Victoria Bennett

I am a writer, poet and creative producer. I founded Wild Women Press in 1999 and have spent the last 21 years facilitating creative experiences and curating platforms for women to share ideas, stories, inspirations and actions for positive change, including the global #WildWomanWeb movement and #WildWomanGamer.  I hold an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University (2002). Previous awards include the Northern Debut Award for non-fiction (2020), the the Mother's Milk Writing Prize (2017), The Writing Platform Digital Literature Bursary (2015), Northern Promise Award for Poetry  (2002), and the Waterhouse Award for Poetry (2002). With nearly three decades experience working as a freelance writer and artist, my work includes poetry, non-fiction, video-game narrative, creative writing facilitation, and publishing. I am a co-director of The Wizard and The Wyld, an immersive digital-storytelling partnership.

My latest poety pamphlet, To Start The Year From Its Quiet Centre is published by Indigo Dreams Publishing Ltd. 

“...controlled, spare and with the particular magic of inviting the reader in right-up-close. An agonisingly beautiful, closely observed and compassionate love letter and leave-taking for a much loved mother.” (Deborah Alma -- Poet, Editor & Founder of The Poetry Pharmacy)

"...So glad to have been part of bringing this story to a wider audience. It is extraordinary work..." (Ronnie Goodyer, Indigo Dreams Publishing Ltd)

"...you've captured my lifetime in palliative care. Just wonderful..." (Dr Kathryn Mannix, author 'With The End In Mind -- How To Live And Die Well)

I am currently working on All My Wild Mothers, a nature memoir that examines motherhood, loss, and the ancient art of wortcunning. This work- in-progress was long-listed for the Nan Shepherd Prize (2019) and the Penguin WriteNow Programme (2020). I am grateful to New Writing North and  The Society of Authors, for awarding me the Northern Debut Award and an Authors' Foundation grant to complete this work.

"...All My Wild Mothers is so good! Really distinctive, interesting writing...I've never read anything quite like it..." (Amy Liptrot, Northern Debut Award).

I am also currently developing an extended project, Human Geographies - an XR memoir project exploring narratives of absence and how literature can collaborate with immersive, digital spaces to share our grief stories. This work is supported through a DYCP award from the Arts Council of England.

I live with a rebellious body, caused by a collision of Genetic Haemochromatosis, a hereditary metabolic disorder which leads to a toxic accumulation of iron in the body; Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (a hereditary connective tissue disorders), and Dysautonomia. These unruly genes result in chronic and disabling illness. I live in rural Cumbria with my husband and son, for whom I am also a full-time carer and home-educator. When I am not juggling home-ed, freelance creative projects, research, study and chronic illness, I can be found howling with the Wild Women, my creative tribe.