Meet the SWLF team
We are grateful to the team members named here and others who have given their time and expertise to grow and develop the festival. If you are interested in joining the team, please get in touch. We particularly need help spreading the word on Social Media.
Jacci Gooding
Festival Director
Jacci is a self-published fiction author and has also written non-fiction for magazines. She's won a prize here and there and has been commended in others. Previous jobs included Prime Minister's QT for BBC Radio 4, editorial assistant at BBC English, (now BBC Bitesize) lots of theatres and a couple of newspapers. A member of the Society of Authors, she has a diploma in creative writing from Oxford University and is working on a novel.
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https://jaccigoodingauthor.co.uk
T @JacciGooding
I @jaccigooding
Gwyneth Box
Festival Asst Director
Children’s author, award-winning poet, and workshop facilitator, Gwyneth is a regular at open mics and on local radio, and has performed her poetry at TEDx Leamington Spa and Art in the Park. She hosted the monthly music and spoken word Sessions at the Tree House Bookshop in Kenilworth and now hosts the Global Online Stanza poetry discussion group. Gwyneth has written in many genres over the years, but her creativity inclines to poetry and non-fiction in English and Spanish. You'll find more about her on her website: gwynethbox.com.
Katie Rickett
Festival Help and Finance
Originally from suburban south London, Katie previously worked in arts and heritage for nearly a decade before jumping ship and starting a Creative Writing MA with the Open University in 2023. When not writing slightly bleak short stories, she can be found doting on her three cats.
Dave Musson
Festival Help, PR and Communications
Dave is a communications officer by day and an author of horror fiction after dark. By the time SWLF rolls around he will have just released his first full collection of short stories – where all the stories are set in a fictional Warwickshire town – following up four mini compendiums of flash fiction in 2023.
Alongside writing, Dave is a musician, occasional podcaster, and runs a Stephen King-themed YouTube channel. He lives in Kenilworth with his wife, two sons, and annoying dog.
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Instagram: @davemusson
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Website: davemussonauthor.com
Karen Arrand
Festival Help & Website
Karen is a Associate Professor at Coventry University teaching non-fiction formats and documentary at under and postgrad level. A former BBC Series Producer, she has written numerous scripts for factual television and radio. After visiting SWLF last year she was inspired to take a story writing course and now after years of procrastinating is starting to write fiction and poetry.
Karen Storey
Festival Help, Ideas Contributor & Facebook Monitor
Karen Storey is an award winning fiction writer and has been featured on the Bestseller Experiment. Her stories have been published, placed and listed in several international competitions. Originally from New York, she lives in Warwickshire with her husband and has written articles for American in Britain magazine. Her latest non-fiction piece appears in The New York Times bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul series.