2027 committee

The Writers' Summer School is run entirely by volunteers. The committee is made up of just eight people (four officers and four members) who work throughout the year to put together the learning timetable, engage the speakers and tutors, organise all the extra curricular activities such as the morning meditation and the various evening events and entertainment on offer. We also negotiate our contracts with The Hayes, write and publish the programme booklet, maintain the website and promote the school through social media. During the School week - we are also supported by our 'army' of willing volunteers. Meet your committee for 2027.

JOHN LAMONT

CHAIRMAN

John’s career has been wide-ranging, beginning in scientific research and engineering before progressing into senior multinational corporate management, consultancy, coaching and performance development.

In the late 1990s, he made a bold and deliberate move away from corporate life to focus on work he felt was personally more fulfilling, retraining as a therapist, going on to establish a school based at Glasgow Caledonian University and then spending nearly two decades teaching.

Throughout this diverse journey, he has remained committed to empowering folk to realise their potential: helping children, adults, teachers, doctors, professionals and executives grow in confidence, achieve more, and build happier, more fulfilled lives.

A valued and familiar figure at Swanwick for around twenty-five years, John has served on the committee, provided technical support, hosted main speakers, taken to the main speaker’s podium himself a couple of times, and delivered numerous courses across a range of subjects.

His writing reflects the same breadth, usually in the management, technical and therapeutic fields. He does however occasionally stray from that path and has recently completed Gonnae Know Glaswegian, a dictionary of his hometown language containing more than 1,000 tongue-in-cheek entries – proving to himself that he is truly bi-lingual.

He remains especially proud of the children’s books he has written for his grandkids.

Today, through his online course Succeed Happy, he brings together the Science of Happiness with psychology, philosophy and neurology to help people develop and pursue their life and writing goals with confidence — and enjoy a happier life along the way.

Email: chair@swanwickwritersschool.org.uk

maria hennings hunt

vice chair

Maria brings a wealth of experience to the Writers Summer School, having been Vice Chair on numerous previous occasions.

Maria's journey with WSS began in 1992, as an unpublished young writer, eager to learn all she could about the craft of writing. Thirty years on, she is a successful published writer of both fiction and non-fiction having worked for over 20 years in the newspaper publishing industry, notably at Travel Trade Gazette and The Daily Express, as well as writing short stories for the women’s press. She went freelance in 1999, whilst at the same time training to become a dance teacher.

In 2003, she founded Dance Generation - her southeast London based dance school, which now also provides a platform for her weekly update/blog.

In 2023 she had two children’s picture books published: ‘The Lullaby Fairy’ and ‘Bear Hug’.

In addition to teaching dance, Maria also dabbles in book cover design, she is a qualified Yoga teacher, a Nutrition Network Advisor in Ketogenic and LCHF diet/lifestyles and she also holds a first Dan black belt in Shotokan Karate.

Following the success of the 2026 Summer School where Maria put together the programme, she is hoping that her ongoing passion and enthusiasm for The Writers' Summer School will help to ensure the 2027 programme is even better!

Email: vicechair@swanwickwritersschool.org.uk

sally warr

treasurer

Sally has been attending The Writers' Summer School since 2018, first becoming the newsletter editor in 2022 and then taking up the post as Treasurer in 2023.

For most of her professional career, Sally worked in Education Management and has over 35 years’ experience of working in FE environments. She is a skilled senior manager and for the final six years, before retiring in 2022, she worked as an educational consultant to a variety of institutions around the country.

Sally is a dedicated volunteer and over the years has held positions of secretary and treasurer at a local playgroup, served on the committee of her local primary school before being elected to the chair.

She has also chaired several groups responsible for improving the lives of young people with additional learning needs in the community.

Sally lives in an old farmhouse with her husband in rural North Lincolnshire and is currently writing the first in a series of novels with an archaeological theme.

Email: treasurer@swanwickwritersschool.org.uk

tiggy hayes

SECRETARY

Tiggy was born creating stories and spent many hours outside the head teacher’s office in trouble for using her imagination. Her father, who spent nearly as many hours inside the office defending her, would later tell her; ‘Never stop using that imagination’, so Tiggy continued to write and her stories got longer.

Now a passionate fan of the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School and NANOWRIMO, she has plenty to fall back on. Her debut novel, a contemporary domestic drama is due to be published soon, and her latest novel was shortlisted in the Good Housekeeping Debut Novels of 2025.

