MIR ACADEMIC SUPPORTERS

Julia Bell
Julia is a Professor of New Writing at Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of three novels, a poetry collection, Hymnal (Parthian Books) and the acclaimed essay Radical Attention (Peninsula Press), and her work has been published in the TLS, the New Statesman, The Paris Review, and Prospect, as well as broadcast on the BBC. She has given talks and workshops across the UK and internationally for the British Council. Her new book, Between the Lines: Life Lessons from the Writing Workshop, will be published by Simon & Schuster in May 2026.

Wes Brown
Wes is the Programme Director of MA Creative Writing at Birkbeck. He holds a CHASE Doctoral Scholarship in Narrative Non-Fiction, has written for publications including the Times Literary Supplement, New Humanist, Literary Review, 3AM Magazine, The Real Story and The Critic. His most recent book, Breaking Kayfabe, a semi-autobiographical novel exploring masculinity through the lens of pro wrestling, was published by Bluemoose in 2023.

MIR EDITORIAL TEAM

Tas Zaki
Tas is the Managing Editor at Birkbeck’s MIR Online magazine. She is currently completing her MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck. She was born in Bangladesh and lives in London. She writes poetry and short stories.

Susanna Kiernan
Susanna is the Fiction Editor at MIR. She recently graduated from the MA in Creative Writing program at Birkbeck and shares her travel writing and short stories on Substack. She is currently working on her novel for which she has received funding from Arts Council England.

Sophia Gamarra
Sophia is the Poetry Editor at MIR. She is in the second year of a part-time MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck. She writes poetry in her spare time and has a particular passion for creating intricate forms and metres in her work. Her favourite poets include Emily Brontë and Jorge Luis Borges.

Matthew Phillips
Matthew is the Reviews Editor at MIR. He recently graduated from the MA in Creative Writing program at Birkbeck. He is a writer and social worker based in London. He is working on a speculative fiction novel focused on refugee narratives. He also writes short stories and poetry. As a reader he is drawn to translated fiction, with a particular interest in stories concerning community, family, the individual, and the forces that shape them.

Ben Blais
Ben is the Creative Non-Fiction Editor at MIR. He is a writer, playwright and theatre director from South Orange, New Jersey. As the Editor for Creative Non-Fiction, he is interested in work that weaves personal narrative with cultural criticism, fresh perspectives, or just anything funny! In his spare time, he can be found roaming the hills of Hampstead Heath or enjoying a night out in the rich fringe theatre scene in London.

Callum Macauley-Murdoch
Callum is a student on the MA in Creative Writing program at Birkbeck. He is currently on a study break to travel and write. He writes about grief and masculinity on his Substack, and his work has been published in the Times. He enjoys reading literary and crime fiction and is currently working on his first novel.

Simone Rohatsch
Simone hails from Montego Bay, Jamaica and grew up in Miami, New York City, Rome, and Milan. Now based in London, she is finishing her MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck. She is also working on her debut novel, which explores the lives of enslaved women during the ‘white-gold’ sugar rush of the 18th century.