Philippa Holloway

Philippa Holloway is a British author and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, specialising in prose fiction and creative non-fiction. Her debut novel, The Half-life of Snails (2022), has garnered critical acclaim for examining nuclear landscapes and psychogeography.

Born in the UK, Philippa studied English Literature and Creative Writing. Initially, she developed and taught bespoke First Aid and Health and Safety courses while collaborating with paramedics to provide medical cover for various events. During this period, she continued to nurture her passion for writing and undertook a part-time MA in Creative Writing. At Edge Hill University, Philippa also earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Creative Writing.

Philippa's work spans short fiction, non-fiction, and research, with publications in the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Europe, and the UK. Her pieces have appeared in Ascent, Bukker Tillibul, New Contrast, Litro, Nightjar Press, Lunate, The Commonwealth Writers, New Writing, and The Conversation. Her research interests include psychogeography, nuclear landscapes, creative processes and methodologies, and creative pedagogy.

Her short memoir Energy Crisis won first prize in the inaugural New Welsh Writing Awards. It led to a commission to curate a New Welsh Reader feature on artistic responses to nuclear power and landscapes. This project drew on collaborative work with visual and digital artists and poets and contributed to her doctoral research. For her PhD, Philippa visited Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone, using an autoethnographic approach to examine nuclear psychogeography as a methodology for fiction writing.

Philippa has received several literary awards, including the Rhys Davies Prize, the Fish Publishing Prize, and the Writers and Artists Working Class Writers Prize. She has also served as a Writer in Residence at Hack Green Nuclear Bunker.

Before her academic career, Philippa taught writing workshops for the Mental Health Charity MIND, helping participants achieve publishing success. She has also led interactive writing sessions at literary and arts festivals. More recently, she was the judge for the Hedge Arts Short Fiction Competition (2018), the Future U Lockdown Diaries (2020), and the Future U Outside the Window (2021).

Philippa is a member of the University of Liverpool's Literature and Science Research Hub and has contributed to the Material Cultures of Energy research group and the Cognitive Sensations project. She is a peer-reviewer for New Writing: The International Journal of Creative Writing Theory and Practice. Moreover, she co-founded and co-curated the 100 Words of Solitude: Global Voices in Lockdown project and co-edited the subsequent print collection (Rare Swan Press, 2021).

The Half-life of Snails (2022) tells the story of two sisters, Helen and Jennifer, who are divided by their views on nuclear power but connected by family bonds. Helen, a single mother and self-taught prepper, leaves her son Jack with Jennifer to visit Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone. The novel explores their personal and political struggles, highlighting the impact of nuclear power on their lives and relationships.

Philippa Holloway lives in Stoke-On-Trent, England.

Photo credit: Staffordshire University