She is known locally (Shaftesbury, Dorset) for starting up the monthly community magazine: The Gillingham and Shaftesbury Guide and her other writing related pursuits, include ‘This is Alfred’ where she pulls together a fantastic group of writers to deliver stories and poetry to the listeners - often reading her own stories for the weekly ‘short story’ on a Sunday morning.

Following her passion for writing fiction, Tiggy loves to encourage others and as such, also runs Scribblers Writing Group - which offers different sessions each month and A Place to Write - offering space, time and encouragement for those wanting to escape interruptions without guilt. She is also one of the faces behind Fiction for Fun, the biannual writing and reading festival in Shaftesbury.

Tiggy is excited to begin her role as Secretary for The Swanwick Writers’ Summer School.

Email: secretary@swanwickwriterschool.org.uk

martin LAke

committee member

Martin Lake is a fantasy novelist and technology leader who has spent much of his career solving practical problems, managing technology change and trying to persuade computers to behave themselves.

He first came to Swanwick in 2022 and, like many before him, found it impossible to stay away!

As Head of Technology & AI for RiskSTOP Group, he leads work across business technology, digital transformation, information security and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

Away from the day job, Martin writes fantasy fiction. He is the author of Beyond the Stones and Daughter of Destiny, the first two books in his Chronicles of the Realms series. He is currently working on the third novel in the trilogy, alongside The Book of Unfinished Rules, a comic fantasy about the consequences of magic returning to a modern world that has become far too dependent on forms, procedures and common sense.

Martin values Swanwick for its unique combination of learning, encouragement and friendship, and hopes that the experience he has gained working across many different industries can be put to good use.

He is passionate about ensuring the Summer School continues to welcome writers at every stage of their journey, while also embracing new opportunities, fresh voices and the changing ways in which stories are written, published and shared.

He lives in Dorset with his wife, Catherine, and their Golden Retriever, Bonnie, who has yet to show much respect for either writing deadlines or carefully prepared manuscripts.

Martin is delighted to serve on the committee and help shape the next chapter of Swanwick’s long and remarkable story.

gemma owen-kendall

committee member

Gemma first came to Summer School in 2022 and in 2023, she was signed to SpellBound Books Ltd who offered her a three-book deal. The first – Red Daisy - was published in July and launched at the School in 2024, and her second, Black Rose is scheduled to be published in Autumn 2026.

Gemma currently runs a weekly creative writing group called The Globe Writers. She is so passionate about helping people develop their writing craft, she encourages members to collaborate by contributing to a yearly anthology and so far, they have released five books.

She lives in Grimsby and works as a Sales Administrator for a local car dealership. She also does casual work within the events and promotions industry, which she has done since 2008 when in her final year of a Drama degree at Lincoln University. She has always loved writing and her English primary school teacher often said that she had a wild and active imagination!

Gemma is over the moon to again be serving on the committee and is looking forward to helping put together the programme for 2027.

She is particularly enthusiastic about encouraging younger writers to attend the Summer School.

elaine tomba

committee member

After several years of calling in to see her mum (Pauline Hallam Mason) whilst she was attending The Swanwick Writers' Summer School, Elaine has now attended the School full time for the last four years and is delighted to continue to be on the 2027 committee.

She is Nottingham born and bred and has had numerous jobs from patisserie baking in hotels and restaurants, to an administrative role in the NHS, which she has done for the last 25 years.

Elaine is passionate about poetry having dabbled in writing poetry most of her life, as both a creative and therapeutic outlet and she had a poem published when she was just 12 years old.

The Swanwick Writers' Summer School has enabled Elaine to become more creative and push herself further than she ever thought possible and one day she promises to put a book together.

She has a son who is a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy, and 14 year old twin granddaughters.

shaun allan

committee member

Shaun Allan is a bestselling, award winning author writing multiple genres, including psychological horror, introspective and emotive poetry, young adult and children’s.

He has appeared on Sky TV to debate publishing, and been commissioned to write companion stories for such movies as The Purge: Anarchy, Sinister II, The Boy, A Quiet Place, and IT. He also holds writing workshops at local schools.

His #1 novel Sin has been adapted into a Chapters mobile game titled Straitjacket Lover and was optioned for television.

Shaun first came to The Swanwick Writers' School in 2025, thanks to the energetic recommendation from his good friend, fellow committee member and Globe Writer buddy, Gemma.

He's now an avid fan of the school and can't believe he'd never been before, considering how long he's been writing.

He lives with his manic dogs, Ripley (believe it or not) and Lissi. He works full time as Technical Publications Group Leader and, though his life feels as hyper as his dogs, it probably isn't.