City Lit catches up with Rosy Ralph, one of the winners of this year's Malorie Blackman Scholarship for 'Unheard Voices'. We find out more about her writing experiences, winning the scholarship and her ambitions.
Q: Can you tell us a bit more about yourself and your writing background?
A: I grew up in the West Midlands and have a degree in English Literature from Durham University. I have worked as a teacher, a civil servant, and a heritage volunteer on the site of Shakespeare’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon. I have written privately since childhood.
Undiagnosed chronic illness has been present for my whole adult life, but it was a few years ago that I became disabled. While working as part of the government pandemic response, I contracted a severe case of Covid-19 which led to a diagnosis of ME/CFS. For over 2.5 years, I was mostly bed-bound and unable to walk unassisted. I could do very little at all, and felt my voice being completely erased. I also felt for the first time the brevity of life, and the urgency to pursue long-held dreams if ever I could. When I was able to sit up and use a notebook and pen (which took a long time!), I tried to write as often as possible, and forced myself to start sharing my writing with others.
I am now fortunate enough to be improving and am rehabilitating gradually. Writing murder mysteries in my spare time helps me to focus on other people’s problems instead of my own and divert my attention to something more fun.
For example, in my draft novel Alice House, what if a man started working at a school where a pupil was killed ten years before, and then he was framed for an identical murder of another pupil…?
Q: What role does writing play in your life, and why is it important to you?
A: Writing has enabled me to escape the confines of illness and rearrange my world; it has always been a source of catharsis, but especially so in recent years. Writing is embodying another character, someone facing entirely different challenges from my own, and going somewhere unexpected. It is connection, solace, amusement and also a compulsion!
I am inspired by women who have written through being incapacitated by poorly understood illnesses, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Virginia Woolf, Hilary Mantel, Susanna Clarke and Malorie Blackman herself, of course. Hilary Mantel said in her memoir: “I thought: I am a wreck and have no money and am in poor health – and so how am I going to impose myself on the world?” She certainly made a significant impact on the world through her writing, and I would love to follow – very distantly! – in her footsteps. I am so grateful to City Lit for supporting me in this mission.
Q: Who are your favourite writers and what stories have inspired you?
A: Growing up, I gorged on the classics: Austen, Dickens, Hardy, Woolf; with a dash of modern literary fiction: Ian McEwan, David Mitchell. After my English degree, I decided to focus exclusively on novels which had been published in my lifetime, and discovered a whole new world of joy. I try to read as widely as I can, but there are some authors I return to repeatedly, including Maggie O’Farrell, Zadie Smith, David Nicholls, Val McDermid and Janice Hallett.
I have also fed off the stories of authors overcoming the odds to rebuild their lives after struggle, while also becoming very successful writers in the process! Malorie Blackman has faced many challenges in her life (- read her memoir if you haven’t already!). Two other fantastic authors who speak and write beautifully about writing and recovery are Marian Keyes and Gillian McAllister.
Q: What made you decide to study at City Lit?
A: I watched Malorie Blackman in a BBC Imagine documentary called ‘What If?’, where she is interviewed by Alan Yentob about her life. In the documentary she goes to City Lit and talks about her time studying there. I immediately followed City Lit on social media and saw the scholarship advertised soon afterwards. Malorie described one particular class where she was reluctant to share her work, and how she was encouraged to do so which enabled her to grow as a writer. I have also heard of the reputation of City Lit from writing peers as somewhere inspiring, friendly, and positive. This seems like an ideal home for me to hone my craft. The documentary is very inspiring and is still available on iPlayer!
I would like to thank City Lit and Malorie Blackman for this generous gift to a developing writer and congratulate my fellow scholars on being chosen for this wonderful opportunity.
Q: What made you decide to apply for the Malorie Blackman scholarship?
A: I was frankly amazed at the sheer range of courses available online and in-person with City Lit. It gave me a similar feeling to a child in a sweet shop, gawping hungrily at all the options available on the website. I thought that while winning was unlikely, somebody has to be chosen. And look what happened!
Also, I thought that the phrase ‘Unheard voices’ applied so vividly to me, and to this significant proportion of the population disabled by Long Covid. When much of the media and wider society has moved on from the issue without it being resolved, it feels painful to be continuing to live with this very debilitating and medically underestimated condition that often feels like the ‘elephant in the room’. People cannot conceive of an illness so severe that you can’t brush your teeth, get dressed or wash your hair for months or years at a time, unless they know someone who has had it. Now, whoever is reading this right now does know someone who has it – me. I feel a sense of obligation to the community of people erased by Long Covid, ME/CFS, fibromyalgia and other autoimmune illnesses largely affecting women (whose immune systems are more complex than men’s), to get the message out there that this group of illnesses needs much, much more research. Research funding only comes from persistent attention focused on an issue, so I will continue to talk about my story until this happens.
Q: What do you hope to achieve through the scholarship scheme?
A: I would love to receive some in-depth teaching on the nuts and bolts of writing novels. I want to get more practice at receiving and acting on feedback on my writing. I’d like to connect with more writers and learn from some great teachers, to absorb enthusiasm by osmosis when the task of completing a novel seems daunting, to be inspired and to be curious.
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The awards seek to support and encourage the creative and professional development of ‘unheard voices' at City Lit.
Learn more: Malorie Blackman Scholarships
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