Diane Paul

I am a working writer and run my own editorial consultancy. I have been a creative writing tutor for the OCA for about five years, working on Level 1 and 2 courses. In 2010, I launched their pilot Level 3 course, mentoring students needing help with their own writing projects.

I began as editorial assistant on the TV Times for four years, before working in Paris for UNESCO, where I contributed to their staff magazine and publicised cultural voyages for international civil servants to see the work they were doing in developing countries. I worked also on the English edition of the Unesco Courier magazine until I passed the Institute of Public Relations examinations and returned to the UK.

I ran my own PR consultancy and press relations courses and, after being taken over by a client, I launched the women’s pages for both the Advertiser Group of Newspapers and the Messenger Group. I worked as senior reporter on local newspapers in Manchester, edited a theatre page and continued as Messenger Group Woman’s Page Editor.

Later, I freelanced for national publications like the Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Sunday Times; edited a show business magazine, Call Boy and wrote Living Left-Handed for Bloomsbury Publishing. This was launched at Harrods in 1990 and was followed by The Left-hander’s Handbook, which won two book awards from the British Medical Association.

A regular broadcaster on radio and TV, I gained an MA in radio/TV scriptwriting from the University of Salford, ran writing workshops for writers’ circles and secondary schools and now tutor for a scriptwriting correspondence course in addition to the OCA. I am a long-standing member of the Society of Authors.

My last play, A Bench in the Park, was showcased by Rocliffe Productions in London and recorded for radio. My latest book, ADHD: The Essential Guide was launched in August 2008. My book blog features book reviews and news of the publishing world.