Welcome to Wild Writing with Sanjida!
‘Writing is wild.’
Hi there!
I’m Sanjida. I’m an award-winning writer (I’ve just won the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association Dagger!). I write psychological thrillers as Sanjida Kay and literary fiction and nature non-fiction as Sanjida O’Connell.
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 a been a published author for over thirty years - since I was 18 years old.
Instead, I studied for a PhD in zoology and I 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 and should 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
Here’s what you’ll get if you join me!
Free Subscribers:
One or two free newsletters a month delivered directly to your inbox or Substack app.
These will be thoughts about writing or tips to help you on your writing journey.
‘I love Sanjida's thoughtful nature writing, plus her warm-hearted and practical advice for writers.’
Paid Subscribers £6 a month / £60 a year:
This is where you’ll have:
more access to me via Direct Messages, email or chat
three articles a month on how to become a better writer
one masterclass, workshop or live Q&A (with replay).
These essays and masterclasses are designed to help you elevate your craft so that you could be published.
I will primarily be focusing on the thriller genre, which encompasses psychological thrillers, crime fiction, suspense and mystery.
I have written across a number of different genres, and have had four non-fiction books published, so I hope my advice will be helpful to you even if you’re not planning on publishing a thriller.
In addition:
my nature memoir, Wilderness: In Search of Belonging. This is the story of our rewilding project, and my search to discover where I, as a dual heritage child brought up in rural Britain belong - and indeed, what belonging means to us all. You can read the first chapter and you’ll be the first to hear news about publication.
Bonus free short stories when you sign up.
‘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!’
Green Member £250 a year
This is your gold star (green star?!) backstage pass, and entitles you to all of the above, plus
one hour virtual meeting with me to talk about your writing, including reading up to 2000 words in advance (worth £250).
a signed copy of one of my books.
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
PS I’m on Instagram here, you can buy my thrillers here, my books here, or check out my website here.
More information 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, historical novels (as Sanjida O’Connell).
I’ve spent almost 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 also a wildlife presenter for the BBC.
I’v been shortlisted for the BBC Asia Award, the Betty Trask Award for Romantic Fiction, the Daily Telegraph Science Writer’s Award, Asian Woman of the Year, highly commended for BBC Wildlife Magazine’s Award for Nature Writing, long listed for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, shortlisted for the CWA Short Story Dagger and have just won a CWA Short Story Dagger.
I’ve been a judge for The Bristol Short Story Prize twice, the Royal Television Society Awards, the Wainwright Prize and the Ashdown Forest Poetry Prize.
I currently mentor writers and deliver masterclasses and writing workshops, as well as writing thrillers and nature non-fiction.
PPS If you’re a student, you can have a 20% discount as long as you sign up using your school or university email address. Here’s your student discount code:
