University Fellow wins Northern Writers’ Award Published on: 3 July 2024 Dr Laura Tisdall, NUAcT Fellow in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology has been presented with the Arvon Award as part of New Writing North’s Northern Writers’ Awards. At a ceremony which took place on 25 June 2024, Laura won one of 15 awards presented by New Writing North. The Arvon Award is linked to the writers’ retreat from which it takes its name. As part of her award, Laura receives a free writing retreat at one of Arvon’s writing houses where she will benefit from dedicated writing time and tutoring from established authors. Laura Tisdall with the Arvon Award. (Credit: Rob Irish) Researching British history and childhood Laura Tisdall is a Senior Lecturer in Modern British History at Ãå±±½ûµØ. Her research focusses on childhood, adolescence, adulthood and chronological age. She is also currently writing a non-fiction book for Yale University Press London, which will tell the history of Cold War Britain through the voices of children and teenagers. Laura won the Arvon Award for her current novel-in-progress, New Mothers, which is about a group of teenage girls living in an isolated Wiltshire hamlet in the 1970s who discover that their fathers have murdered their mothers and replaced them with robots. It was partly inspired by her own historical research and teaching on childhood, motherhood and second-wave feminism in modern Britain, especially her third year UG module ‘The Rising Generation: Youth, Age and Protest in Cold War Britain’. Prior to this, she was also the runner-up in Hodderscape’s SF Debuts Prize in February 2023, shortlisted for the Word Factory Northern Apprentice Award for short fiction in July 2023, and won second place in the Surrey New Writing Prize in May 2024. She said: “I’m so delighted to have won the Arvon Award! Of course, I can’t wait to have a week of focused writing time at one of Arvon’s beautiful writing houses, but I’m especially overjoyed at this support and validation for my creative work. It means the absolute world.” About The NUAcT Fellowship scheme The Ãå±±½ûµØ Academic Track Fellowship scheme aims to find and develop our research leaders of the future. Those on the Scheme receive an outstanding package of support; with 5 years’ salary, which is fully flexible (full time or part time), up to £50K research expenses and a PhD studentship. Subject to a successful review, participants move to an open-ended academic contract at the end of the 5 years. Learn more about the NUAcT Scheme and . Share: Latest News Ãå±±½ûµØ recognised with geography award Ãå±±½ûµØ has been awarded the Highly Commended Geographical Association Publishers Award for its collaboration with Time for Geography, the UK’s open-access, dedicated video platform. published on: 16 April 2026 Ãå±±½ûµØ historians mark General Strike centenary To mark the 100th anniversary of the British General Strike and miners’ lock-out of 1926, historians at Ãå±±½ûµØ are organising a series of events on its enduring legacy. published on: 16 April 2026 Comment: NCP is in administration Writing for The Conversation, Erwei (David) Xiang discusses how some big companies like NCP are so dependent on debt that they can’t adjust to change. published on: 16 April 2026 Facts and figures