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Mr Toby Litt

Associate Professor in Creative Writing

Research interests

  • Contemporary Writing as Environmental Activism
  • Autofiction, experimental memoir, creative non-fiction
  • Short stories

More research

Accepting applications from PhD students.

Connect with Toby

Profile photo 
Upload your profile photo in Subscribe (opens in a new tab). Your profile photo in Pure is not linked to your public staff profile. Choose a clear, recent headshot where you are easily recognisable. Your image should be at least 340 by 395 pixels. 

Name 
To change your name or prefix title contact Ask HR (opens in new tab)  If you want to update an academic title you'll need to provide evidence e.g. a PhD certificate. The way your name is displayed is automatic and cannot be changed. You can also update your post-nominal letters in Subscribe (opens in a new tab).

Job title 
Raise a request through ServiceNow (opens in a new tab) to change your job title (40 characters maximum) unless you're on the ERE career pathway. If you're on the ERE path you can not change your main job title, but you can request other minor updates through Ask HR (opens in new tab). If you have more than one post only your main job title will display here, but you can add further posts or roles in other sections of your profile.

Research interests (for researchers only) 
Add up to 5 research interests. The first 3 will appear in your staff profile next to your name. The full list will appear on your research page. Keep these brief and focus on the keywords people may use when searching for your work. Use a different line for each one.

In Pure (opens in a new tab), select ‘Edit profile’. Under the heading 'Curriculum and research description', select 'Add profile information'. In the dropdown menu, select 'Research interests: use separate lines'.

Contact details 
Add or update your email address, telephone number and postal address in Subscribe (opens in a new tab). Use your University email address for your primary email. 

You can link to your Google Scholar, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts through Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘Edit profile’.  In the 'Links' section, use the 'Add link' button. 

ORCID ID 
Create or connect your ORCID ID in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘Edit profile’ and then 'Create or Connect your ORCID ID'.

Accepting PhD applicants (for researchers only) 
Choose to show whether you’re currently accepting PhD applicants or not in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘Edit profile’. In the 'Portal details' section, select 'Yes' or 'No' to indicate your choice. 

About

Toby is best-known for writing his books – from Adventures in Capitalism to (so far) Patience – in alphabetical order (apart from the non-fiction ones); he is currently working on Q and R.

Toby’s story ‘The Retreat’ won the 2020 Short Fiction/ University of Essex Prize, his story ‘John & John’ came first in the semi-widely-known Manchester Fiction Prize, and his story ‘Call it “The Bug” Because I Have No Time To Think of a Better Title” was shortlisted for the notoriously lucrative Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award.

His novel, Patience, was published by Galley Beggar Press in September 2019. It was shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize.

His latest book is A Writer's Diary, published by Galley Beggar on New Year's Day 2023. It was previously serialised, day by day, on Substack. A Writer's Diary continues on Substack.

Wrestliana, Toby’s family memoir about being a man, fighting and losing, was published by Galley Beggar Press on May 1st 2018.

In May 2014, Toby’s first opera collaboration, Vastation (Nichtung), with music by Samy Moussa, was performed in Munich and Regensberg.

Also in 2014, Toby wrote a monthly comic – Dead Boy Detectives – based on characters from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. This was published by Vertigo. The Dead Boy Detectives 8-part TV series, based on Toby and Mark Buckingham’s run on the comic, and featuring their character Crystal Palace, is forthcoming on Netflix.

In 2017, Vertigo issued the trade paperback edition of Free Country: A Tale from the Children’s Crusade. This was a completion by Toby of a Neil Gaiman graphic novel.

Toby writes songs and song cycles (Befalling, Life Cycle, Rest) with Emily Hall. The scores of these are available from her shop.

You can update this in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘Edit profile’. Under the heading and then ‘Curriculum and research description’, select ‘Add profile information’. In the dropdown menu, select - ‘About’.

Write about yourself in the third person. Aim for 100 to 150 words covering the main points about who you are and what you currently do. Clear, simple language is best. You can include specialist or technical terms.

You’ll be able to add details about your research, publications, career and academic history to other sections of your staff profile.