Word Factory Masterclass: Jonathan Taylor

One story. One writer.

WORD FACTORY PRESENTS: SMALL LIKE A BULLET

With Jonathan Taylor

June 17th: 7pm

One writer, one story. An in-depth series of exclusive online masterclasses running until July 2025.

The third story in our series is Jonathan Taylor's story High Dependency from Scablands and Other Stories. This powerful collection, focused on the post-industrial consequences of austerity, poverty, masochism and migration, recently won the Arnold Bennett Book Prize (2025) - a significant honour for a writer, like Bennett, born in the Staffordshire Potteries. You can read the story here:

Join us as Jonathan guides us through the motivation for his story, the finer details of writing and re-writing it, the influences that shaped it - with additional thoughts on the lessons from that process that might work for you.This short short story explores the close relationship betwen fiction and memoir, the uses of refrains and circular structures. Over an hour and a half there will be time for questions and a few exercises.

Feel free to contact host Cathy Galvin by email (cathy@thewordfactory.tv) if you have any queries or want to send in questions in advance of our meeting.

The event will be filmed and made available to participants.

We will also send out information soon on the other classes in this series with Kirsty Gunn (July 8th) and Sophie Haydock (July 16).

The Author:

Jonathan Taylor is an author, editor, lecturer and critic. His most recent books are the short story collection Scablands and Other Stories (Salt, 2023), the poetry collection Cassandra Complex (Shoestring Press, 2018), and the memoir A Physical Education: On Bullying, Discipline & Other Lessons(Goldsmiths, 2024). With Karen Stevens, he is co-editor of the award-winning anthology High Spirits: A Round of Drinking Stories (Valley Press, 2018 and 2019). He is director of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester, and runs the popular review blog Everybody's Reviewing. Originally from Stoke-on-Trent, he now lives in Leicestershire with his wife, the poet Maria Taylor, and their twin daughters, Miranda and Rosalind. His website is www.jonathanptaylor.co.uk.

Your Host:

Cathy Galvin

Cathy Galvin is founder of the Word Factory and the Sunday Times Short Story Award. Her stories have appeared in a variety of anthologies, most recently The Book of Coventry (Comma Press).Her journalism has appeared in national newspapers and magazines including the Sunday Times, Financial Times and The Tablet. Her debut collection, Ethnology, is due from Bloodaxe Books in 2026.

Paid Subscribers can attend one masterclass in the series for free + all short story clubs and receive other benefits by contacting cathy@thewordfactory.tv

Unpaid Subscribers can book their ticket here.

We are very much looking forward to seeing you.