NEWS New Faces

There have been a host of new volunteer recruits across SCBWI British Isles. This issue, Stephanie Cotela welcomes Loretta Flockhart, the new Creative Secrets and Features Editor for Words & Pictures.

Loretta Flockhart in Nami Island

I’ve been involved in writing and publishing for most of my working life, and began in regional newspapers in the 90s, writing adverts for local businesses. I switched over to the advertising side and worked in contract publishing, then switched back to editorial and trained as a journalist.

I’ve worked as a blogger, copywriter, subbed copy for e-learning platforms, volunteered as an editor for a charity, and gained an MA in Creative Writing from Chichester University.

These days I tend to do more teaching than writing. I became an English language teacher and combined this with my love for travel and spent the last eight years overseas learning languages and learning about teaching. I also developed and ran a course in creative writing for children while working at The British Council.

Loretta, Nami Island

Teaching kids, whose first language is not English, to write, play and polish their stories and poems in English, is one of my favourite things. I also volunteer for the Canals & Rivers Trust doing water safety and conservation projects with children, which is also cool as working with kids is so much fun!

I’ve been with SCBWI since 2013, and have recently moved to South Wales and joined the Wales network where I’m looking forward to knocking my ‘been-with-me-for-ages’ MG story into shape. I’ve previously won a SCBWI Slushpile Challenge and made it onto the longlist for WriteMentor Novel in Development so all that’s needed now is for me to persevere, stay committed and remember it’s all ok — I’ll get there in the end.

* Header image: Tita Berredo

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 Stephanie Cotela is the Network News & Events Editor for Words & Pictures magazine.