Draft:Elinora Westfall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Elinora Westfall (born 7 December 1987) is a writer of stage, screen, fiction, poetry, and radio from the UK. Her novel, Everland, was selected for the Penguin and Random House WriteNow Editorial Programme, and her short films have been selected by Pinewood Studios & Lift-Off Sessions, Cannes Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Camden Fringe Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, while her theatre and audio shows have been selected by The British Library and performed in London's West End and on Broadway, where she won the award for Best Monologue. Her latest collection of poetry, Life in the Dressing Room of the Theatre is published by Vine Leaves Press.

Early life

Elinora Westfall was born in Woodbirdge, Suffolk, and attended Farlingaye High School.

Growing up, Westfall was heavily influenced by the music of David Bowie and the novels, diaries, letters, and essays of Virginia Woolf, in particular Mrs Dalloway, The Letters of Vita Sackville West and Virginia Woolf, and A Room of One's Own.

Literary career

After working in a bookshop as a teenager, Elinora Westfall went on to publish her first collection of poetry, Some of Her Parts', a nod to the fictional character, Jenny Schecter from The L Word. Westfall then went on to study Creative Writing and English Literature through the Open University, while simultaneously raising her two children and working full-time as a freelance writer.

Westfall then went on to write her first novella, The Art of Almost, and quickly progressed from fiction and poetry to writing radio plays such as Runner Beans and Inner Peace and plays for theatre, such as A Girl Called Dusty, a play inspired by the private life of singer, Dusty Springfield.

Westfall's collection of poetry, Life in the Dressing Room of the Theatre was published in 2023 by Vine Leaves Press.

Other activities

Westfall is also an artist, with her paintings and drawings published in various arts journals and exhibitions worldwide.

Elinora Westfall is the editor-in-chief of Elsker Publishing House, home to literary and arts journal, Vita & the Woolf.

Honours and awards

FRENCH BEANS & INNER PEACE - Selected by BBC UPLOAD as part of their partnership with The British Library, collecting audio pieces for a special digital archive at The British Library which captures how people across England responded to the Pandemic.

EVERLAND - Middle-grade novel selected for the Penguin and Random House WriteNow Editorial Programme.

I AM WINTER - Selected by Pinewood Studios & Lift-Off Sessions, Cannes Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Think Shorts, and SonderBlu Festival.

CONFESSIONS: THE HOURS (Play) - Winner of the Full Stack KDC Theatre's Playwriting Competition. Performed at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre, London in June 2021. Also selected by Pinewood Studios & Lift-Off Sessions.

A TERRIBLE THING HAS HAPPENED - Winner of the Living History Short Story Award.

MEMORIES OF A MERMAID - Second-place award at the Baltimore Science Fiction Society.

CONFESSIONS: THE HOURS (Monologue) - Winner of the Best Monologue Award, Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York.

THE ART OF ALMOST - A literary novella short-listed for the Secret Attic Short Story Award, and the Lambda Literary Award.

MERIVALE AND WAR’S ORPHAN & THE SOUND OF SILENCE - Long-listed for the New Welsh Review writing contest.

COAL TO BURN THE WORLD - Winner of the Creative Writing Ink Competition October 2021.

HOW SHE KILLS - Selected by Pinewood Studios & Lift-Off Sessions, SonderBlu Festival. THE ROSES AND THE WEEDS - Received an honorable mention by Wordruner eChapbooks. ANONYMOUS WAS A WOMAN - Collected short stories by Elinora Westfall shortlisted by Wordrunner eChapbooks 2021.

FRENCH BEANS & INNER PEACE - Comedy monologue shortlisted by Madwomen Monologues by Baggage Productions, Melbourne. WAR’S ORPHAN & THE SOUND OF SILENCE - Pushcart Prize nominee. WHAT REMAINS - Nominated for the Small Press Fiction Award 2022.

