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Yvonne Roberts

Yvonne Roberts, the prize winning journalist with the Observer, has been appointed as the University of Sussex’s first ever Political Writer in Residence.

Yvonne joins the University of Sussex in an independent role to help Politics students become outstanding political communicators.

Yvonne Roberts said:

“The combination of rigorous research, critical analysis, passion and the carefully chosen word can contribute to the kind of powerful political writing that may give even the most casual reader pause for thought.

“It’s an honour to be the first Political Writer in Residence at the University of Sussex and, in these challenging times, to work with politics undergraduates to hone their skills, and develop their own many and varied voices, so they mount a fresh, strong and vibrant challenge to Orwell’s view that all political writing is “the defence of the indefensible”.”

Claire Annesley, Head of Politics at the University of Sussex, said:

“I know that our students are really excited at the prospect of working with a journalist of Yvonne’s calibre to help them develop their political communication skills.

“Yvonne’s role as Political Writer in Residence will mean that our students will be best placed in a range of careers, not least politics, government, journalism and the creative industries. We’re really excited about that.”

Yvonne will initially be involved in two projects:

• Political Passion in Words

Yvonne will work with first year Politics students from day one to inspire them to find their individual voices and strengthen their skills as political writers.  Yvonne will deliver practical writing workshops for students and offer feedback on their work.

• Politics@Sussex Blog

Yvonne will sit on the editorial board of the new Politics Blog for Sussex students and academics. Yvonne will run a Speakers Corner event to inspire students to develop and defend their ideas and then convert their arguments into a blog. Yvonne will provide personalised feedback on each student blog to ensure it’s ready for publication. Yvonne will work with final year students to help them blog about their dissertation research and advise them about careers in writing.

Undergraduate Politics students Jack Stapleton and Beatriz Lacerda Ratton have worked with the Politics Department on defining the role of the Political Writer in Residence.

Jack Stapleton said:

“I am personally excited to be working with Yvonne. Her appointment will be exceptionally helpful to politics students and anyone interested in becoming a political communicator.  I’d like to ensure my own career involves writing, whether as a journalist, an academic or something creative. I hope that working with Yvonne will help me figure that out.”

Beatriz Lacerda Ratton said:

“I’m really thrilled that Yvonne will be our Political Writer in Residence.  She came and spoke to us, and was particularly inspiring for the female students. She became a journalist at a time when there were not many women journalists, and is really successful in her field. When she spoke, she encouraged us to become investigative-style journalists, to be open to new ideas, and to retain our journalistic independence.”

About Yvonne Roberts:

Former chief leader writer of The Observer now a writer and columnist on the paper, Yvonne Roberts is also a novelist and author of several non-fiction books on subjects such as gender, social policy, resilience, education and ageing. Yvonne Roberts has had an award winning career in print and television journalism internationally and domestically spanning almost fifty years. She is currently working on her fourth novel.

The Politics Department at the University of Sussex has just been ranked 18th in the UK Complete University Guide for 2017. Overall the University of Sussex was ranked 18th of all universities in the Complete University Guide. This means that Sussex is ranked in the top 20 in all three of the main league tables.