Essex Writers House 2026 in conversation: Writing & the Power of Language

ESSEX WRITERS HOUSE EVENT

Writing and the Power of Language: In conversation with Camilla Balshaw, Emily Abdeni-Holman and Boakye D. Alpha

In partnership with National Centre for Writing

Looking to find your writing people? Come along to a FREE evening of conversation inspired by the Escalator New Writing Fellowships - a programme that champions underrepresented voices from the East of England; Escalator New Writing Fellowships | National Centre for Writing | NCW

24 June

7- 9pm

Free entry

Join us for an evening with the National Centre for Writing’s Escalator Writers Emily Abdeni-Holman and Boakye D. Alpha, in conversation with award-winning author Camilla Balshaw about writing and the power of language, with discussion rooted in cultural histories, oppression and identity.

The panel:

Camilla Balshaw is an award-winning author. She has been published in numerous journals, and her essays have featured in the Guardian, Therapy Today and the Observer. Camilla’s debut memoir, Named: A Story of Names and Reclaiming Who We Are (2025), has been described by Diana Evans as a ‘valuable meditation on the origins of what we call ourselves, packed full of rich storytelling’ and by Bonnie Burke-Patel as an ‘utterly fascinating, insightful and meaningful memoir.’ In 2025, Named won the best Memoir & Biography category in the East Anglian Book Awards.
Named is a fascinating exploration of names, global naming conventions and identity politics woven into a moving, personal narrative about the finding of family and self. At the intersection of memoir and social and cultural history it is a truly fascinating book about the seemingly ordinary and every day.

Camilla will be facilitating Open Advice Sessions for writers through the day on 24 June. Book yourself a free slot HERE

Emily Abdeni-Holman was raised in England and Lebanon, and is particularly interested in crossing-points, of identities, languages, and places. She enjoys experimenting with different kinds of style and form and is currently working on a couple of projects: a collection of short stories, mostly converging around Lebanon; and a more hybrid work about Arab-European identity, pre- and post-October 2023.

Her first book, Body Tectonic, on Lebanon’s socioeconomic crisis, is an experiment in approaching structural disaster through poetry (Broken Sleep Books, 2024). In 2025, she was one of five writers shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award.

Boakye D. Alpha is a Ghanaian interdisciplinary creative whose works include poetry, prose, screenplays, creative nonfiction, and filmmaking. His writing has appeared in Lolwe, The Shallow Tales Review, and elsewhere. In 2025, his short story was longlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Although a versatile writer, his heart lies in literary fiction, and continues to explore experimental, layered narratives that provoke reflection on society and the experiences of underrepresented voices.

His work in progress explores the reality for some women in Ghana who endure violence and systemic oppression rooted in superstition. Through intergenerational narratives, the novel exposes the haunting effects of gendered violence.