National Association for Literature Development

The most important people in NALD are you, our members and supporters, but we would like to introduce you to our staff and board.  

Director Steve Dearden     Mail Steve

Steve works for NALD three days a week.  He is also Director of the Writing Squad a programme for young writers in Yorkshire, and an Associate Producer on both imove part of Yorkshire's Cultural Olympiad and Leeds Canvas a collaboration between the cultural organisations of Leeds, the city and the Brothers Quay.  Steve writes too, mostly short stories.  www.stevedearden.com

Administrator Jacqui Corcoran    Mail Jacqui

Jacqui works for NALD one day a week, spread through the week.  She was formerly Assistant Officer for Literature & Media at Arts Council England, Yorkshire and freelance publicity consultant for Larkin25 in Hull. She is currently a freelance project coordinator at Chrysalis arts for the Art Connections project with a major role in the marketing, coordination and administration of North Yorkshire Open Studios and an associate lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University on the MA Cultural Policy and Management course.  Jacqui is also a textile designer specialising in fabric manipulation, machine embroidery and the use of recycling fabrics and found objects.

Information Manager Wes Brown    Mail Wes

Wes Brown is a 24 year old writer based in Leeds. He writes poetry, short stories, reviews and novels. He works an hour a day as Information Manager for NALD and part-time as the Young Writers Coordinator for NAWE. He is the founding editor of The Cadaverine and director of Dead Ink Publications. He blogs about writing and literature at Notes From The Underground.

Editor Literature Professional Susan Tranter    Mail Susan

Susan Tranter edits Literature Professional, the NALD magazine. She worked in arts marketing and literature development - with a spell on the NALD board - before becoming a freelance copywriter and web editor. Her work now mostly involves digital communications, often for cultural organisations. Find out more at www.susantranter.co.uk
 

Chris Gribble, Board Member and Co-Chair

Chris Gribble is the Chief Executive of Writers’ Centre Norwich. Based in Norwich, WCN exists to explore the artistic and social power of creative writing through pioneering and collaborative projects, regionally, nationally and internationally. After completing a PhD in the poetry of Paul Celan at the University of Manchester, Chris worked in publishing for Carcanet Press and then spent a number of years working as a consultant in cultural strategy for Manchester City Council. He was the Director of Manchester Poetry Festival and then Manchester Literature Festival. He is an Artistic Assessor for Arts Council England, sits on the Advisory Group for Manchester University’s Centre for New Writing, on the Board of ICORN, the International Cities of Refuge Network and on the Steering Group of the British Centre for Literary Translation.

Will Carr, Board Member and Co-Chair

Will is the Deputy Director of the International Anthony Burgess Foundation in Manchester www.anthonyburgess.org. He has worked for the prison service; as Arts Officer at the Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere; in the literature and media department of Arts Council England (North West); and until July 2009 was Director of the Poetry School. His interests include contemporary poetry (of course), playing jazz piano (badly) and arts and cultural strategy (no, really)

Jacob Sam-La Rose, Board Member

Jacob Sam-La Rose is a poet, performer, educator and editor who has performed and taught internationally. His work has been published in several anthologies, including  Identity State: New British and Irish Poets(2010),  Penguin's Poems for Love (2009), City State: New London Poetry(2009) and Michael Rosen's A-Z: The Best Children's Poetry from Agard to Zephaniah  (2009). His debut pamphlet collection, Communion(2006), was a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice.
  
With over a decade of experience in managing and delivering literature in education projects, Jacob runs workshops in schools and other institutions, and has developed programmes for poets and writers of all ages: he is well known for his work as an artistic director for city-wide, national and international youth “slam” poetry initiatives, including the London Teenage Poetry SLAM ; the work he does in supporting new and emerging poets and literature in education practitioners; and his advocacy for positive impacts of new technology on literary and artistic practice and collaboration. www.jsamlarose.com

Mai Lin Li, Board Member

Mai Lin is a freelance creative producer and a 2010/11 Fellow of the Clore Leadership Programme. She was previously Reader Development Librarian for Kirklees Libraries in West Yorkshire. She lives in Fife, Scotland. "What is most important to me in my work is: reducing barriers to engagement with literature, libraries and the arts; challenging perceptions about the relevance and importance of literature; broadening interpretations of literature; developing new and existing audiences. And encouraging people to explore creativity.  I particularly enjoy creating links between audiences creative practitioners, venues and arts promoters.  I work to encourage dialogue and experimentation between partners, to stimulate creativity and share the risk of new ventures.  I work to promote the potential for public libraries to be thriving cultural venues and community arts spaces."

Naomi Wilds, Board Member

Naomi Wilds is an independent producer for Adverse Camber, a production company which develops and tours collaborative storytelling and music shows for adults to venues such as The Sage Gateshead, MAC Birmingham, RNCM Manchester, Hay on Wye Literature Festival, Ilkley Literature Festival as well as rural tours and storytelling festivals and clubs. Naomi also freelances as a producer, literature and arts worker, most recently for Signposts,  Apples & Snakes, Arts East Staffs, The Juice Festival and The Firebird Trust. Naomi has raised substantial funding for and developed a wide range of literature projects and has a particular interest in cross-artform collaborations.  She was one of four producers selected for the East Midlands’s Independent Producers programme by Arts Council England. See www.adversecamber.org for more information

Rachael Ogden, Board Member

Rachael is the Managing Director of Inpress, the sales and marketing agency for independent publishers. Based in Newcastle, the company’s growing client list includes over 35 publishers, whose books are sold directly to the consumer at www.inpressbooks.co.uk and to the book trade in the UK and internationally through a specialist sales team. Inpress also delivers book events, audience research, e-marketing and publicity campaigns. Rachael Ogden is formerly literature officer at Arts Council England and an award-winning event manager, with ten years’ experience in arts fundraising, marketing, PR and grant management. She is also a trustee of The Fawcett Society, a national organisation which campaigns for gender equality.