Welcome!

…to the website of British author, Helen Cross.

I am the author of novels, stories, radio plays and screenplays. My first novel, My Summer of Love, won a Betty Trask Award and became a BAFTA award winning feature film.  Mighty Atom Entertainment are currently working on a film adaptation of my latest novel, Spilt Milk Black Coffee, and I am  completing a fourth novel.

I was educated at Goldsmiths College, University of London and am a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. I teach creative writing at various universities in the UK and on many community courses.

My latest short story, Clarence Dock, was published in the Autumn 2020 edition of Popshot Magazine and my latest BBC Afternoon Play, The Return of Rowena The Wonderful,   was  broadcast  on Friday 12 June 2020 and is available now on BBC Sounds.

Writing Radio Drama short Course for WWM in April 2021

I am running my Write a Radio Drama in Five Weeks course for the third time in April 2021, after the first two courses sold out quickly. The first course, in November 2020, was a great success, and the course in January 2021 is now sold out. Details of the April 2021 course are available here.

Write a radio drama in five weeks – short course in January 2021.

Join our online classroom and write a complete audio drama over five sessions. Five live, interactive online classes will introduce you to the industry, and allow you to learn the skills necessary to write drama for BBC radio and podcasts.

This small and friendly group of up to 14 students will look at the new opportunities in this growing industry and explore how to structure audio drama, how to sustain tension in plot, how to build dramatic audio characters and how to write convincing dialogue.

We will consider the state of the market now, and what commissioners are looking for from writers.

I first ran this course in October 2020, and it sold out so quickly, and was such a success, we are running it again. There are more details on how to book on the Writing West Midlands Website here.

ONLINE Writing Course 15-18 May 2020

I will be teaching another writing course for L’atelier des ecrivians. It was due to be  in the South of France in 2020 from 15-18 May 2020, but now will be an online Masterclass from me and a sessions from Carrie Plitt, Literary Agent, and others.   It costs £49 for the weekend. More details here: https://www.latelierdesecrivains.com

Write Here writing course – October 2019

WRITING COURSE IN BIRMINGHAM’ S JEWELLERY QUARTER OCTOBER 2019

I am working with WriteHere again on a  seven-week creative writing courses.   It takes place on Wednesday evenings between 17 October and 27 November – and will feature expert tuition, one-to-one tutorials, dedicated weekly workshops that focus on students’ novels, and a visit from literary agent Carrie Plitt of Felicity Bryan Associates.  Bookings are now open.

Deeds Not Words – short film ready to watch now

I’m delighted that the screenplay, Deeds Not Words, which I wrote, based on Dr Nicola Gauld’s lovely book about Birmingham’s radical Suffragettes, is now a short film from Ice Productions. It will have its premiere on Friday 6 July at the IET Austin Court in Birmingham.

After that you can watch the film here.