Writing Wild 23
Reclaiming the Narrative
Hello, wonderful wild ones - and welcome to those who have joined the Wild Women Writers’ Salons recently.
Thank you to everyone who joined Wild Women Writers Salon 21: The Personal Archive - memoir as resistance and reclamation — whether you were with us live or watching later in your own time. It was a rich and thought-provoking conversation that dug deep into what it means to take authorship of our stories. A huge thank you to my guest authors, Elissa Altman, Dr Lily Dunn, Susanna Crossman and Catherine Simpson, and to all of you, for bringing your words and wild to the salon and holding the space so gently.
And thanks also to Sarah Forester and Beth Malcolm for their superb BSL interpretation, and to Adam for working busily behind the scenes to support any tech needs and post-event production.
The salons are always shaped as much by those who share them as by those speaking. You are what makes the salon a community of change.
With gratitude,
Victoria
Missed the salon?
If you missed it, don’t forget that if you upgrade to a paid subscription, you can access the recording below in this newsletter (and all recordings for the season as we go forward) — as well as extra author interviews, book recommendations and writing prompts! Plus, you will be helping support the behind-the-scenes work that makes the salons happen.
Coming up this month …
This month, we will be digging deep into the radical wildness of weeds, with guest authors Jenny Knight, L.Kiew, Anna Chapman Parker, and Brigit Anna McNeill. Full details of the salon below!
Signposts
If you would like to connect with Susanna, Elissa, Lily, and Catherine — check out these signposts:
Susanna
Visit here for more information on events, mentoring and manuscript consultation.
Join Susanna on March 11th 7.30pm - 9.30pm CET for Where Are You Standing: exploring place and time in memoir and non-fiction. More information & booking here
Elissa
Elissa will be leading a live Permission retreat at Kripalu in Western Massachusetts from 3/26-3/29. Sign up here
Lily
Website lilydunn.co.uk
Substack newsletter and Memoir WIP Surgery
Teaching London Lit Lab
where I write weekly, and also hold a monthly workshop, Memoir WIP Surgery, for people who are writing memoir, helping with blockages and craft questions. I teach and mentor memoir and you can find out more about my teaching here: londonlitlab.co.uk
MARCH SALON - Where the Wild Things Grow
With Jenny Knight, Anna Chapman Parker, L.Kiew, and Brigit Anna McNeill
Thursday, 26th March 2026 — 7- 8.30 pm UK time
This month, we turn our attention to the radical nature of weeds, wildflowers, and what finds belonging where the wild things grow — in nature, in society, and in ourselves.
I’ll be joined in conversation with L. Kiew (More Than Weeds), Anna Chapman Parker (Understorey), Jenny Knight (Wild Moon Rising), and Brigit Anna McNeill (The Wild Within).
Writing across poetry, fiction, memoir and nature writing, their work explores wildness as a living, regenerative force that can change how we see the world. We will be digging into the decolonisation of botany, the language of migration and belonging, the power of midlife regeneration, ecology, herbalism, and the reciprocity of our relationship with the natural world.
Do join us! It’s going to be wild!
Live online & recorded for delayed viewing.
BSL supported.
Tickets are pay-what-you-can.
About the authors:
The Wild Women Writers’ Salons are carefully curated to bring together writers whose words resonate with one another, creating a space for meaningful, creative conversation among authors, readers, and all those interested in living life a little more wildly. In Salon 22, I will be joined by:
Jenny Knight
Jenny Knight is a novelist whose writing explores landscape, longing, and the transformative power of nature. Her work blends emotional depth with an attentiveness to place and season.
Her novel, Wild Moon Rising, tells a story of midlife rediscovery through the lens of female friendship and the growing of a wild garden. It is a novel about rewilding, renewal, desire, and the courage to begin again.
L. Kiew
L. Kiew is a poet whose work draws deeply on botany, ecology, and the language of migration. Influenced by decolonising horticulture movements and regenerative practices, her writing explores belonging, displacement, nurture, and the interwoven lives of plants and people.
In More Than Weeds, Kiew reclaims the language used to classify both species and humans, questioning what is contained within words such as “weed,” “native,” and “invasive.” Her vivid, botanically rich poems reveal hidden histories and tangled roots, asking us to reconsider borders — ecological and political alike.
Anna Chapman Parker
Anna Chapman Parker is an artist and writer whose work centres on close observation of the natural world. Combining prose and line drawing, she explores how attention itself can become a form of practice.
In Understorey, she documents a year spent looking closely at wild plants commonly dismissed as weeds. Through careful study and artistic reflection, she reveals the overlooked life flourishing in pavements, verges, and margins — inviting readers to reconsider what grows beneath notice and what it means to truly see.
Brigit Anna McNeill
Brigit Anna McNeill is a herbalist, trained therapist, and writer whose work explores recovery, folklore, and the medicinal wisdom of plants. Through her popular online writing and teaching, she weaves together ecology, psychology, and self-care.
In The Wild Within, McNeill traces her own journey of healing alongside the cycles of common wild flowers and trees. Blending memoir, herbal knowledge, and reflection, she shows how reconnecting with the non-human world can support recovery, reciprocity, and a return to inner wildness.
Access Notes
100% Online
We prioritise comfort and self-care during the salons — and all the rest of the time too!
