Author Profile - Marian Harrison

Winner of the 2016 University Centre Grimsby International literary Prize.

Marian grew up in a Shropshire village and studied psychology at the University of Sheffield. After that things become complicated. With frequent career changes and several relocations, she should have gathered enough research to pause and write a novel but she continued job hopping, never quite sure where she would end up. Her jobs fell broadly into the categories of social work, IT and education.

Always insisting she wanted to be a writer, she faced the new millennium with a meagre collection of creative pieces, ranging from barely-started to half-finished.

In the summer of 2000, things were set to change, or rather stop changing. She said goodbye to London, piled her two young children and a soppy Golden Retriever into her ailing Austin Metro, and headed up the M11 in pursuit of the removal van and a more relaxed lifestyle. She settled in Gainsborough and became involved in local writers’ groups and courses, developing skills and gaining confidence. In 2012, she received an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Lincoln.

She currently works as a cultural services advisor within Lincolnshire’s Heritage sector. She writes in her free time, mostly short stories, but she has two novels and a play in her head and looks forward to the challenges they will undoubtedly bring.

Marian was the winner of the 2016 University Centre Grimsby, International Literary Prize beating a record number of entries from five continents to achieve this prestigious award. Her winning story The Deaths and Deaths of Winston Witherspoon is published in CONFLICT, an anthology of 27 award-winning short stories available here or from all good high street and on-line booksellers.

'A worthy winner and welcome addition to the Hammond House stable. We look forward to reading and publishing Marian's future work.' Ted Stanley, Hammond House