Shelley Weiner

Shelley Weiner is an acclaimed novelist, short-story writer and journalist who, over the years, has established a reputation as an inspirational creative-writing tutor and nurturer of new talent. Her novels include A Sisters’ Tale, The Last Honeymoon, The Joker, Arnost and The Audacious Mendacity of Lily Green. Short stories have appeared in various anthologies and on BBC Radio 4.

Born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Shelley trained and worked as a newspaper reporter. After her move to London in 1977, she worked as a journalist, PR writer, and editor in a publishing house before turning to fiction. Soon after the publication of her first novel in 1991, she embarked on her ongoing mission to offer tools and support to other new writers. Since then, Shelley has taught fiction for institutions such as Birkbeck College, Anglia Ruskin University, the Open University, the British Council and Durham University summer school. She is a sought-after mentor on the Gold Dust mentoring scheme, a trusted reader for the Literary Consultancy, and presents workshops on fiction for the Faber Academy, Guardian Masterclasses, Skyros Writers’ Lab, Peirene Press, Norwich Writers’ Centre, and Cheltenham Literary Festival.

Shelley’s commitment to good writing is not confined to fiction. As an RLF Fellow, her belief in the importance of clarity, coherence and creativity has helped students at all levels. She has also translated these tenets to the workplace, co-founding Words at Work and conducting writing workshops at City law firms and other corporate venues.