Film, Theatre and Radio

LOVE, MARY (theatre) - DYSPLA & Hat Trick Productions finalist 2022. THE ART OF ALMOST - Performed at Heller Theatre, April 2022. HOW SHE KILLS - Performed by SLAMMinutes does Mental Health at the Pleasance Theatre, London in 2022. FRENCH BEANS & INNER PEACE - Aired on Eclectic Theatre’s Half Hour Audio Hour. EVERLAND - Commissioned 8-part BBC Radio Drama. Available as an audiobook on Spotify, iTunes, Anchor, and various other audio streaming services. CONFESSIONS: THE HOURS - Multi-award-winning short film adapted for stage and performed at Thornhill Theatre, London, and Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York, where it won the award for Best Monologue. Confessions also featured on Broadway during Winterfest in November 2021 and was selected by Fillum International Storical & Short Film Festival (FISSF), QueerBee Festival, Festival Genders & Performances, Pinewood Studios & Lift-Off Sessions. THE SUDDENNESS OF QUIET - Short film selected by Madeira Curtas Short Films Contest (Madeira Island), Think Shorts, Pinewood Studios and Lift-Off Sessions. I AM WINTER - A multi-award-winning short film selected by FFilm Cymru Wales Lesbian & Bisexual Women’s Festival. Available on LesFlicks VOD Streaming Service and Think Shorts. I Am Winter was also selected by REDMOON Film Festival, Pinewood Studios, Lift-Off Sessions and was used as a promotional piece by the Broxtowe Women’s Project. TIG & LOMSTER - Children’s audiobook aired on BBC Radio and performed by Nick Knowles for the MFPT Big Shout Out Festival. A TERRIBLE THING HAS HAPPENED - Audio short story performed by Emmerdale's Samantha Giles for the BBC Upload Festival 2021 and performed on BBC Radio Merseyside and BBC Radio Sussex. CECILY & THE DRAGON - Children’s story performed by Nick Knowles for the children of the NHS workers at the MPFT Big Shout Out Festival. HOW SHE KILLS - Performed at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester. Also developed by Queer Colors Theatre.

Various other spoken word pieces and short theatre shows have been selected by Heller Theatre’s Sunday Serials project, aired on BBC Radio (Essex, Kent, London, Wales, Scotland, Sussex, Brighton, Oxford, Suffolk, and Norfolk), Litro Podcast, The Sheepshead Review, After Ellen, The Bitchin' Kitsch, PodPlay, Poetry Spoken Here and Open Mic of the Air.

Work Published in Literary Journals Worldwide

Poetry Salzburg, Medium, The Sheepshead Review, Acumen, Rattle, Stand, Every Day Fiction, Sylvia Magazine, Obsessed with Pipework, Crannog Native Skin, The Mighty, Yahoo News, The Gay and Lesbian Review, New Welsh Review, Gaze, Open Journal of Arts & Letters, The Thing Itself, Shorts Magazine, Think Shorts, Litro, Litro US, Flash Fiction Magazine, Macromic, Fictional Cafe, Twenty-Two Twenty Eight, Swimm, Havik, The Nabu Review, Ponder, The Nervous Breakdown, Love in the Time of Covid, Hamilton Stone Review, Secret Attic, Prismatica, The Poetry Question, Crow Toes, Abergavenny Press, Zoetic Press, Bandit Fiction, Processing Crisis, Harpy Hybrid, Storm Cellar, The Ilanot Review, 805 Lit, Bitter Fruit, Pure Slush, Carolina Muse, The Bookends Review, Red Eft, The Bitchin' Kitsch, The Wire, New Plains Review, Green Ink, Ink Sweat & Tears, Orca, GHLL, ELJ Editions, Kin Literary Journal, Sinister Wisdom, Marble, Derailleur, Third Lane Magazine, Poetry Magazine, Smoke, Breath and Shadow, Passengers, Peeking Cat, Agapanthus, Derailleur, Poetry Magazine, Leading Edge Magazine, Avatar, Aayona Magazine, The Avenue, Cerasus, Barzakh, Processing Crisis, Masque & Spectacle, Mindfull, Cerasus, Subterranean Blue, Other-Worldly Women, Beyond Words and many more.

