{"id":16768,"date":"2019-02-06T11:42:50","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T11:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.city-academy.com\/news\/?p=16768"},"modified":"2026-01-21T11:16:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T11:16:28","slug":"meet-our-writers-in-residence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.city-academy.com\/news\/meet-our-writers-in-residence\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Our Writers In Residence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I'm delighted to welcome Ollie Charles and Leilah Moodley, the winners of our inaugural Writers in Residence Scheme<\/strong> - our hot-off-the-press initiative for writers here at City Academy. Over the next six months, Ollie and Leilah will both produce short novels with dedicated mentoring and support from City Academy.\u00a0To kick off the Residency, I caught up with Ollie and Leilah to talk about their work.<\/p>\n

~ Jon Barton, Head of Writing<\/em><\/p>\n

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Ollie Charles and Leilah Moodey - City Academy Writers In Residence <\/h3><\/div><\/div>
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Hi Leilah and Ollie! First of all, tell us a bit about your background in writing, when and where you started, and how you got into it.<\/h2>\n

Leilah<\/strong>: I have always written, I recently came across a book I had written when I was 6: it was a similar premise to Harry Potter (just saying) but so far my writing has been only for myself.<\/p>\n

Ollie<\/strong>: I have always wanted to write \u2013 to tell stories, spark a conversation, but it often feels like pushing an impossible task up a very steep hill.\u00a0I did a City Academy Writing Course about two years ago to jump start some creativity. Now I can\u2019t stop. I\u2019ve written and submitted a number of short stories to journals, got a place on two Spread The Word<\/a> schemes, attended the David Higham Open Day<\/a>, completed more City Academy Writing Courses<\/a> and now am writing my first novel. Let\u2019s see what happens!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

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What does writing mean to you both?<\/h2>\n

Leilah<\/strong>: My love of writing comes from my love of reading, which I\u2019m obsessed with because I\u2019m fascinated by what\u2019s in other people\u2019s heads, and the different ways life can turn out. This can be completely explored and played around with in fiction. Reading and writing are incredibly therapeutic and have helped me through the worst times. There\u2019s magic and miracles in words and stories!<\/p>\n

Ollie<\/strong>: My writing means everything to me. I love words, how they can be used to make you feel something whether that\u2019s anger, sadness, laughter. Words made of letters which, individually, mean very little, together are some of the most powerful things in the world.<\/p>\n

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My head is just full of words which need to come out...<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How would you describe your writing style?<\/h2>\n

Leilah<\/strong>: I just like writing about the weird things that are in my head, the mismatch of thoughts and actions, exploring the absolute and utter confusion and hilarity\u00a0that is life. I would say I have about three existential crises a month and writing really helps create some sort of meaning for me. I have no idea basically; my head is just full of words which need to come out.<\/p>\n

Ollie<\/strong>:\u00a0My writing style can vary, but right now I\u2019m probably being more experimental. I try to tie in my own reality into the worlds I write and use dark humour to illustrate my point. I like to explore\u00a0gender, sexuality, identity and the cult of celebrity in my writing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

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City Academy Writing Courses<\/h3><\/div><\/div>
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What appealed to you about City Academy\u2019s Writers In Residence Programme?<\/h2>\n

Ollie<\/strong>: The fact that I trusted City Academy and their team! The opportunity to have a tutor to share my work with for six months meant that I was going to be accountable to someone other than myself. Plus, it\u2019s always good to have more people to talk to about writing!<\/p>\n

Leilah<\/strong>: Because my writing has always been so secret, it appealed to me to share it with others and to improve. There is a terror about sharing my writing that I wanted to confront, and things I want to write about that I think are important. I mainly write from the perspective of women and think all men should read in this way about women - it will be the best thing for feminism ever! I\u2019ve also done a Creative Writing Course<\/a> with City Academy and it was wonderful, and I just wanted it to carry on. The support, feedback and ideas I tapped into elevated everything for me.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s magic and miracles in words and stories!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What advice would you give to any writers applying for the programme?<\/h2>\n

Ollie<\/strong>:\u00a0Do it, what\u2019s to lose?<\/p>\n

Leilah<\/strong>: Same for me - just do it really; have confidence in yourself and remember that things only start to happen once you put yourself out there. Everything happens for a reason and dance like everyone is watching. Because they are.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tBROWSE WRITING COURSES\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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