Our anthology writers – part 5

Victoria Shropshire moved from North Carolina to Glasgow to pursue a PhD in 2015. Her critical research and creative writing focus on the impact of inherited narratives on identity (re)construction. While the odd poem and short story emerge, she is currently focused on completing her debut novel, a fictionalized memoir in which a derelict debutante is rescued by Dobermans and drag queens. A cancer survivor with a wicked sense of humor, Victoria is a lover of all dogs, cigars, books, fine dining, beach houses, art, music, jigsaw puzzles, and Netflix.  Her pet peeves are seahorse birdbaths, cypress clocks, and velvet paintings of Elvis. Victoria’s story Beauregard’s Last Walk will feature in Words And Women: Four.

Penny Simpson is a fiction writer and deviser of creative research projects exploring culture and human rights. She is currently recipient of an AHRC/CHASE postgraduate research scholarship at the University of Essex. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies published by Bloomsbury, Dalkey Archive Press and Virago. She has also published two novels. Her short story Winter’s Map  will appear in Words And Women: Four.

Mary White lives in West Cornwall and is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing with the University of Lancaster. Her house opens onto sand dunes and she loves to walk her dog here, hoping that the beauty and mystery of this place will inform her creativity. She loves to write about identity and the process of change in the lives of ordinary people. She has worked for many years with troubled young people and more recently with the survivors of domestic abuse. Her area of study within the MA is the short story form and her reason for studying at this level is simply to become the best writer that she can. Mary loves family and grandchildren, walking and talking, reading (everything) and enjoying the wonderful food and creative arts that Cornwall has to offer. She loves statement jewellery and in her spare time likes to design and make her own. She was previously runner up in the Five Stop

Story competition. Mary’s story Some Adjustment Required  will appear in Words And Women: Four.