Helen has been teaching people to write for thirty years. She has devised and delivered writing courses from adult classes for recreational writers to undergraduate and masters degrees. She has also created and taught online writing courses since the internet was invented – almost. Her graduates are international prizewinners and have published adult, YA and children's fiction, non-fiction and have had screenplays produced. They cite her down-to-earth approach and clear instruction as key to their progress.

Helen is a fiction writer herself and was a finalist in the Independent on Sunday short story competition. She recently retired from university teaching to concentrate on finishing a novel and a contemporary thriller about a child's murder – and to work with groups of writers in the wider community.