Hello! I’m Mary, a writer of various things for humans of all ages.

I have been writing since I was a small child, both for myself as a way of processing this strange and wonderful thing we call life, and for others, in an attempt to make them laugh and hopefully feel something.

My poetry often tries to capture people in a particular place and time, a bit like a polaroid picture.

I adore comedy, be it sketch, improv, stand-up or longer-form. In my own comedy writing I am particularly interested in the films of Julie Andrews, philosophy, religion, ethics, psychotherapy, and education. Quite the combination, I know.

I have also written (and rewritten, and rewritten…) two novels for teens/young adults: Luna Branksome and the House of Dreams, and Wild and Me. I love these novels for teaching me how to write (and rewrite, and rewrite…) but boy will I be pleased when they are fully cooked and ready to be read! I think it might have been easier to build myself a house, and I say that as an immensely impractical person who knows nothing about housebuilding. I am always having ideas for new novels, or for sequels to those I’ve already written, but deciding which idea to pursue is often the bit I find hardest!

My work can be found Indivisible, an anthology by writers with invisible disabilities (for me, this is a condition called hEDS) published by Commonword/Cultureword. I performed my comic monologue, The Girl Who Takes Off All Her Clothes, at Manchester Poetry Library back in February 2023. The anthology is for sale on their website, along with many other excellent, small-scale publications.

Other vaguely interesting facts about me: I love the work of Tove Jansson, Arthur Ransome and Patti Smith. I have two sons, a husband and a mini poodle. I enjoy Earl Grey tea, chocolate hobnobs, scrumpy cider and pimento stuffed olives. I live in the UK in a small town called Macclesfield, about 20 miles south of Manchester.

I am also a therapeutic teacher and Forest School Leader- for more about this, see my other website.