About
Simon Heywood is a Senior Lecturer in Creative and Professional Writing at the College of Arts, Humanities and Education. His research focuses on silence in language and writing, creative writing pedagogy, and Jewish storytelling traditions. Recent work includes co-editing the Routledge volume Strategies of Silence (2021) and publishing on female silence in narratives and intergenerational storytelling. Active in folklore studies, he has explored informant disavowal and ethnographic methodologies. His work spans academic writing, literary criticism, and cultural heritage preservation.
Research interests emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to narrative, particularly how silence functions across creative and pedagogical contexts. Notable collaborations include projects with Moy McCrory on gendered silence and Jewish women’s storytelling. His publications analyze mythological motifs, cultural memory, and the intersection of oral traditions with contemporary writing practices.
Publications reflect a commitment to both theoretical analysis and practical pedagogy. Recent output includes chapters in edited volumes (Routledge, 2021) and articles in Storytelling, Self, Society and Folklore. His work bridges literary studies, anthropology, and cultural studies, with a focus on marginalized voices and narrative preservation.
