Role
Drawing on her own creative practice as a poet and more than thirty-five years' experience of teaching and learning in the private, public, and third sectors, Dr Becky Cullen designs, develops, and delivers programmes and events which celebrate writing, reading, and creativity.
She is currently Director of the NTU Arts Writing, Reading and Pleasure (WRAP) programme, co-producing and curating TV book clubs, the Book Doctors, writing workshops, open mic nights, and publications with students across NTU.
Becky is also the writer and presenter of all 45 episodes of the Notts TV Book Club.
Career overview
Becky has a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing, funded by the AHRC-Midlands3Cities Doctoral Training Programme. She is the inaugural M3C award for Public Engagement in recognition of her work as Poet-in-Residence at Newstead Abbey.
Her thesis, 'Mastering Time: Time and Temporality in Contemporary Anglophone Poetry', contains poems published in her debut poetry collection A Reader's Guide to Time (Live Canon). Her pamphlet 'Majid Sits in a Tree and Sings' is a winner of the prestigious Poetry Business International Poetry and Book Competition.
Prior to starting at NTU as a master’s student in 2011, Becky taught at GSCE, A, Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels, as well as working as a Learning & Development Manager and HR Business Partner. She uses her professional experience as a Short Course Tutor for NTU, delivering courses in Confident Presentation Skills, Business Writing Skills, Professional Profiles, and Case Studies.
Sponsors and collaborators
Following her PhD, Becky was a Midlands3Cities Creative Economy Engagement Fellow, working in partnership with Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature (NUCoL) to scope a digital hub for literary creative content.
She also designed and delivered the Young Voices programme for NUCoL/the Nottingham Violence Reduction Unit, bringing poets into schools to build the confidence of year 6 pupils making the transition to secondary education. Working with the NUCoL team, Becky evaluated the NUCoL Young Ambassador Programme and designed and delivered a vibrant schools' Literary Heritage Symposium.
Through her role at Notts TV Book Club, Becky has brought together librarians, booksellers, curators, writers, lawyers, and community leaders from organisations such as Inspire, Nottingham City Museums and Libraries, and Shakespeare Martineau. She works with a wide range of NTU stakeholders.
Press expertise
Becky has press expertise in the importance of creativity and the arts, reading and writing for pleasure and contemporary literature and poetry. She has interviewed a wide range of writers and is a skilled presenter.