Doctoral student in the English Language and Literature Department, selected for the highly selective 'Novel Writing with Paul McVeigh'  residency

We are delighted to share that Sun Wanning, a doctoral student in the English Language and Literature Department pursuing research in creative writing, was selected for the highly selective Novel Writing with Paul McVeigh residency at Circle of Misse in France in May 2026. Her doctoral research in creative writing studies is supervised by Dr Anitha Devi Pillai.

The programme accepted only five writers in 2026, creating a rigorous environment for workshop discussion and one-to-one feedback on the craft of novel writing.

For a doctoral student researching creative writing, such an experience is especially valuable. One cannot fully analyse creative writing programmes or teach creative writing at the tertiary level without also understanding, from within, the discipline, difficulty, and vulnerability of being a writer.

For an emerging writer working towards publication, this means carrying a double workload of developing as a scholar while also developing the artistic practice of writing.

Sun Wanning’s participation in this residency reflects both her seriousness as a researcher and her promise as a creative practitioner. This opportunity marks an important step in the shaping of her doctoral work and her writerly voice.

Reflecting on the experience, Sun Wanning shared, “Paul’s residency helped me sharpen my own fiction, teaching me to begin with more force, build scenes with tension, and weave small emotional details into a thread that carries the story forward.”

Paul McVeigh, award-winning author of The Good Son, winner of the Polari First Book Prize and the McCrea Literary Award, led the residency. A novelist, short story writer, playwright, and experienced creative writing teacher, he added, “Through a series of classes and one-to-one sessions I worked daily with Sun Wanning on her writing. Her work shows huge promise and I was impressed with her dedication to the craft, her intelligence and her positivity all of which made an important contribution to the course.”