Octopus House Residencies

 “I was born in St Vincent and the Grenadines but have lived in England since my teens. I was a London College Lecturer in Mathematics, and Head of Maths for ten years. 

A short story of mine, Coming Off the Long Run, was published by Telegram Books in a Commonwealth anthology, So Many Islands in 2018. 

I was the regional winner for the UK, Europe, and Canada in the Commonwealth Short Story 2022 competition with A Hat for Lemer, set in post-  emancipation St Vincent. 

In October 2022, I appeared at the Bocas Caribbean Literature Festival at the British Library and the Bocas festival in Trinidad in April 2023. 

My work portrays the lives of Caribbean people in an engaging way. I am currently working on the casebook of a female Caribbean private

 Rhiannon is a photographer with a deep interest in The British Overseas Territories. Her voyage to Pitcairn Island and resulting exhibition and book have won numerous awards. 

The photographer has a connection with Gibraltar too, stemming back to her childhood onboard her parent’s boat. Adam’s work is heavily influenced by her “nomadic childhood spent at sea” Her analogue photography process captures liminal worlds and is an important social documentary of people and places living on the edge. 

Full-time author and dramatist Manon Steffan Ros won the 2023 Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing, the UK’s most prestigious children’s books award.

Ros translated ‘The Blue Book of Nebo’ from its original Welsh herself. It is the first time a translated book has won in the award’s 87-year history. She has written more than 20 books for adults and children.

Anne Elicaño-Shields is a Filipino writer and editor based in London. Her first manuscript, a YA romantasy about a present day oracle and a god, began as a draft during her time at The Rock Retreat for children’s writers and illustrators in Gibraltar in 2022. It is currently on submission to publishers.

Anne’s stories have found their way to multiple platforms. Her retelling of The Aeneid as a feminist space opera was recorded for The Classical Association podcast. She also did a public reading at the 2022 London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre. Anne is the inaugural winner of the 2023 Political Short Story Award (Word Factory).
During her stay at the Octopus House, Anne will be working on the first chapters of her adult literary fiction book.

Iqbal has been writing since he could hold a pencil and press the keys of his first Petite typewriter. He has had work published in many anthologies, including Lancashire Stories and Mainstream by Inkandescent, and on websites including caughtbytheriver and The Hopper.

His debut novel, “Northern Boy”, about being a butterfly among the bricks, is out in June from Unbound Firsts. During his time at Octopus House, Iqbal will be working on his middle grade children’s novel “Time After Time”, the genesis of which was formed during his time at The Rock Retreat for children’s writers and illustrators in Gibraltar in 2023.

Sena, a Ghanaian artist, illustrator, and graphic designer based in Accra, is well-versed in various artistic mediums including painting, screen printing, digital art, sculpting, polymer clay jewelry making, and ceramics painting. Her creative endeavors often incorporate up-cycled materials, and she enjoys leading workshops for children that focus on using recycled materials.

Sena thrives in collaborative environments and is dedicated to continuously expanding her artistic expertise through reading, research, attending workshops, art talks, and seminars.