Gavin James Bower

Gavin James Bower was born and grew up in Lancashire. He graduated with a degree in History from the University of Sheffield, before modelling for Hermès and John Galliano in Paris and later working in London publishing, where he edited best-selling authors Anne Dickson, Brian Sewell and Allan Massie and commissioned Nikesh Shukla’s ‘Coconut Unlimited’, which was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award.

‘A novelist with the ability to cut through the hype and reveal the dark heart of everyday life,’ according to the Independent, he is the author of two novels (’Dazed & Aroused’ and ‘Made in Britain’) and one nonfiction title (’Claude Cahun: The Soldier with No Name’) – for which he received a Society of Authors award – and his journalism has featured in the Guardian, the Independent and Independent on Sunday, the Sunday Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, and BBC Radio 5 Live. He joined EastEnders in 2014, writing five episodes.

He now lives in Somerset and teaches Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.

gavinjamesbower.com

Specialises in: Contemporary fiction, short story collections, and creative non-fiction.

Gavin provides tuition for our Mentoring Service.

In publishing I worked with best-selling and award-winning authors, both emerging and established. I learned when to push and when to pull back, when to be sensitive and when to encourage – because anyone writing a novel needs encouragement. At Bath Spa University I tutor on our flagship MA in Creative Writing and also lead the First-Year BA programme. As a mentor I bring with me vast experience, ranging from novels to journalism to television, alongside an editor’s granular attention to detail and a writer’s intentionality – in a word I meet you where you are but expect you to want more from the process. And this is a process. By the end of it I will help you write the very best version of your idea.

I love working with writers of contemporary fiction, short story collections, and creative non-fiction.