James Walker

Role

James is the course leader for Creative Writing BA (hons). He has taught at Nottingham Trent since 2015 at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He was initially employed by the university as a writer to help develop modules that enabled students to gain real life experience of working on literature commissions. One example of this is Dawn of the Unread, an online comic series exploring Nottingham’s literary heritage which created roles for over 120 students who helped oversee all aspects of production (contracts, editing, commissioning, budgeting, marketing, promotion, etc). This won a Teaching Excellence Award at the Guardian Education Awards in 2015.

James specialises in digital storytelling. He produces the monthly video essay series Locating Lawrence on YouTube which explores the letters of D.H. Lawrence, a century from when they were written. This project will run till 2030. He makes digital comics, such as the Whatever People Say I Am series, with each comic challenging a stereotype. One of these comics, ‘Degrees of Isolation,’ challenged the stereotype of student behaviour during the Covid-19 Lockdown and was co-created with students across the globe.

Other roles include HEA Senior Fellowship reviewer and a member of the TILT Artificial Intelligence group. Since 2022, James has been an academic mentor at the Global School where he leads students from economically deprived backgrounds on international research trips whereby their findings inform council initiatives and strategies in Ashfield, Bolsover and Mansfield. One outcome of student research was the creation of an AI Gallery in Mansfield.

James is passionate about Nottingham’s literary history and has written about this for the Guardian , Independent , The Space, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4. He is currently working on a short story collection called The Right Side of Darkness.

Career overview

The below list relates to some of the literary and heritage organisations James has worked with.

• Board director, Worldwide Teaching and Learning Partnerships, (2025 - )
• Consultant, Mighty Sprouts, 2024-25
• Trustee, Nottingham Open Spaces Forum (2024 -)
• Consultant, Academics of Working Class Heritage, 2023
• Trustee, D.H. Lawrence Society (2018 - 2021)
• Consultant, East Midlands Heritage Awards (2017 - 2019)
• Board Director, Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature (2015 - 16)
• Consultant, Ray Gosling Archives (2014 - 2016)
• Chair, Nottingham Writers' Studio (2012 – 2015)
• Board Director, Nottingham Festival of Words (2012 – 2014)
• Trustee, Alan Sillitoe Committee (2011 – 2013)
• Literature Editor, LeftLion Magazine (2004 - 2016)

External activity

For the past decade James has worked voluntarily for various literary organisations, helping to promote and celebrate Nottingham’s literary history. His personal highlight was being part of a consortium of literary organisations who successfully bid for Nottingham to be accredited as a UNESCO City of Literature in December 2015. As a co-director of The Festival of Words (2014) he helped create Nottingham’s first literature festival in 40 years. He lives by the ethos of create the kind of city you want to live in.

He is currently working with the D.H. Lawrence Society, helping to develop Lawrence’s former home, Breach House, into a cultural heritage space to be used by arts communities, and digitising their archives. He is also a trustee of the education charity World Teaching and Learning Partnerships which is developing reading projects to help improve literacy levels across the globe.

Sponsors and collaborators

Current and recent research is being conducted with the collaboration, funding and / or support of:

• Ashfield County Council, Bolsover County Council, Mansfield Couty Council and Nottingham City Council
• Arts Council England
• BBC
• D.H. Lawrence Society
• LeftLion magazine
• Nottinghamshire Police Crime Commissioner
• Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature
• Think Amigo