Alison Habens wrote Dreamhouse, a cult 1990s novel inspired by Alice in Wonderland, which marked its 21st birthday alongside Lewis Carroll’s 150th anniversary in 2015.
She has continued to write almost every day ever since the book was first published. Her other novels, Lifestory and Family Outing, are also in print, alongside a wide range of short stories, articles, poems and plays.
Her latest novels include The True Picture, a playful retelling of the St Veronica myth, and Pencilwood, a postmodern rom-com. She is course leader for Creative Writing at the University of Portsmouth, and holds a PhD on “divine inspiration” in literature.
Alison also leads Ink:Well – Life-writing for Wellbeing, a research project focused on writing as a tool for wellbeing. She lives in an old church on the Isle of Wight with her husband and three children/young adults, and travels to work by hovercraft.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the writing course with Alison – it inspired me to go home and write!”
“I’ve taken many courses over the years, but never one where everything so completely exceeded my expectations. The group was fantastic, the location wonderful, and the tutor experienced, empathic, and full of both playful and serious application, with amazing insight and superb observations.”
“Alison has the most brilliant style. I would wholeheartedly recommend her.”
“Inspirational, with lots of help on techniques and ideas to spark and improve writing.”
“I really enjoyed the writing course and got a lot from it. It was very well structured and led us logically through the development of our writing in a short time.”
“Alison Habens is a great, empathic, knowledgeable teacher.”
“The course was fantastic and exactly what I needed. Alison is wonderful and inspiring.”
“She made me feel at ease and excited about my writing, and gave brilliant advice and direction for moving my work forward, which was my main aim this weekend.”
“Alison is warm, encouraging, supportive and a very good teacher.”
“So good! Alison paced it brilliantly, was insightful, very helpful, and inspirational.”
“This creative writing course helped me see positively that I can continue with my writing, and gave me tools to help make my writing a success.”
“Alison structured the course in the best way. The tutoring was interesting, with plenty of space to write. Great direction.”
“A superb tutor who really knows her stuff and is very inspiring.”