Hayley Long

Part-time Writer and English Teacher

Education

Hayley graduated from Aberystwyth University in 1992 with a BA Honours in English Literature. After that she applied for a PGCE in the University of London. Today Hayley does two jobs. She teaches three days per week, mostly A Level English Language and Literature and some GCSE classes; the rest of the week she spends writing novels.

Career Path

Hayley started writing after moving to Cardiff in 2000 and had her first novella published - The World of Ellie Jones is based on her experiences as a student in Aberystwyth.  This was only the beginning of her writing career: since that time she has published a number of novels.  Hayley is now published by Pan Macmillan and is best known for her Lottie Biggs series for young adults. At the 2010 Bologna Book Fair, Lottie Biggs is Not Mad was awarded the White Raven label for ‘noteworthy and outstanding’ books for children. There are now three Lottie Biggs novels. Hayley's next book, What's Up With Jody Barton? will be coming out in  June 2012. 

Hayley enjoys the balance between solitary periods of writing and social interaction when teaching, since she finds it difficult to sit in front a computer screen for longs stretches of time. The hardest thing for her is to have the self-discipline required for writing. The act of writing is a complete mystery to her. So she enjoys writing down the stream of ideas that keep coming once she has a rough notion what to write about.  See Hayley's website for more information.

Why English and Creative Writing?

Hayley reckons that her time in Aberystwyth has served her as inspiration, but it also opened a window to the world. “Meeting people from all backgrounds and all parts of Britain and beyond was good because it broadened my horizons and made me realise that if I put my mind to it, I can do pretty much whatever I want. English obviously has been important to me because I love books – reading them, teaching them and writing them.”