Jenn Ashworth

Professor Jenn Ashworth is a Professor of Writing at Lancaster University's Department of English and Creative Writing, part of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS). She serves as Subject Lead in Creative Writing and has held roles including a Writing Research Fellowship at Manchester University. Her academic qualifications include a BA from Newnham College, Cambridge (2003), MA in Creative Writing from Manchester University (2006), and PhD from Lancaster University (2013).

• PhD Thesis: 'Preaching to the Choir: Writing and Uncertainty in a Mormon Context'
• PGCert Academic Practice (2014)

Her research focuses on long prose fiction, the short story, creative non-fiction, and the personal essay. Key interests include unreliable narrators, LDS fiction, and trauma representation in memoir. She co-founded the Curious Tales collective (2013), producing collaborative anthologies like The Longest Night and Congregation of Innocents. Her novels include Fell (2016) and Ghosted: A Love Story (2021).

Publications emphasize creative-critical hybrid works and narrative experimentation. Recent articles (2025) explore themes like genre hybridity and collaborative storytelling. Her work has been recognized with awards including the Betty Trask Award and BBC Culture Show features.

Grants & Advising: Supervises PhD proposals on topics like 'sense of place' in fiction and religion-themed narratives. Current supervisee: Matthew Tattersall. Active in literary festivals and workshops, including the BBC British Short Story Award judging panel.

Labs/Collectives: Curious Tales fosters interdisciplinary collaboration among writers and artists. She also co-authors horror fiction with R.S. Hirst (Plunge Hill Hospital).