James delivers focussed but enjoyable workshops for postgraduates and early-career researchers, specialising in communicating beyond the academy – including writing for trade publications and the media, and professional editing skills.
Courses offered by James McConnachie include:
- Researcher to writer: transforming theses and monographs into non-fiction and journalism
- Think like an editor – professional skills for better self-editing
- Core writing skills – writing for clarity and impact
- Blogging and reviewing for academics
- Publishing and agents for academics
James is an engaged, energetic and warm communicator. His bespoke workshops for postgraduates and early-career researchers are sophisticated but practical. As an author and journalist, he has a wealth of relevant experience. He has been a lead reviewer for The Sunday Times for the last ten years, has judged the Samuel Johnson Prize and is editor of The Author, the quarterly magazine of the Society of Authors. He is active in the field of author’s rights and copyright as a non-executive director of the Author’s Licensing and Collecting Society.
As Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Southampton, he lectured on clearer, tighter and more persuasive writing, and developed a social media campaign to hone students’ writing skills. He has since worked successfully with postgraduates on knowledge transfer and writing for non-academic audiences.
His own work includes a scholarly study of the Kamasutra, The Book of Love, and numerous books for Rough Guides. He has presented TV and radio programmes for the BBC and Channel 4, including a five-part BBC series on Italian culture. He is currently writing a biography of a Himalayan mountain, to be published by Bloomsbury.
Fantastically insightful. Great tips for writing.
The activities were really helpful. They got me thinking in different ways.
Really helpful – encouraged openness and made the environment feel very safe.
Loved this workshop!
James made every effort to accommodate everyone’s needs and desires. This was one of the most interesting, informative and engaging workshops I’ve been to and I would attend another one if the opportunity arises.
