Roehampton graduate to release debut novel

• Monday, November 11, 2019

Charlotte Byrne, who studied MA Creative Writing and graduated in 2016 will release her debut novel in the spring.

The novel, called Folked Up will be published by indie press Crystal Peake in spring 2020. Following the story of a teenage folk musician who is transported to a parallel world of old England, the novel is written in the vernacular and introduces young adult readers to old English folk song.

Byrne started writing the novel as part of her MA Creative Writing degree, and used it as the basis for her dissertation. After her graduation Byrne completed her novel and spent a year finding a publisher for it.

Byrne says ‘The MA Creative Writing course was fantastic, and I gained valuable experience working with the University’s Fincham Press, which really helped me understand the process of getting work out there and what to expect. Roehampton has incredible teachers who create a really supportive environment.’

Ariel Kahn, reader in the department of English and Creative Writing says ‘The Creative Writing MA programme is designed to enable students to follow the creative path that most interests them, and help them fulfil their potential as writers. We are delighted that Charlotte's debut novel started in class, and she has used the MA as a platform to develop it and take it forwards to successful publication.'

You can follow Charlotte on Twitter @charladybyrne

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