Recorded for delayed viewing with subtitles
Captions will be available during this event
All ticket holders receive a link to the recording after the event (within 7 - 10 days)
We believe accessibility should be built into every event, not added as an afterthought. In light of this, we endeavour to make our events BSL-supported as standard. At this time, thanks to funding from Creative Scotland, we are able to do this for a selection of our events in this current programme. This will be marked on the individual event if available!
Introducing our Salon Host — Victoria Bennett
That is me! Founder of Wild Women Press and curator of the Wild Women Writers’ Salons.
I am an award-winning disabled writer, carer, and mother. A firm believer in everyone’s right to write their own story, I have dedicated much of my working life to nurturing spaces where people can do just that, founding Wild Women Press in 1999. I have curated and hosted the Wild Women Writers’ Salons since 2023, bringing together writers and readers from around the world to explore the things that matter.
My debut memoir, All My Wild Mothers: Motherhood, Loss, and an Apothecary Garden, was a 2024 Nautilus Book Award Winner (memoir)
‘… a beautiful, raw, meditative book on grief, mothering, and the wild both within and without… ’ (Kerri ni Dochartaigh)
‘… a haven in a cynical world — exactly the kind of book we need right now …’ (Catherine Simpson)
My forthcoming book, The Apothecary By The Sea: A Year in an Orkney Garden, is a lyrical and tender story of creating a wild apothecary garden on the Scottish archipelago of Orkney. Due out on April 30th 2026.
WHAT ARE THE WILD WOMEN WRITERS’ SALONS?
Each salon is carefully and individually curated, with considerable thought given to pairing authors and their writing. This pairing allows us to bring something new to the conversation — a space where all the books intersect and begin to tell an additional story. All participants, including myself, read and responded to the selected books, engaging with them as readers, writers, and creative peers.
This is more than a literary panel — it’s a community. We’re creating a welcoming and inspiring space to gather, engage and inspire positive change. In this collaborative, creative space, the audience and authors come together to delve deeper into the words and what it means to write them.
ACCESSIBLILTY
The salons are held 100% online via Zoom on the last Thursday of each month. These sessions are typically held from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. UK time, with some sessions scheduled from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. UK time to accommodate authors with other commitments or specific needs.
We prioritise comfort and self-care during the salons — and all the rest of the time too!
The salons support live captions and are recorded and subtitled for delayed viewing. Funding from Creative Scotland has also enabled me to increase access to the salons by providing British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation for some salons during the 2025-26 programme. This will be noted on the individual events.
How do they work? What is Pay What You Can?
I am a disabled author and carer, as well as the founder of Wild Women Press and the Wild Women Writers’ Salons. I am passionate about creating positive change, and I believe words can help us do this.
That is why I share mine, and why I have dedicated over half my life to creating spaces where others can share theirs. When we tell our stories and listen to others, we connect. In this ever-divisive world, it feels so important to do.
I run the salons from my home. This is not an organisation or a business, but it does need an income to survive, as do I.
No personal profit is made from the salons — all revenue generated from ticket sales and subscriptions is reinvested in the project to support the authors, those working behind the scenes, and to make the project possible in the future.
This year, I have been fortunate to receive a small grant from Creative Scotland towards research and development, which will help me expand access and contribute to the authors’ time and commitment, as well as my own.
However, it doesn’t cover the full cost of the programme, or the hours it takes to make it happen. That is where your support comes in.
The salons are offered as Pay-What-You-Can. As a disabled carer and a member of a low-income household, I know the reality of economic access. I am very aware that there are times in life when we can’t find those funds, no matter how much we want to. Please know that whatever you can pay is gratefully received and you are welcome.
If you can pay more, then having suggested price points as guides may be helpful.
A minimum ticket donation of £5 is suggested. This won’t cover the salon or the work, but it goes some way.
£8, £16, and £24 are realistic price points acknowledging the time, creativity, and energy generously given by our guest authors and all those involved in making the salons happen.
BUT please do not feel you cannot attend if you cannot meet these price points. If this is you right now, please know that you are still very much welcome.
All and any donations and paid subscriptions are vital to this space’s ecosystem
So let’s get the conversation started…
Want to read the books?
The salons are carefully curated to bring authors together to discuss their work, exploring connections and creative practice. All the books can be read as stand-alone, but something magical happens when you read them together and carry on that conversation between the works.
Did you know that you can find all the authors’ books and recommended reads on our Bookshop page, or you can buy the author’s books directly (deliverable worldwide) from Sam Read Booksellers?
Why Upgrade to Paid?
Be part of the growing Wild Women Writers’ community
The salons are entirely unfunded. All paid subscriptions support the work behind the scenes to make the Wild Women Writers’ Salons and the newsletter happen. In exchange for your support, you get:
access to all previous newsletters
access to recordings of the full programme of salons;
additional interviews with our guest authors on their writing and inspirations;
additional reading recommendations from our guest authors;
bespoke writing prompts from our guest authors;
occasional additional writing opportunities and courses;
The chance to be part of a nurturing community of creative practice!
Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription today.
Writing Wild (Wild Women Writers’ Salons) is a reader-supported publication. By subscribing, you support the behind-the-scenes work that makes this project possible. Thank you.
Reminder to Book
Tickets for Salon 22 are on sale now — so make sure to book yourself on and treat yourself to a wonderfully wild experience.
Until then, go gently, keep connecting, and stay wild!
Victoria x
Self-Care Snippet
“…You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves in your heart -- your stories, visions, memories, songs: your truth, your version of things, in your voice. That is really all you have to offer us, and it's why you were born…” (Anne Lamott)
