Adam O'Riordan

Adam O'Riordan is a Reader and Professor in Contemporary Poetry and Fiction at Manchester Metropolitan University's Manchester Writing School. He holds academic leadership roles, including former Academic Director of the Manchester Writing School and Programme Leader for the Creative Writing MA/MFA. His teaching focuses on poetry and creative writing, emphasizing international collaboration through initiatives like the Tri-Continental MFA consortium with Hong Kong University and Boston University.

Education: BA in English Literature and Language from the University of Oxford, MA and PhD in Creative Writing from the University of London under Professor Andrew Motion. His research interests include 20th-century British and American poetry, short stories, and the intersection of family history with societal and industrial legacies. He has published award-winning poetry collections (In the Flesh, A Herring Famine), a short story collection (The Burning Ground), and a novel (The Falling Thread).

Key awards include the Somerset Maugham Award (2011), Eric Gregory Award (2008), and Arts Council England Writer’s Awards (2008, 2006). He has judged literary awards for the Society of Authors and contributed to publications like the TLS and Financial Times. Collaborations include working with musician Guy Garvey as a Visiting Professor of Song-writing.