Head of Writing and Journalism

Jennifer Young came to Falmouth in 2019 to take up the post of Head of Writing and Journalism. She originally moved from the US to complete a MA in Creative Writing at Cardiff University, and then completed a PhD at Southampton University. She worked at the University of Hertfordshire for thirteen years, as a senior lecturer in Creative Writing and an Associate Dean in the School of Humanities. 

Her research interests centre on genre fiction, particularly historical and crime fiction. She has just completed a trilogy of historical thrillers set in the UK in 1952 to 1953. The first of these, Cold Crash, won the Cinnamon Press debut novel prize. The Running Lie came out in 2020, and A Little Switch was published in 2022. She is currently working on a novel set in the US in 1941. 

She is also working with Helen Lederer on the Comedy Women in Print (CWIP) prize, which offers both published and unpublished categories. Jennifer is the head judge for the unpublished category in 2022. Other external partners have included Luton Museum, the Society of Antiquaries and the International Cocoa Organisation.

External Links

Dr Jennifer Young staff picture

Contact details

Telephone 01326370409

Qualifications

Qualifications

Year Qualification Awarding body
2010 PhD Southampton University
2002 MA Cardiff University
1998 BA University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Honors and awards

Year Description
2017 Debut Novel Prize, Cinnamon Press

Research Interests

Research interests and expertise

My research focuses on historical fiction and the pedagogy of Creative Writing. My historical thriller trilogy delves into the 1950s through an examination of the role of women, particularly in heritage professions. I am also developing a co-authored novel with a colleague at a museum in North Carolina about the pack horse librarians, who delivered library books on horseback into the Appalachian Mountains between 1935 and 1943. My interest in historical fiction has sprung out of externally funded projects with colleagues in history and pedagogical research with colleagues in archaeology, as the links between heritage and creativity fascinate me. I have published on pedagogy, and I am currently working on a co-authored paper on workshopping with a current MA student. 

Research Topics

  • Creative Writing
  • Historical fiction
  • Archaeology
  • Genre
  • Crime
  • Pedagogy

Research Outputs

Publications and research outputs

  • Young, Jennifer

    (2022), A Little Switch, Cinnamon Press, Birmingham UK, ISBN: 978-1-78864-122-7, Item availability may be restricted.
  • Young, Jennifer

    (2020), The Running Lie, Cinnamon Press, Blaenau Ffestiniog, ISBN: 978-1-78864-076-3, Item availability may be restricted.
  • Young, Jennifer

    (2017), Cold Crash, Cinnamon Press, Blaenau Ffestiniog, ISBN: 978-1910836-77-4, Item availability may be restricted.
  • Garcia Rangel, Sherezade

    Young, Jennifer, (2019), Debate and Game: The Relevant Britain Literary Award – Enabling students to discuss contemporary issues in a safe and engaging way, In: NAWE Conference 2019, 8-10 November 2019, York, (Unpublished), Item availability may be restricted.
  • Garcia Rangel, Sherezade

    (2019), On The Hill podcast – Season One: Falmouth Cemetery, Falmouth University

Research Students

Previous student supervision

Jamie Popowich,  'Chrome Kisses: a comedy about real estate in an age of exploding glass' (creative project); 'Nobody Moves -- Charles Willeford's Hardboiled Immovable Heroes', University of Hertfordshire, 2019.
Nicholas Waters, 
'Strive: Social Anxiety in Cyberpunk Detective Fiction', University of Hertfordshire, 2019. 

Number of research students supervised to completion

2

Teaching

Areas of teaching

  • Creative Writing
  • English

Courses taught

  • Creative Writing BA(Hons), English with Creative Writing BA(Hons), Professional Writing MA

Professional Engagement

Professional esteem indicators

Year Description
2016 Cinnamon Press Debut Novel Prize