By Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone

 

This term’s competition to be part of the City Writes Summer Event on the 9th July over Zoom, has been fierce. We were sent a wonderful hoard of stories and the lucky winners joining alumna and debut author, Fiona Keating, are: Dominique Gracia, Clare O’Connor, Aditi Parekh, Safiyah Sobrany, Lois Thomas and Dilys Wyndham Thomas. For further details on these wonderful writers, see below, and register here to hear them read on the 9th July. It’s going to be a real showcase of the creative writing coming from City St George’s short courses. Prepare for an event filled with the mysterious, the uncanny, the eerie whisper of trauma rising unbidden, the longing for communion and the joy of travel. Don’t miss out on these budding talents! Register for your place now.

 

Dominique Gracia for her story ‘Jack’s Gal’. Dominique is a Crime and Thriller Writing alumna. Dominique Gracia researches Victorian literature and culture and writes short and flash fiction. She is fascinated by things that come up again and again, and run below the surface, from Greek mythology to cultural tropes that just won’t die, and the emotions that carry them along. Her first book-length collection of short stories—The Meinir Davies Casebook—follows Welsh female detective Meinir Davies across fin-de-siècle London, accompanied by Sherlock Holmes, Dorcas Dene, et al.

 

Clare O’Connor for an extract from her novel, Nonsuch Island. Clare is another Crime and Thriller Writing alumna. Clare O’Connor was born and brought up on the tiny island of Bermuda. Her debut mystery novel, Nonsuch Island, draws on her experience covering crime and politics as a newspaper reporter in her home country. With an MSc from Columbia University’s School of Journalism, she’s spent her career in magazine journalism, online media, and editorial strategy. She lives between Brighton and Oxford with her wife and stepchildren.

 

Aditi Parekh, a Writers’ Workshop alumna, for an extract from a longer short story ‘Happy Endings’. Aditi Parekh is writer based in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. In the past she worked as an actuary in the insurance industry for several years before quitting to explore other pursuits. She is currently writing short stories and working on her first novel.

Lois Thomas for her non-fiction piece, ‘A Warm Welcome’. Lois is a Narrative Non-Fiction student.

 

Lois Thomas grew up in Hampshire and has spent time in her mother’s home country of Japan.  After studying History at university, Lois worked in politics before training as a Clinical Psychologist, for which her doctoral project explored the therapeutic benefits of writing.  She has worked in NHS mental health services in London for over 15 years, specialising in therapy with adolescents and young adults.

 

Safiyah Sobrany, an Approach to Creative Writing student, for her piece, ‘When The Smoke Smells Like Marigolds’. Safiyah is an anthropology postgraduate and Religious Studies teacher with a gothic sensibility and a sense of cultural weight drawn to djinns, restless ancestors including the peculiar dinner parties they throw when no one is watching! Her work lifts the colonial dust that’s long settled on the gothic, reclaiming forgotten South Asian folklore and ancestral voices. She explores how histories shape identity in ways that are uncanny and deeply human.

Dilys Wyndham Thomas for her story ‘Bellybutton Baby’. Dilys is a Writers’ Workshop alumna. Dilys Wyndham Thomas lives in the Netherlands. Her poems and short stories appear in journals and anthologies, including Ink Sweat & Tears, New Flash Fiction Review, The Passionfruit Review, and Shooter. Rust & Moth nominated her for a 2026 Pushcart Prize. Dilys also runs workshops for Strange Birds Writing Collective and was an assistant poetry editor for Passengers Journal. She is working on her first novel. Find her online at dilyswt.com.

 

Following these fantastic writers will be Writers’ Workshop alumna, Fiona Keating whose mesmeric debut, Smoke and Silk is a historical thriller taking you into Victorian London’s Chinese community with opium smuggling, murder and romance.

 

City Writes Summer 2025 is going to be sizzling. Register here to join us on the 9th July at 7pm over Zoom. See you there.