Introducing ICE’s new Director of Creative Writing

ICE’s Centre for Creative Writing is thrilled to welcome esteemed author and lecturer Dr Yvonne Battle-Felton as its new Academic Director. Yvonne’s journey demonstrates that although the pathway can sometimes be a winding one, with access to flexible, continuing education, there’s no need to give up on a dream.

The fork in the road

“I was a straight-A student,” recalls Yvonne, of her childhood growing up in New Jersey, USA. “I always had this idea that I was going to university to become a writer. But when I was 16, my mom decided she was moving to Germany alone. Everything I thought I knew about my future was gone.

With her life upended at a pivotal age, it’s no surprise that, over time, Yvonne’s young ambition ebbed away. But throughout the years, events and places that followed, Yvonne kindled an enduring relationship with continuing education that saw her enrol in parttime courses on wide-ranging subjects – literature, psychology, running a B&B – at local community colleges, sometimes with support from their financial aid schemes. Finally, it was a redundancy cheque from her telecoms employer that fully relit the fire of her youth.

“I went to the adult education division of the University of Maryland to study English and Communications,” explains Yvonne. “It felt like I was back on track. Even before I finished my undergrad, I applied for an MA in Writing at Johns Hopkins because I knew I wanted to write.

From PhD to published author

Yvonne’s renewed career certainty and obvious talent ultimately saw her land a bursary for a PhD at Lancaster University, where she wrote her awardwinning debut novel, Remembered, a multi-generational story of families ruptured by the brutality of slavery and the realisation that freedom is not synonymous with equality.

“I wanted to show what it might have been like to search for someone after the emancipation in the US,” says Yvonne.

“ We don’t hear a lot about that, and there are many issues in the interviews that took place with emancipated people decades later, like the power dynamics of who asks the questions and the assumptions that were baked into those questions.”

Giving voice to more writers at ICE

Today, fuelled by a desire to amplify the voices of a broader range of storytellers and backed by a bona fide appreciation of the value of part-time learning, Yvonne is a lecturer, author, podcaster and publishing-house commissioning editor, to list but some of her many titles, and eager to share her experience with ICE’s creative writing students – whether they’re dipping their toes into short courses for the first time or honing their practice through a Master’s programme.

“I’m so excited to build on the work of my predecessor, Dr Midge Gillies,” adds Yvonne. “We have a brilliant, passionate, creative and experienced team here, and we want to make it possible for even more people to find their stories and pursue their dreams.

“In my experience, you learn so much more in a classroom community. Whatever your motivation, you deserve to be able to invest in yourself."

To find out more about Creative Writing at ICE, click here.