Welcome to Wild Writing with Sanjida!
‘Writing is wild.’ Jeannine Ouellette
Hi there!
I’m Sanjida, an award-winning writer. I’ve recently won the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association Dagger. Under Sanjida Kay I write psychological thrillers, and as Sanjida O’Connell, literary fiction, historical fiction and nature non-fiction.
Why wild writing?
Being able to write is wild! Being able to transport readers to another time and place, immersing them in other people’s lives and making them feel a wide range of emotions is wild!
Plus, thrillers and crime fiction, which is what I specialise in, are frankly, often wildly thrilling and sometimes a little scary to read and to write.
I have a unique take on writing.
I haven’t studied English or done a creative writing MBA.
Instead, I’ve been a published author for over 30 years.
Instead, I studied for a PhD in zoology and taught myself how to write.
As a result, I was able to put myself through two university degrees and then buy a house thanks to my writing.
Now I would like to help you become a better writer by showing you what worked for me.
And whilst I think anyone can write, I want to help you become a published writer.
‘Wild Writing with Sanjida is a warm and practical blend of advice, realism and inspiration about fiction and non-fiction. Sanjida knows what she's writing about - and it shows!’
Substack bestseller Emma Darwin This Itch of Writing with Emma Darwin
What you’ll receive as a subscriber:
Free Subscribers:
One or two free newsletters a month delivered directly to your inbox or Substack app.
These reflective essays and practical tips will help you along your writing journey.
‘I love Sanjida's thoughtful nature writing, plus her warm-hearted and practical advice for writers.’
Paid Subscribers £6 a month / £50 a year:
This is where you’ll have:
🌿 more access to me via Direct Messages, comments or via email.
🌿 in-depth essays showing you how to improve your writing and get an agent, publisher and editor, from the perspective of a writer who’s been published for over 30 years.
🌿 access to workshops, masterclasses and community events to help you get published.
These essays and masterclasses will help you elevate your writing craft, strengthen your storytelling, and significantly improve your chances of getting published.
🌿 Once a month we’ll have an online Wild Writing Session where we’ll meet up, have a quick chat and work on our own projects.
It’ll be 7-8.30pm GMT and usually the first and third Tuesdays of the month.
Zoom link will be emailed to members and will also be in the calendar.
🌿 Once a quarter, we’ll meet online for a Wild Writing Studio and share work for feedback from each other and from me. I’m an experienced mentor and literary consultant, so I hope this will be valuable for you, and a way of connecting with other writers. Again, this is for members, and at £6 a month (I’ve reduced the price to try and make this more affordable for everyone), it’s great value.
In addition:
access to in-depth practical and insightful masterclasses, either inclusive or at a discount.
‘Sanjida's Substack is a fount of knowledge, not only in how to write as an author but also in her journey as she rewilds her land in Somerset. There is so much useful information here for writers, and it's a joy to see her working with others to develop themselves. A definite must read!’
Concessions
If you’re a senior, student or on a low income, I get how tough it is. I’d love to see you thrive as a writer in spite of the harshness of our current economic climate. Here is a fifty per cent annual discount:
Book coaching
‘Thank you so much for being there from the beginning of my journey with The Million Pieces of Neena Gill – for all your valuable feedback, your time, your support and belief in me. I couldn’t have done it without you.’
Emma Smith-Barton, The Million Pieces of Neena Gill, published by Penguin
If you’d like more bespoke help, I offer one-to-one mentoring. You can find out more here.
Here’s what one of mentees wrote about my mentorship (he went on to receive a four book publishing deal):
‘Sanjida’s input was a real game changer for me. She was able to strip the manuscript back to it’s component parts, and gave me amazing insight into how each bit contributed, which ones were already strong, and more importantly, the aspects that could be be tightened up. It’s no coincidence that after dozens of rejections, I was picked up by an agent a few months after her help.’
Robert Scragg, author of What Falls Between the Cracks, the first a four-book publishing deal with Allison & Busby
I can’t wait to meet you, and thank you for supporting my writing - but most of all, your own writing!
Sanjida x
Connect with me:
I’m on Instagram here, you can buy my thrillers here, my books here, or check out my website here.
About me:
I’ve written across multiple genres. So far I’ve had twelve books published - four psychological thrillers, plus four short thriller stories in anthologies and for BBC Radio 4 (as Sanjida Kay), four non-fiction books and four literary novels (as Sanjida O’Connell).
I’ve spent twenty years working as a journalist, writing newspaper and magazine feature articles on science and nature for most of our UK newspapers and some magazines, as well as being a columnist for BBC Wildlife, The Times and The Independent. Alongside my career in journalism, I was a TV producer/director and a wildlife presenter for the BBC.
Awards & Recognition:
Winner, Crime Writers’ Association Short Story Dagger
Shortlisted: Crime Writers’ Association Short Story Dagger, BBC Asia Award, Betty Trask Award, Asian Woman of the Year
Highly Commended: BBC Wildlife Magazine’s Award for Nature Writing
Longlisted: CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
Judge: Bristol Short Story Prize, Royal Television Society Awards, Wainwright Prize, Ashdown Forest Poetry Prize
I currently mentor writers and deliver masterclasses and writing workshops, as well as writing thrillers and nature non-fiction.
