About

Founder Mabel Ferrett, who died in 2011, lived in Heckmondwike. Her son John still acts as Consultant. Pauline Kirk who is now sole Editor lives near York.

Pauline is a published poet and novelist, and has edited journals and community publications as well as major anthologies of poetry. As a performance poet she has appeared at venues and festivals throughout the north, broadcast on local radio, and facilitated creative writing groups in a wide range of locations, from libraries and colleges to Social Services Day Centres and community halls. Her poems have recently been translated into Romanian.

With her daughter, Jo Summers, Pauline also writes the D.I. Ambrose series of novels under the pen name PJ Quinn (Foul Play, Poison Pen, Close Disharmony and Poetic Justice). These are published by Stairwell Books. See www.stairwellbooks.co.uk or www.pjquinn.co.uk or the Crime Writers Association for further details. Stairwell Books are developing the fifth novel in the series Skull Days.

Pauline has had three novels published under her own name: Waters of Time (Century Hitchinson, Ulverscroft), The Keepers (Virago, Little Brown, reissued as an e-book by Stairwell Books) and Border 7 (Stairwell Books). Pauline recently recorded Border 7 as an audio book which is available on Amazon Audible. New editions of Waters of Time and The Keepers were published by Stairwell Books in 2021.