges. Bethany used the required lines to create a mock 1920s detective story with a narrator who may or may not have murdered a young woman at the back of a bar... it's up to you to decide.
Extract: "She said her name was Delilah and she needed to borrow 10 cents for the payphone in the corner. I said don’t any of your friends have ten cents to give you. She shrugged. I reached in to my jean pocket and gave her a quarter.
“Knock yourself out,” I said.
She put a hand softly on my shoulder and tilted her head up as if to kiss my cheek. I batted her hand away and nearly tripped over the stool behind me.
“It was only a quarter, hun,” I muttered.
MILESTONE
July 2017
In July 2017, Bethany graduated from the University of Exeter with a 2:1 and a Dean's Commendation in English Literature with Study in North America
Creative Writing Dissertation used as an example for final year students 2017-18
June 2017
Bethany chose to do a Creative Writing Dissertation to complete her degree in English Literature and received a First for the fiction portion. This was used by the University of Exeter's English department for the 2017-18 academic year as "an excellent example of a well written piece of work."
'Do Something Adorable' published in Hiraeth
2017
This experimental short story, inspired by 'Girl' by Jamaica Kincaid, was published in Hiraeth, The University of Exeter's Creative Writing Journal, in 2017. This story explores the contrasting advice, orders, compliments and criticisms girls receive as they grow up. This story uses the perspective of a recently-single mother struggling to accept her new situation.
Extract: "this is how to look after yourself so that people don’t say you were prettier as a baby; this is how to cross your legs to look like a lady; don’t you dare pull up that skirt, it’s called ‘below-the-knee’ for a reason; make sure you wear a tank top under your blouse so your training bra doesn’t show through; don’t let anyone tell you what you should wear; don’t let anyone tell you what you should say; don’t let anyone tell you how to live your life; don’t eat that Lindt chocolate"
Pearl Hogrefe Sophomore Scholarship in Creative Writing recipient
2016
A prize offered for an Iowa State University sophomore student (Bethany studied at ISU as part of her degree between 2015-16) who "exhibit original and imaginative use of form and language and who show evidence of having promise in creative writing".
‘Haul, Parody, Remix: Mobilizing Rhetorical Criticism With Video’, written with Abby Dubisar et. al., published in Computers and Composition
2017
Published in Computers and Composition 44 (2017) p52-66, this article written by Abby Dubisar (one of Bethany's lecturers at Iowa State University) discusses the use of video to "subvert, or critically remix, the power dynamics of mainstream popular culture". For a class called 'Analysis of Popular Culture Texts', Bethany created a parody video of Meghan Trainor's Dear Future Husband and wrote an accompanying essay on the "heteronormative gender stereotypes that the modern music industry continues to support". Abby used a large section of Bethany's essay as well as a transcript of the parody lyrics in her essay on the subject.
'Peter the Purple Penguin: Seven Days of Disaster' self-published with Rushco, a Young Enterprise Company
2012
As the manager and chief creative director of RushCo (a company created and run by sixth form students as part of the Young Enterprise competition) Bethany co-wrote a rhyming children’s safety book which was later stocked in the Nottingham branch of Waterstones. Rushco won the regional prize for most innovative product and best teamwork.