“I open a brown archival box in the SOAS archives in London. Inside is the voice of a woman who died 200 years ago, whose words may represent the only account of a significant historical event from a woman’s perspective. It is not like treasure hunting, it is treasure hunting, the dead whispering from the dust.”
Joy McAlpine-Black
Joy is a writer, creative writing teacher, creative writing group facilitator, and author of the biography of Ann Shaw (1788-1854) which is out in 2025.
Joy has a Bachelors in Fine Art and Education and a Masters in Museums and Galleries in Education. She received a distinction for her Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge and The Kate Bertram Prize from Lucy Cavendish College.
Joy has worked in art education, museum education, cultural consultancy, and teacher training. She was regional advisor in learning and access for museums, galleries, libraries, and archives in the Southeast of England. She now designs and teaches creative writing courses in a variety of genres to young people and adults in school, university, and community contexts.
Joy writes literary nonfiction and fiction about women sidelined by gatekeepers of the past. Ann Shaw, for example, is the life story of the most influential working-class fenwoman ever to impact South Africa through her leadership of the 1820 settlers, her creation of the first schools for indigenous people, and her unhampered power as a Wesleyan woman in partnership with African women. And yet she was erased from the records for her deemed failings as a mother.