Joanna Nissel is a researcher, project manager, and writer based near Brighton. She is undertaking an SWWDTP-funded PhD in ‘Mentoring Practice in the Contemporary UK Poetry Ecology’ with the University of Southampton and Bath Spa University, in association with writer-development agency, ArtfulScribe.

Joanna’s debut poetry pamphlet, Guerrilla Brightenings, was published by Against the Grain Press 2022. She was the runner up for the Poetry Business 2018 International New Poets Prize, was Pick of the Month for Ink, Sweat, and Tears in July 2020, and won the Bangor Literary Journal Easter 2020 Ekphrastic competition.

In her freelance roles, you will find Joanna organising, evaluating, and facilitating literary projects and events, including the Stay-at-Home! Literary Festival, Tears in the Fence Festival, and a variety of projects with Paper Nations. She has been undertaking research into the UK writing ecology since 2017 with the Research Centre for Transcultural Creativity and Education and has contributed to funding bids totalling over £400,000. In addition to copywriting and strategic project management, Joanna also specialises in communicating complex information and research in visual and digital formats.

In 2020-21 she took on the role of Creative Producer on the action-research project, The Great Margin, overseeing several interlocking sub-projects, including two poetry film series on www.thegreatmargin.org.

Publications Include: Eyeflash, Amaryllis, Irisi, Riggwelter, Clear Poetry, The Fenland Reed, The Ham Free Press, Flash and Cinder, Sarasvati, Atrium, Tears in the Fence, Bangor Poetry Journal, Ink Sweat and Tears, Molly Bloom, Iamb Poetry, Fourteen Poems, Poetic Justice, and The Interpreter's House.

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Recent publications:

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• Debut pamphlet, Guerrilla Brightenings

• The Interpreter's House - 'Love Song of the NHS Receptionist'

• Poetic Justice, Selected Poem

• Tears in the Fence Issue 76: Editorial on the Poetry Ecology

• Fourteen Poems Issue 6: 'Crisis'. Interview with poem reading available here.

• Tears in the Fence Issue 74: Three Poems

• 'Swells', a collaborative poetry soundscape

• Iamb Issue 5: Three Poems

• Tears in the Fence Issue 72: 'Hove Lawns to Brighton Pier – March'

• Molly Bloom Issue 23: Three Poems

• Atrium: 'Look At Me'

• Ink, Sweat, and Tears: 'Eagle' - Awarded 'Pick of the Month' July 2020

Academic Publications:

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• May, W. and Nissel, J. (2022) 'Stories for Survival: Putting Literature at the Heart of Regional Development'

• Soyinka, B., Sweetman, L., Bond, G., Green, L., Nissel, J. and Thompson, I. (2020) 'The Writer’s Cycle'.

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Conference Presentations:

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• Ledbury Poetry Festival (2022): "Feeling Towns: the role of place and identity in governance and local policy", an AHRC consultation session using poetry as a facilitation tool.

• Re-Visions: Configurations of the Visual in Literature and Culture (2022) "Seen and Unseen: Invisible Mentors in UK Poetry", jointly presented with Professor Will May.

• Poetry and Mentoring Symposium (2021): "How Have Mentoring Practices in the UK Shaped the Contemporary Poetry Ecology?"

• Follow the Sun Transnational Writing Conference 2021: "The Great Margin: Collaborative Practice and Creative Research".

• National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) Annual Conference, 2021: "Paper Nations - The Writer's Cycle".

• MIX 2019: "Writing For All".

Support at:

• MIX 2021

• NAWE Annual Conference, 2018-19, 2021-22

• Captivating Criminality, Bath Spa University, 2017-18

PAST & CURRENT ORGANISATIONS

SERVICES

Joanna's services include:

• copywriting

• project management

• marketing & social media campaigns

• communications & engagement

• evaluation of creative projects & engaged research projects

• event planning & management

• report-writing

• website design

• facilitation of online events & workshops 

• creating branding guidelines

• graphics, diagrams, & visual representations of data.

Examples of websites and branding Joanna has designed include: The Dare to Write? Platform, The Great Margin, and the Paper Nations site. She also formulated the solar system model as a representation of The Writer’s Cycle theory of writer-development.

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Previous notable projects:

Creative Producer: The Great Margin

Engagement Manager: The Writing For All Programme, Paper Nations

Digital Advisor: The Stay-at-Home! Literary Festival

Regional Survey Officer: ArtfulScribe

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Please get in touch below to enquire about Joanna's availability.