I’m Tracy Heather Johnson, prize winning writer of short fiction and poetry. I coach creative writing, story telling & creativity, as well as working as a photographer.

I’ve fascinated by artists and their creative processes & have interviewed some of the most creative people working today, including musician Geoff Barrow, producer Gareth Jones and songwriter Grian Chatten of Fontaines DC.

I’m available for fiction & feature writing and presenting work, as well as 1:1 coaching for developing creativity or to help you see a creative project through to completion .

I hold a PhD in English Literature and French feminist philosophy, and have lectured across the UK and as far afield as China on topics from critical thinking to modern horror cinema. My research into subjectivity, psychoanalysis and critical theory inform all of my creative practices, from writing to coaching to photography.

Writing and horror

I am the author of the Flights on Dark Wings stories. ‘Attachment’ was published in issue 4 of The Horizon Magazine. ‘Drag’ was named as ‘one to watch’ in SFX magazine’s horror column and won a top ten place in the 2022 Christopher Assheton-Stones Short Fiction Competition. ‘Photographs’ was published in issue 5 of Myth & Lore.

I’m a regular contributor to the Cradle to the Grave podcast, and have guested with both Drunken Horror and The Spooky Shelf.

You can find me performing live readings of my poetry at events, exhibitions, open mic nights and in bookstores, including Waterstones.

Music and photography

I studied songwriting online with the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance in 2021 and play some piano & guitar and sing a little. I released my first single, I Am Love, with Tipsy Eyes, an electronic and cinematic epic you can buy on Bandcamp or stream from the usual places, for which I wrote the lyrics and performed the vocals.

I’ve also studied photography for several years & launched my professional portrait service this year. Please get in touch if you would like to book a shoot.

All portraits on this site © Tracy Heather Johnson.

Deviant

I recently launched an exciting collaborative project with visual artist Juliet Sugg, lecturer on the MA in Illustration and Visual Arts at the University of the Arts London, sharing our interest in the concept of the ‘monstrous feminine’ in horror & depictions of female sexuality, called Deviant: Women, Sex & the Monstrous Erotic. We exhibited at The Horse Hospital in London in September, with the Evolution of Horror podcast team, and in Bristol at HOURS Space in October, supported by burlesque performer Antonia Purdie and actress & author Ariel Anderssen. See the Deviant page for more information. Stay posted for information on The Deviant Collective as we launch our journal and workshop programme in 2025.