Jackie Waddle

Jackie Waddle is a writer and creative writing practitioner. Her first novel, Breaking New Ground, was published in February 2008 under her writing name, Anna West, and she has had short stories and poems published both locally and nationally.

Jackie started her studies in creative writing at Exeter University and has recently completed an MA in Creative Writing with Pedagogic Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University. Writing a second novel, Under the Bonsai Trees, was part of her portfolio for the Master’s Degree. Jackie is now working on a third novel which centres on family life and relationships.
Using the name, Aspiring Writers, Jackie has run independent workshops in the area and workshops funded by Grassroots Literature (Literature Works/Plymouth University). She has worked as a marketing/publicity practitioner for MED Theatre, and collaborated with other writers, for Devon Artsculture. Since 2008, Jackie has been working as an Associate Lecturer at Plymouth and Exeter Universities, running Creative Writing workshops for Medical and Dental Humanities modules.
I was excited to engage in creative writing as I had greatly enjoyed writing stories as a child, although, slightly nervous due to how long ago I last wrote stories. Engaging in creative writing has come more readily and easily than I had anticipated. I found creative writing to be an enjoyable way of appreciating that every person is the main character of their life story and understanding what makes them who they are can help to create meaningful relationships. Fourth Year Plymouth Medical Student