Linda Cleary is a Literary Arts Consultant with a Diploma in Recreational Arts from Manchester Metropolitan (specialisation Creative Writing 1991), a Diploma in LAMDA Speech and Drama (1989) and a HND in Theatre Studies (1996). She is Director of the Free Writers Centre offering in-person and online Creative Writing courses and workshops, Coaching for writers, a suite of Editing Services, Literacy Consulting Services (including for publishing) and literary events. She set up a Literary Fiction Department, as a time bound curatorship 2019 to 2022, for Hypatia Publications, imprint of Hypatia Trust, where she was Editor and Publishing Lead. She conceived, commissioned, collated, edited, typeset, did layout, published and subsequently did publicist work for four releases in that time starting with the poetry and short fiction publication Invisible Borders. New Women's Writing from Cornwall, a collection of 23 women writers connected to Cornwall - which went on to win the Holyer an Gof best poetry anthology award 2021. She then went on to project manage Natasha Carthew's new release Born Between Crosses and Rupam Baoni's chronicles of entering my body. The fourth and final publication, a debut novel, Whistling Jack by Cornwall based writer Joesphine Gardiner was released 31st May 2022. Both Natasha Carthew and Josephine Gardiner appeared at the North Cornwall Book Festival on 24th September 2022 and Whistling Jack was selected for the Cream of Cornish slot. Linda is founder and director of the Women in Word festival for Hypatia Trust - a literary festival celebrating female creatives.
Linda also works in Adult Education (since 1999) holding several certificates in Teaching in Adult Education and providing literacy support to a wide variety of students including adults with specific learning difficulties and neurodivergency such as dyslexia, autism and ADHD.
She has been working with writers and delivering workshops in Creative Writing, Theatre and related Arts, to a wide demographic of age and ability and in many varied settings, since 1991; working in UK, Holland, Czech Republic, Australia and Egypt – living in Cairo from 2009 to 2015 where she initiated and ran an arts residency and gave her Creative Writing courses at Diwan Bookstores, Egypt as well as taking writers on writing holidays and retreats across Egypt including launching a writers' cruise on the Nile, oasis retreats and desert explorations.
As a British born Irish diaspora poet – writer – performer with a northern England background her work as a spoken word performer has been celebrated by Apples and Snakes who promoted her on a South West UK tour in 2005-2006 saying, ”Powerful, uncompromising, rhythmic verse. Tough, lyrical beauty. Packs poetic punches with aching sensitivity. A unique new voice. If you need a comparison, think; ‘a young Joolz Denby, laced with Patti Smith overtones.’ She was Writer in Residence at Canserrat Art Residency, Barcelona and her work has been published across written and spoken word, audio and poetry film platforms including Poetry Bay, Long Islander, Citizen 32, Poetry Film and Berlin Zebra Poetry Film Festival. She has won various grants for developing film script, performance and writing.
Her new short poetry film Passages | Moment is her first bilingual poetry film work, in Irish and English and has been selected for the Bloomsday Poetry Film Festival 2024. Her longer poetry film Kill Your Darlings was selected for the Bloomsday Poetry Film Festival 2023 and other films have appeared in notable international poetry festivals over the years including the Berlin Zebra Poetry Film Festival, Double Bunny Press and Poetry Film Live. She has also created installations such as The Tarantismo Project using text/audio and image exhibited in several prominent galleries and funded by ACE. A large body of her written work can be viewed at: www.lindaclearypoetry.blogspot.com and her audio work of spoken word and music fusions is here: http://www.soundcloud.com/lindacleary
Linda will soon begin work on another bilingual work in Irish and English: a cross discipline project on the theme of home | colonialism - looking at diaspora, identity and displacement. She is also further developing a collection of stories told by several characters: a person choosing to disappear, absorbed into nature, an ex-offender facing triggers, a suburban stalker, a ghost story in post punk Thatcher's Britain and a policeman abandoning his post during a revolution – all themed around the premise of ‘What do we do with freedom?’.
Linda Cleary Linktree: linktr.ee/freewriterscentre
HIGHLIGHTS
- Teaching theatre at JAMU Academy, Czech Republic 93-94
- Cornwall Film Fund funded screenplay Wildfire 2003
- Poet for Apples and Snakes Tip of Your Tongue tour 2005.
- ACE funded poetry show Tales of Horror and Love mentored by A&S, showcased at Exeter Phoenix tEXt festival 2006 alongside Zena Edwards
- Shortlisted for Nick Darke Award for screenplay in development The Dolphin Fiasco 2006
- Writer in Residence Can Serrat, Barcelona 2007
- Performance Poet headlining Contact Theatre, Manchester 2007
- Selected for Cuirt International Poetry Festival, Ireland 2007
- ACE funded poetry led multi media installation The Tarantismo Project at Exchange Gallery, Penzance 2008
- Opening and closing act (poet) Potenza Film festival, Italy 2009
- Teaching Creative Writing, running a writers' centre and arts residency Cairo, Egypt 2009 to 2015
- Poetry films Sleeping Beauty and Disembodied shown at Berlin Poetry Film Festival 2014
- Founder, curator, Editor-in Chief of Literary Department for Hypatia Publications 2019 – 2022. Four releases: Invisible Borders. New Women's Writing from Cornwall won Holyer an Gof Best Poetry Collection Award 2021. Born Between Crosses (Natasha Carthew)selected for NCBF festival, chronicles of entering my body (Rupam Baoni) at National Poetry Library, London and Whistling Jack (Josephine Gardiner) selected as Cream of Cornish at NCBF
- Mentoring from Philippa Brewster 2019 to 22 – Philippa published Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Jeanette Winterson) and is an agent and editor for Georgina Capel
- Founder and Director (2023) of Women in Word literary festival for Hypatia Trust celebrating women writers
- Kill Your Darlings poetry film selected for Bloomsday Film Festival 2023
- Passages | Moment poetry film selected for Bloomsday Film Festival 2024
- Written work published in various journals and collections including Poetry Bay, Citizen 32 and Invisible Borders.
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