Cathy Bolton was a writing development worker at Commonword for many years.  She ran the Womanswrite workshop and was instrumental in establishing Commonword as a linch pin of North West writing. She went on to become the Director of Manchester Literature Festival continuing to make an impact on Manchester’s literary scene. She secured an  MA in Writing from Sheffield Hallam, her poems and short fiction have appeared in a number of literary magazines and anthologies. She got her first publishing break in the Crocus She Says anthology and went on to co-edit a number of other collections for Crocus including Bitch Lit.

“One of the first things I did when I moved to Manchester was to join Commonword’s Womanswrite workshop, then run by Liz Rutherford – she and the other members of the group were very supportive and encouraged me to start submitting work for publication. A few months later, I got several poems accepted for the Crocus She Says anthology which boosted my confidence no end. A couple of years later I was appointed as the Writing Development Worker at Commonword – my dream job! For the next fourteen years I worked with a great team of people in a very nurturing environment, developing a wide range of skills that I am now putting into use in my new role as Director of Manchester Literature Festival.”

“One of the first things I did when I moved to Manchester was to join Commonword’s Womanswrite workshop, then run by Liz Rutherford – she and the other members of the group were very supportive and encouraged me to start submitting work for publication. A few months later, I got several poems accepted for the Crocus She Says anthology which boosted my confidence no end. A couple of years later I was appointed as the Writing Development Worker at Commonword – my dream job! For the next fourteen years I worked with a great team of people in a very nurturing environment, developing a wide range of skills that I am now putting into use in my new role as Director of Manchester Literature Festival.”