about me

Hi, I'm Rachael, and I don't actually have a middle name.

I’m an award-winning science fiction novelist and short story writer with 20 years’ industry experience. Now, it’s my privilege to help emerging authors find their creative path.

I wrote the first draft of my debut novel, Edge of Heaven, when I was 15 years old. It took me 22 years to knock it into shape and find a publisher, which is why I feel very confident I’ve earned my chops when I tell my students they should never give up.

I’ve always known I would be a writer. From early memories of scribbling tales about talking ponies to hitting the shortlist for one of the most prestigious prizes in sci-fi literature, this was always my path. And now I’d like to help you take your first steps along the same road.

I'm from Belfast, Northern Ireland

Though I work with emerging authors from all over the globe (thanks, Internet!), I was born and raised in Belfast and grew up during the Troubles. I’ve never written a Troubles novel, and I’m not likely to, but the more I write, the more I see those early experiences reflected in my work.

Northern Ireland has a rich tradition of science fiction writing, by the way, which surprises some people. I’ve written more about this here.

Terry Pratchett, Ben Elton, and Blade Runner are some of the biggest influences on my work.

I fell in love with speculative fiction through Elton and Pratchett, and with film through Ridley Scott. I actually went on to get a PhD in film theory (because I do nothing by halves) and now, with my friend and colleague Robert JE Simpson (on the left), I co-curate CinePunked, an organisation dedicated to bridging the gap between film academia and film fandom.

I'm a neurodivergent author.

I didn’t realise this until a few years ago, but all of a sudden my entire life makes so much more sense. I’m waiting for my official diagnosis (fellow NDs know how long that takes…) but my mental health team have unofficially agreed that I’m almost certainly autistic and ADHD. I love working with other neurodivergent authors, and it turns out that all of the adaptations I’ve unknowingly put into place throughout my writing career can be helpful for both neurodiverse and neurotypical writers.

Career timeline

1978

first publication

Long Anna River wins the Orange Northern Woman Short Story Award (judged by Booker Prize winner Anna Burns) and is published in Northern Woman magazine. It’s later selected for inclusion in the anthology The Barefoot Nuns of Barcelona.

1978

shortlisted for Bridport Prize

Short story Blumelena makes the Bridport Prize shortlist. It’s later published in the anthology Tales from the Perseus Arm Volume 1.

1978

winner of Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair Award

Edge of Heaven, newly redrafted for the… thousandth (?) time, is one of the winning novels in the 2014 competition.

1978

first creative writing class

My first creative writing class, Writing Fiction, opens at the Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast.

1978

debut novel published

Edge of Heaven is released for the first time by an Irish publisher. Due to contractual issues, it goes out of print the following year.

1978

debut novel published (again)

Edge of Heaven finds a new home with UK publisher NewCon Press. It’s released – with spectacular timing – just as the world goes into lockdown with Covid-19.

1978

shortlisted for Arthur C Clarke Award

Edge of Heaven is announced as one of 6 science fiction novels on the shortlist for one of the most prestigious awards in sci-fi literature. It doesn’t end up winning, but since the winner is the utterly spectacular The Animals In That Country by Laura Jean McKay, I’m not even mad. (If you haven’t read The Animals In That Country, you really should.)