Writer, editor and teacher of creative writing, Valerie Thornton, has been awarded a fellowship to develop a fresh approach to the teaching of advanced writing skills to students at the University of Glasgow.

Working on a one-to-one basis across the Faculty of Education, Valerie will use her creative flair and experience as a published writer to inspire and encourage students to take their writing skills to the next level.

This new and innovative approach to the teaching of academic writing has been made possible through Valerie's Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellowship. The Pooh Bear connection arises because the late and popular children's writer A A Milne left his royalties to the Royal Literary Fund.

The generous legacy was much enhanced when the Disney Corporation recently purchased the remaining years of copyright on Winnie the Pooh from the Royal Literary Fund. A multi-million-pound deal took place that has enabled the Royal Literary Fund to place Writing Fellows, such as Valerie, in academic institutions around the UK.

"I am very grateful to the Royal Literary Fund and the late A A Milne that this fellowship has been made possible," explains Valerie.

"It is my intention to use the funding and my position here at Glasgow to work on extending students' existing writing skills, to help them to structure longer pieces of writing and develop a fluent and articulate style. Often students find it difficult to fulfil the expectations of unfamiliar forms of academic writing and handle the development of an argument." "On a personal note, I am keen to work with some of the best students in the country here at the University of Glasgow. I understand they are a lively lot and I am sure I will have my work cut out for me!"

Commenting on Valerie's appointed, Professor Jim McGonigal of the Faculty of Education said:

"The Faculty is delighted with this new appointment, which should enable students to benefit from the knowledge and experience of such a respected writer and teacher. This is an innovative use of the craft skills that Val has developed as a creative writer and editor. All writing has a creative dimension to it, in terms of building strong, clear and effective communication that makes a positive impact on the intended reader."

Media Relations Office (media@gla.ac.uk)

More details on the Royal Literary Fund can be found at: www.rlf.org.uk.

For over 20 years, Valerie Thornton?s poems and short stories have appeared in literary magazines and anthologies in the UK, Ireland, Europe (in translation), Canada and America. She has received a Scottish Arts Council bursary, been shortlisted for the Macallan / Scotland on Sunday short story prize and, in the biennial Asham short story prize, she was shortlisted in 2001 and a prizewinner in 2003.

Her first collection of poems, ?Catacoustics? (Mariscat Press) was published in 2000. She is co-editor of New Writing Scotland and edits the annual anthologies of children's writing from Renfrewshire Libraries.

Valerie?s creative-writing textbook, Working Words (Hodder Educational 1995), won joint first prize as Times Educational Supplement Scotland and Saltire Society Scottish Educational Book of the Year. She is currently writing a book called Writers' Craft 11 to 14, to be published in April 2006 by Hodder Gibson, and is developing an online CPD (Continuing Professional Development) course on teaching creative writing for teachers who are members of SNAP (the Scottish Network for Able Pupils, based at the University of Glasgow).

She also teaches fiction-writing online for the Open University.

First published: 5 October 2005