Sally O'Reilly

I joined the English Department of The Open University in 2014, becoming Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing in 2019 and Honorary Associate in 2021. Previously, I worked as an Associate Lecturer for the OU and as a creative writing lecturer at the University of Portsmouth and Brunel University, where I studied for my PhD, for which I was awarded an Isambard Scholarship.

My research interests focus on marginal voices in historical fiction and climate writing. I’m the author of two novels published by Penguin books. My historical novel Dark Aemilia was published by Myriad Editions//Picador US in 2014.

I have worked as a journalist and editor for Christian Aid and Barnardo’s, and as a freelance for the Guardian, Sunday Times and New Scientist. My teaching has covered a wide range of genres, including the novel, the short story, creative non-fiction and screenwriting. I am co-editor , with Jane Yeh, of Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings (Routledge, 2022).