References

★★★★★ “Achingly beautiful” Robbie Jarvis, actor ★★★★★ “Prepare to be seduced.” David Scrivener, Oxfam Books

"Elinora's poetry collection is breathtaking. The pain of love, both lost and unrequited strikes a chord as does the poignancy of lost childhood. And all through I loved the appearance of Gillian; the tormentor and the ally. It is work that needs to be read and re-read and which I'm sure will be quoted in years to come." Samantha Giles, actress

"Elinora Westfall is one of humanity's best! A truly beautiful soul, an empath, and a sensitive, and as such she feels and thinks deeply. Luckily for us she is also an extraordinarily talented writer. I've no doubt this collection will become a beloved, well-thumbed go-to whenever we need that deeper connection often lacking on our day-to-day lives." Simone Lahbib, actress

"Elinora's command of language is extraordinary, I couldn't put it down! Striking, cinematic imagery. Achingly beautiful use of language. It's a remarkable collection." Robbie Jarvis, actor

"Thought-provoking and eloquent. A magnificently written collection." Kate Stagg, poet

"Quiet yet powerful, this is poetry that will break your heart, but then fill the cracks with gold. Searingly honest and utterly beautiful." Harri Aburrow Newman, author

"Exhilarating, very funny, and very sad too. If you feel you deserve a treat, read these poems. If this is Elinora Westfall's debut volume, I want to read all the volumes that will now come after." - William Blyghton, author

"Elinora doesn't just create an image with her poetry but transports you to that place and time, her descriptions are so intricate that the smells tickle your nostrils and the sounds resonate in your ears. More than that though, you experience the joy, the love, the sadness, and the pain as if you are part of her, and always want to read more." Kirsty Rhodes

"Exquisite, beautiful poetry, prepare to be seduced." David Scrivener, Oxfam Books

"Interwoven with wry humor and poignancy throughout, I enjoyed it very much!" Kazia Pelka, actress

"Every poem is a stand-alone journey. It's just so beautifully descriptive to the point where you can smell the air on a beach or the taste of buttered bread. The pure emotion jumps off the page and you feel it. You truly feel it. Elinora's writing has you truly immersed." Charlie Griffiths, actress

"Elinora Westfell's superb writing explores an intriguing and sometimes devastating emotional landscape. She skillfully weaves together themes of poignancy and delicate vulnerability, hard-won self-awareness and strength, and wry humor. The result is a collection that imprints itself on one's heart." Meriel Lord

Links Smokelong Quarterly Crossing the Tees Book Festival The Roses and the Weeds short story featured in Kelp Journal. Where Plants reside featured in Scissors and Spackle. Scissors and Spackle. The Roses and the Weeds featured in WriteNow. Life in the Dressing Room of the Theatre, at Prairie Lights Books. Artwork featured in Press Pause Press. Dust in the Barn, flash fiction featured in Grim and Gilded. The Roses and the Weeds, short story featured in Funny Pearls. Life in the Dressing Room of the Theatre, published by Vine Leaves Press. Meeting Mrs Dalloway Nifty Lit Poetry Salzburg. Audio of A Terrible Thing Has Happened, featured on Short Radio Podcast, read by Samantha Giles. Short film, Confessions the Hours, at Haywire Theatre. Elinora Westfall at Yorrick Radio. Short story, The Roses and the Weeds at MIR Online. Poem, Patchwork Kid at Aayo. Short story, The Roses and the Weeds featured in LITRO. Poem, Between the Acts at Lit Magazine. Poem, Coal to Burn the World at Stray Lights Literary Magazine. Listen to Everland at Spotify, HERE. Listen to A Terrible Thing Has Happened, at Story Radio Podcast. Read by Samantha Giles. Poem, The Husband, featured in Glint Literary Journal. Meeting Mrs Dalloway at Leon Literary Review. "Meeting Mrs Dalloway" at Red Ogre Review. Interviews and Other Links

Interview with Elinora Westfall at Queer Words Podcast. Twitter & Instagram, @Elinorawriter Film Freeway. Official Website. Elsker Publishing House.