Writers’ Biographies

DONNA CANALE

Donna Canale is a poet and writer who has been involved in facilitating community education for many years. She facilitates the Corby Collective Poets who perform, write and publish together. She is currently working on her own collection of poems.

JUDE CASSON

Jude Casson is a GP from Leicester who has mainly written essays for medical non-fiction writing competitions as well as some short stories. Writing about the menopause has given her inspiration to try poetry for the first time since leaving school!

SARAH DALE

Sarah Dale is a psychologist and writer living in Nottingham. She completed an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck University, London in 2019 and she’s had stories published by the Mechanics’ Institute Review, Fairlight Books and The Letters Page. She’s been menopausal for years already…

MARY GIBSON

Mary Gibson lives in Leicester with her three cats, plus assorted feline visitors. She writes short fiction and poetry. Writing about the menopause has been a therapeutic experience and she hopes to explore the subject more.

DAWN HARTLEY

Dawn Hartley is a writer from Nottingham. She has been writing poetry and stories since she was 14 and is now pursuing her dream by having her work published. Dawn wanted to write about her own experience of the menopause as hers started after a hysterectomy when she was 26.

JANEY HARVEY

Janey Harvey is a writer and teacher from Nottinghamshire. She is studying an MA in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University and working on her first novel. Her articles have appeared in JUNO Magazine and her fiction features in The Fosseway Writers’ collaborative novels: Burning Old School Ties and The Brinwade Chronicles.

PIPPA HENNESSY

Pippa Hennessy is a writer and publisher living and working in Nottingham. She has published poems, short fiction, creative non-fiction and comic stories in a range of magazines and anthologies, and her poems on quantum theory were selected for Soundswrite Press’s 2019 showcase book of three women poets: Take Three.

KATIE HOLMES

Katie Holmes is an independent researcher and self-employed charity consultant from Nottingham. She writes about the history of women’s endurance running and gathers contemporary experiences of older female runners. She has written two articles about her own experience of running during the perimenopause.

CAROLYN HOWARD

Carolyn Howard wrote her first story at the age of five. Encouraged by rave reviews (‘You’re the next Enid Blyton.’ – her mum) she has spent the past 50-plus years occasionally dabbling and always meaning to write more. This poetry is the result. Carolyn lives and works in Leicestershire.

SARAH JOHNSON

49-year-old Sarah Johnson is married with two children and lives in Leicester. She is a stand-up comedian/actor/scriptwriter and is currently going through a full-on menopausal nightmare!

FIONA LINDAY

Fiona Linday is a writer and workshop facilitator from Leicestershire. She is currently under contract with Onwards & Upwards Publishers, bringing together her collection of short stories and poetry called Count Our Blessings. fionalinday.co.uk

MYSZKA MATTHEWS

Myszka Matthews is writing a historical trilogy, tracing generations of women and the impact of their femininity, both individually and generationally. As both a writer and a therapist, she leads writing groups and courses at Foxes’ Retreat, near Ashbourne, with a passion to empower the voices of those new to writing.

CATHY MEADOWS

Cathy Meadows writes to celebrate, empower and heal: herself and the rest of humanity. Read more on her blog, Can't stop thinking about/Can't stand thinking about Climate Change, csta2climatechange.wordpress.com

GAIL MARIE MITCHELL

When Gail isn’t processing financial spreadsheets for the Council, she is trying to make sense of this crazy, confused and broken world. Her book Loving the Life Less Lived was published in 2017. As well as poetry, she is currently writing a novel about five friends facing the menopause.

ABIGAIL ELIZABETH OTTLEY

Abigail Elizabeth Ottley writes poetry and short fiction. This year her work has appeared in The Lake, The Atlanta Review, Gnashing Teeth, Impspired, The Blue Nib, and Fragmented Voices. A former English teacher with a lifelong interest in history, Abigail is now primary carer to her very elderly mother.

CINDY ROSSITER

A successful Hucknall businesswoman for nearly thirty years, Cindy restarted writing ten years ago, having loved poetry as a child. She now has several poems of her own etched on artwork in the Hucknall area and various pieces of poetry and prose in local books and anthologies.

TEIKA MARIJA SMITS

Teika Marija Smits is a writer, editor and mother-of-two, whose writing often includes feminine and Jungian motifs. Her poems have been published in Atrium, Prole, LossLit, Brittle Star and The Poetry Shed. Her debut pamphlet, Russian Doll, is to be published by Indigo Dreams Publishing in 2020.

NICKY TULLETT

Nicky Tullett has been writing poetry occasionally for many years alongside motherhood and work (in academia and mental health). She began performing her poems, as a personal challenge, in 2019 in Nottingham and is delighted to be included in this anthology.