Sarah Bernstein

Sarah Bernstein is a Senior Lecturer in English & Creative Writing at the University of Strathclyde, joining in 2021. Previously, she taught at the Universities of Edinburgh and Sheffield and held a postdoctoral fellowship at IASH (2018). Specializing in 20th-century literature, her research explores literary experimentation, gender, care, and the commons, with a focus on 'literary difficulty.' She is an award-winning author of novels like Study for Obedience (Booker Prize shortlisted) and poetry collections like Now Comes the Lightning, translated into 16 languages.

Her critical work includes projects such as Difficult Women and the Common Good and The Social-Scientific Imagination, examining women writers' engagement with welfare states and social cooperation. She also leads the Old Woods: Regenerating Lost Landscapes initiative (2025–). Teaching encompasses undergraduate and postgraduate literature and creative writing, with supervision focused on experimental forms and themes like silence, academia, and land ownership.

Notable awards include the Granta Best of Young British Novelists (2023) and multiple international literary recognitions. Professional activities include BBC Radio 4 contributions, lectures at Canada’s National Book Fair, and peer reviewing for Writing in Practice. Her creative and critical works intersect, emphasizing form’s political potential and affective dimensions.