Charley Barnes and Claire Walker
Charley Barnes
Dr Charley Barnes is a lecturer in Creative and Professional Writing at the University of Wolverhampton. To date, she has published twelve novels, most recently A True Crime with Bloodhound Books in 2024. Charley has also published several poetry publications, including her full-length collection, Lore: Flowers, Folklore, and Footnotes, with Black Pear Press in 2021. At present, Charley is editing her next novel – A Walk in the Park (ChocLit 2024) – and querying her second poetry collection. Charley is also the co-host of the What We’ve Been Reading podcast, and the co-editor of annie journal. Charley has edited and co-edited anthologies of poetry and creative non-fictional/personal essays previously, and she is very much looking forward to working with Claire on this upcoming project.
For more information about Charley’s work, you can follow her on social media: @charleyblogs (X/Instagram)
Claire Walker
Claire Walker’s poetry has been published in journals, magazines and anthologies including Poetry Wales, Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal, The Four Faced Liar, Spelt, Finished Creatures, and Songs of Love and Strength, and has been shortlisted in the Spelt and Welshpool poetry competitions. She was runner-up in the Pre-Raphaelite Society Poetry Prize 2023. Her pamphlets include Collision (Against the Grain Poetry Press, 2019) and Somewhere Between Rose and Black (V. Press, 2017), which was shortlisted for Best Poetry Pamphlet in the 2018 Saboteur Awards. Claire has also published two co-authored pamphlets with Charley Barnes: Myth|Woman (The Black Light Engine Room Press, 2021) and Hierarchy of Needs: A Retelling (V. Press, 2020). Claire is currently working on a novel in verse, and is co-editor of Atrium poetry webzine.
Case Studies: the craft of care 