Guy Mankowski

Biography

I was raised on the Isle of Wight. My undergrad degree was in Applied Psychology at Durham, and my Masters in Psychology at Newcastle. After that I was briefly signed, as a singer in a band called Alba Nova. I then did some more training as a psychologist at The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in London. The first draft of my debut novel, The Intimates, was written when I was 21, but not published until 2011. It was chosen as a 'Must Read' title by New Writing North's Read Regional campaign. My second novel, Letters from Yelena, was researched in the world of Russian ballet after I was awarded an Arts Council Literature Grant. I was one of the first English people to be given access to The Vaganova Academy, perhaps the most prestigious ballet school in the world. The novel was adapted for the stage and used in GCSE training material by Osiris Educational. My third novel How I Left The National Grid, was written as part of the Creative Writing PhD, for which I was awarded a full studentship. To research the book I interviewed musicians such as Savages, Ladytron and Gazelle Twin. I was recently also awarded a Northern Film and Media Award for a comedy script I co-wrote with Manchester comedian Gregory Fox. 

Email: guy.mankowski@northumbria.ac.uk

Qualifications

M. Phil in Psychology, Bsc. Hons in Applied Psychology.

Research Project

‘How I Left The National Grid’: A Creative Writing PhD on self-design in post-punk music.

Research Themes & Scholarly Interests

Post-punk, bricolage, hauntology, identity, self-design, self-fashioning

Current/Recent Projects

Currently developing the novel as a TV series, following an award from Northern Film and Media.

Key Publications

• ‘The Intimates’, a novel published by Legend Press, 28^th March 2011. ISBN 978-1907756467.
• ‘Letters From Yelena’ a novel published by Legend Press on 1^st October 2012. ISBN-15: 1909039101.
• ‘'I Can’t Seem To Stay A Fixed Ideal’- Self-Design and Self-Harm in Post-Punk Subculture’, a journal article to be published in Punk and Post-Punk, Issue 2, Volume 2, February 2014. 
• ‘This Crisis Has Given Us Power’: An Interview with Jehnny Beth of Savages, in Pop Matters, January 2014.
• ‘I Get Off On Intense Atmospheres’: An Interview with Gazelle Twin, in Pop Matters, May 2014.
• ‘How I Left The National Grid’, a novel published by Roundfire / Zer0 Books on 27^th February 2015. ISBN 10- 178279896X. 

Supervisors

Dr. Andrew Crumey & Dr. Adam Hansen