Joanna Blossom

I’m a artist, illustrator, cartoonist and photographer from Gosport. I work as a caricaturist for events. I also do commissions, and for the last thirty years or so I’ve been draw musicians and performers in my local area live at events.  

My debut novel, The Normal State of Mind (Parthian, 2015) was long listed for the Mumbai Association of Moving Images (MAMI) Word to Screen Prize. Table Manners (Dahlia Books, 2018) won the Saboteur Award for Best Short Story Collection in 2019. My short stories have been featured on BBC Radio 4. I develop and deliver writing workshops for various art galleries and organisations around Hampshire and beyond. I teach creative writing at University of Winchester and am a trustee of The Winchester Poetry Festival. I’ve also developed ands teach a short story course for Professional Writing Academy. I’m co-founder of Write Beyond Borders, a transnational mentoring project writers from South Asia and its diaspora.    

I work for INTO, the International National Trusts Organisation, to protect cultural heritage and promote sustainable development globally. With a background in heritage advocacy and international collaboration, I bring a passion for connecting people and places. Living in Hampshire, I’m inspired by its rich cultural landscape and committed to ensuring that creativity and heritage are accessible, inclusive, future-facing (and occasionally muddy).