Dr Colette Paul

After studying English and Politics, Colette completed a MLitt in Creative Writing, and then a PhD, funded by a Carnegie Scholarship. During this time, she worked as a postgraduate tutor in English Literature for the University of Glasgow, teaching a survey course from Milton to Angela Carter.

After she finished her PhD, she taught Creative Writing at Glasgow University (MA level) and at Strathclyde University (BA level) and also for Visibility Scotland. She has worked at ARU since 2008 where she teaches mainly on the short story, and supervises students at all levels.

Colette's stories have been serialised on Radio 4, and she has published in many literary magazines and journals. Her story ‘O Tell Me the Truth About Love’ won the Royal Society of Authors / Tom Gallon Award, and two of her stories were included in Victoria Hislop’s anthology, The Story: Love, Loss & the Lives of Women: 100 Great Short Stories.

• Short fiction, theory and practice
• Prose fiction
• Narrative theory
• Contemporary women’s writing

First supervisor for PhD students including:

• Dr Louise Ells, Collection of Short Stories with an accompanying critical commentary on the narrative strategies of Alice Munro
• Dr Barry Howes, Crime Novel, with accompanying critical commentary on multifocalization in Detective Fiction
• Dr Sean Baker, Short Fiction and New Regionalism
• Dr Mayowa Saja Peters, Novel, and Migrant Literature
• Dr Ruth Mason, Novel, and Feminist Interventions
• Dr Carol Saville, Fantasy Novel and Ecocriticism
• Nancy Pardo, Collection of stories with a critical component focusing on feminist approaches to ecocritism

Colette is also second supervisor on a number of PhD projects including:

• Dr Kathy Higgins, Collection of Short stories set in Zimbabwe with an accompanying critical commentary
• Dr Andrew McDonnell, Short stories and experimental use of second person narration
• Lisa Farrell, Interactive fiction

Colette teaches writing at BA, MA and PhD level

• PhD, University of Strathclyde.
• MLitt Creative Writing, Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde.
• MA (Hons) 1st Class, English Literature and Politics, University of Glasgow

• Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy, Anglia Ruskin University
• Member, 2023 Advisory Board for QAA Benchmarking statement in Creative Writing

• September 2020-Present: External Examiner, University of Strathclyde
• June 2019-Present: RLF Writing Fellow Coordinator
• January 2014-2017: External Examiner for Creative Writing at Cambridge University, ICE
• 2012: Reader/ Reviewer for The Professional & Higher Partnership, a publisher of academic books on Creative Writing
• 2011: External for CAVA (Cambridge Access Validating agency) for Creative Writing at Community College Norwich

Awards

• Carnegie Scholarship, October 2003- October 2006
• Tom Gallon/Royal Society of Authors’ Short Story Prize, 2005
• Finalist 2004 Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Writer’s Awards

A Complete Success (Edinburgh: Batis Books, 2026)

'Mine' in For Books Sake: For Women Who Write, (website), Friday 22 March, 2019, in the 'Weekend Read' slot

'Ancient History' in Litro, 10 June, 2018

'Condition' in Manchester Review, Issue 17, February 2017

'Renaissance' and 'Kenny' in The Story: Love, Loss & the Lives of Women: 100 Great Short Stories, (ed) Victoria Hislop, (Head of Zeus, Aug 2013) (ISBN: 9781781853603). Published in hardback, paperback, Ebook & Kindle. 'Renaissance' also published separately in The Story: Loss: Great Short Stories for Women by Women (Head of Zeus, Sept 2013) (ISBN: 9781781857304). 'Kenny' also published separately in The Story: Love: Great Short Stories for Women by Women (Head of Zeus, Sept 2013) (ISBN: 9781781857298)

'Long Night of the Soul' in New Writing Scotland 31, August 2013 (ISBN 978-1-906841-14-0)

'Where in the World' in Stand, Vol 11 (3) 199: 68-74. (University of Leeds, July 2013) (ISSN: 0038-9366)

'Real Life' in Short Fiction in Theory & Practice Vol 1, Issue 2: 217-226 (April, 2012) (doi: 10. 1386)

'Privacy' in Edinburgh Review, Vol 123, 'The Real World: 94-101 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011) (ISSN: 0267-6672)

'Carrying On', in New Writing: The International Journal for the Theory and Practice of Creative Writing, Vol. 7, Issue 1: 76-85 (London: Routledge, 2010) (ISSN: 1479-0726)

'Marginalia' in The Year of Open Doors (Glasgow: Cargo Press, 2010). Also published in Gutter: The Magazine of New Scottish Writing, Vol. 3: 60-64 (Glasgow: Freight, Autumn 2010)

‘I’m Happy, You’re Happy, We’re All Happy’ in Lost on Purpose, (New York: Seal Press, 2005)

Whoever You Choose to Love (London: Phoenix/Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2004)

• Radio 4 short story commission, 'Ghosts', broadcast September 2008 as part of the 'Save Our Souls' series, repeated 2009, 2010.
• Five short stories broadcast on Afternoon Reading, Radio 4, January 2004-Feburary 2005, repeated 2006 and 2007.
• Written book reviews for The Herald, The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday, and The List.