Wyl Menmuir Announced as Writer in Residence

‘It's a huge honour to join the students at Falmouth and to help them explore their writing in the heart of the landscape that inspires my fiction. I couldn't be more excited about taking up this position, following in the footsteps of the likes of Emily Barr, Lionel Shriver and Philip Marsden.’ —Wyl Menmuir

Falmouth University have announced that acclaimed novelist Wyl Menmuir will be joining their School of Writing & Journalism as Writer in Residence from Monday 6 February to Friday 10 March.

Wyl will be using the Cornish landscape to inspire aspiring writers as he takes up his new post. During the residency Wyl will deliver bespoke writing workshops and one-to-one tutorials with students, as well as a public lecture.

Dr. Niamh Downing, Head of English at the University, said: ‘Wyl is a talented and inspiring writer. His work fits well with our community too as many of our academic staff are writers and researchers in the field of nature writing, landscape and the environment.

‘Wyl will be taking his workshops out into the local landscape, which is a really exciting way for our students to learn more about the process and practice of writing.’

Born in Stockport, Wyl lives on the north coast of Cornwall, the place that inspired his debut novel, The Many, which was long listed for the 2016 Man Booker Prize. Set in a fictional coastal village, it was described by The Guardian as ‘homespun horror [which] has flashes of Daphne du Maurier’s ghost-gothic and John Wyndham’s dystopia while displaying its own individuality and flair … the result is profound and discomfiting, and deserving of multiple readings.’

In November, Wyl had a limited edition chapbook, Rounds, released on the horror imprint, Nightjar Press, and he is currently working on his second novel. He also writes and edits for a range of national magazines, journals and blogs and teaches creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University.