Dr Ben Wilkinson

Dr Ben Wilkinson is a poet, critic, freelance writer, and academic researcher. He lectures in English and Creative Writing at the University of Bolton.

Ben received his first degree in English and Philosophy from the University of Sheffield, and holds an MA and PhD from Sheffield Hallam University. He has won several awards for his poetry, including the International Poetry Business Competition, a Northern Writers Award, and a Grant for the Arts from Arts Council England.

His writing has regularly appeared in national publications including The Guardian, The Spectator, The New Statesman, and the Times Literary Supplement. He has published two volumes of original poetry, Way More Than Luck (Seren, 2018) and Same Difference (Seren, 2022), and the critical monograph Don Paterson: Writers and Their Work (Liverpool University Press, 2021).

Research interests include contemporary British and Irish poetry; sport and creativity; contemporary literature and philosophy; mental health and creative writing; literary criticism and the art of reviewing.

Ben welcomes proposals in these areas from PhD students.