Molly Naylor

Molly Naylor is an award-winning writer and performer. She has published three poetry collections, a graphic novel (illustrated by Lizzy Stewart) and has written scripts for television, radio and theatre. She has also written and performed several live shows, fusing poetry, comedy and storytelling. Her first solo show Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You debuted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to great critical acclaim. Molly later adapted the show into a drama for BBC Radio 4. Her graphic novel Lights, Planets, People! won the Broken Frontier Award for Best Graphic Novel in 2021. Her most recent collection Whatever You’ve Got was published by Bad Betty Press in 2022. Her poem ‘The Worries’ was highly commended in the 2023 Forward Prizes for Poetry.

Molly regularly performs her poetry at literary events, cabaret shows and spoken word nights. Her live work seems to particularly appeal to people with a pre-existing notion that they don’t like or understand poetry; she aims to write poems that are accessible as well as emotionally and thematically rich.

Molly taught Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia from 2018–2022, before moving to South Yorkshire. She now lives in Sheffield with her singer-songwriter wife. Alongside her writing, she hosts the popular creativity podcast Making Trouble, in which she talks to esteemed guests from across the Arts about the trouble they are having with the things they are making. She is currently working on her debut novel.

Audio from Molly Naylor