Programme Leader for English: Creative and Professional Writing
All my work is about telling stories in one form or other.
I am a multi-disciplinary writer, artist and performer with a firm belief in the power of art and words as a driver for social change. I have been at Sunderland for six years and continue to be inspired by the landscape and its people.
Writing is often a hybrid career. Here are some of the things I've done / am doing:
novelist, working class author, flash fiction writer, publisher, editor, organiser of University of Sunderland in Association with Waterstones Short Story Award, champion of unheard voices, short story competition judge, academic, journal peer reviewer, performer, company director, aerialist, artist, pitch writer, underwater explorer and project manager.
All that means is I'm dedicated to the work I do and care about its impact on people. I'm proud to be part of a course that helps you shape your own path and gives you ideas, knowledge, critical capacity and practical skills to achieve this. I don't believe in power dynamics in the exchange of knowledge and the creation of skill. Studying here means all our opinions are valid and enriching. Feel free to disagree with me...
Teaching and supervision
- Regional Writing: Literature
- Regional Writing: Language
- Explorations in Prose Fiction
- Writing Short Fiction and Poetry
- Writing the Novel
- Advanced Project
- Major Project
Supervision:
- Greg Forrester, novella, flash (leave of absence)
- Katie Mitchelson, novel
- Iain Maloney (PhDEx)
Research interests for potential research students
- The novel
- Progressive / experimental fiction
- Hybrid writing
- Crime fiction
- Performance and narrative
Publications
Article
Dobbs, Sarah (2018) The Robin. Flash, 11 (1).
Book Section
Dobbs, Sarah (2016) Burning the Ants [Short fiction]. In: The End: Fifteen Endings to Fifteen Paintings. Unthank Books. ISBN 9781910061275
Dobbs, Sarah (2013) 'Behind all the Closed Doors'. In: Red Room: New Short Stories Inspired by the Brontes. Unthank. ISBN 9780957289734
Book
Dobbs, Sarah (2019) The Sea Inside Me. UNTHANK BOOKS. ISBN 9781910061572
Dobbs, Sarah (2014) English Language, Literature and Creative Writing: A Practical Guide for Students. Anthem Press. ISBN 9781783082889
Sarah, Dobbs (2012) Killing Daniel. Unthank Books, London. ISBN 978-0-9564223-8-5
Show/Exhibition
Sarah, Dobbs (2020) Oracles In Sepia: Sarah Jane Dobbs. .
Performance
Dobbs, Sarah (2019) Time. Celebrate Different at Washington Arts Centre. [Performance]
Video
Dobbs, Sarah and Coxon, Sarah (2021) 'A part' Sunderland Libraries Literature Festival 29 October 2021. [Video] (Unpublished)
Dobbs, Sarah (2021) Body Song. [Video]
Other
Dobbs, Sarah (2021) Every Day the River. Phare Literary Journal, Online.
Dobbs, Sarah (2021) Interstellar. Confingo 16, Confingo. (In Press)
Dobbs, Sarah (2018) The narrative expression of grief [Research Portfolio]. Creative Writing Collection.
Dobbs, Sarah (2017) My Mother Told Me. Reflex Fiction, Reflex Fiction Quarterly international flash fiction competition..
Dobbs, Sarah (2017) As Linda was Buying the Tulips [Short fiction]. UNTHOLOGY 9, Unthank Books.
- The short story
- Creative writing and community
- Crime fiction
- The novel
- Flash fiction
- Aerial and narrative
I am currently writing a new aerial theatre project called Waiting to Be Less Angry, which takes Uma Thurman's comment about the Harvey Weinstein scandal as its title. The piece explores the cumulative impact of micro-aggressions and 'minor' transgressions of consent on women with wrap-around writing workshops.
Last year I organised Sea Sunderland, a series of flash fiction films created by local artists and Sunderland-born author, Jessica Andrews, author of Saltwater. One of our artists, Jo Howell, had her film selected for Sunderland Shorts Film Festival.
I'm interested in film, photography and always looking to explore potential collaborations.
