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I am a disabled writer, activist, poet, spoken word artist, theatre-maker and creative practitioner based in Darlington in North-East England – I do stuff with words.

This page has a teeny overview of some of the work I do. You can read much more about all the different strands to my practice, publications and projects by clicking on the menu titles above, or the links below.

Image shows Lisette in a purple t-shirt which reads disability is not a bad word, holding her walking stick with her eyes and mouth wide open.
photo description: Lisette, a white woman with brown hair and freckles, in a purple t-shirt which reads ‘disability is not a bad word’, holding her purple walking stick with her eyes and mouth wide open. photo credit: Laura Tindall at PaperBoat Photography

About Me

Lisette is sitting at a table in her back yard. On a white washed wall behind her it says Welcome. There is writing paraphernalia spread over the tile. Her little black and white rescue dog paws her hand while she's typing, offering editing advice.
photo description: Lisette is sitting at a table in her back yard. On a white washed wall behind her it says Welcome. There is writing paraphernalia spread over the table. Her little black and white rescue dog paws her hand while she’s typing, offering editing advice.

In this section you can read more about me, my dog, my biscuit and tea preferences, as well as words stuff, and why I do what I do.

Writing

Here you can read examples of my writing and have a look at some of the projects I’ve been involved in and I’m currently working on.

This is a link to a recent feature article, commissioned and published by Arts Professional, about disability and freelance, a provocation to organisations, entitled ‘Turning limitations into possibilities’.

I was chosen as a Penguin WriteNow Mentee in 2018-2019 to work on my middle grade novel, which features a strong female disabled protagonist and is set in a lighthouse on the rugged North East coast where I grew up (there are also mermaids and a captain with a kitten in his beard). I am proud to be represented by the fabulous Molly Ker Hawn at The Bent Agency.

12 squares containing in each a photo of the 12 mentees, I am one of them. The Penguin logo and the words Write Now are mid left hand side.
photo description: 12 squares containing in each a photo of the 12 mentees, I am one of them. The Penguin logo and the words Write Now are mid right hand side.

Published in September 2020, I have contributed to Puffin’s 80th birthday anthology alongside incredible authors and illustrators, many of whom inspired me to write in the first place. You can order a copy and find out more HERE.

Bright yellow design, book cover – 80 The Puffin Book of Big Dreams – Stories to Spark your Imagination
Bright yellow design – Hooray, It’s Puffin’s Birthday
Bright yellow design – 4 columns of names of authors and illustrators, mine is in the middle

Writing the Missing

photo description: Lisette is wearing a flowing blue dress. She is standing in a river, and holding her skirt. She gazes off to the side. image credit: Rob Irish
photo description: Lisette, a white woman with freckles and long brown hair, stands on top of a wooden table. She is wearing a grey dressing gown, purple Dr Marten boots and leaning on a purple perspex walking stick. The table is on a pebble beach with a river running behind it, with lots of green trees. image credit: Rob Irish
photo description: Lisette sits behind a wooden table, her hands spread out on its top. She is wearing a brown dress, a top hat and a yellow paper moustache. She is winking. The table is on a pebble beach with a river running behind it. image credit: Rob Irish

All the creative projects I make, explore, create and curate come under the title, Writing the Missing. Current and ongoing Writing the Missing projects include commissions, writing, film, theatre, call outs and education.

The film of ‘Writing the Missing – A River Cycle’, which was commissioned for Durham Book Festival, premiered on 10th September 2020 at 5pm.

The original commission from which the film grew was for New Writing North’s New Narratives for the North East project, and you can read my piece here.

Spoken Word

My theatre and spoken word performance work seeks to make the invisible visible. I perform frequently on the spoken word scene delivering passionate lyrical pieces about disability, mental health and politics. You can find films and photos here.

Filmed by National Spoken Word Organisation Apples and Snakes – my piece ‘Second Best Room’

Our BLACKBOX film series captures performances from the best spoken word artists of today.

Project Portfolio

I have worked on numerous projects, in numerous roles, with numerous organisations, with numerous collaborators and with numerous wonderful people. You can read about them all here.

photo description - The Little Shed of Forgotten Dreams in an art gallery, a full sized shed covered with stories and images, filled with objects on shelves and with suitcases stacked outside.
photo description – The Little Shed of Forgotten Dreams in an art gallery, a full sized shed covered with stories and images, filled with objects on shelves and with suitcases stacked outside.

Disconsortia

I’m proud to be a founding member of the Disconsortia collective – a group of disabled artists in the North East seeking and creating platforms to share our work, and to influence regional and national arts policy and practice in relation to disabled people as artists, leaders, audiences and participants. I am Assistant Producer for Disconsortia’s ‘At the Table’ programme.

You can view the exhibition of our recent work here.

image description: a collage of photographs of artists who performed at the Disconsortia DIY Cabaret layered around the poster.
image description: a collage of photographs of artists who performed at the Disconsortia DIY Cabaret layered around the poster. Photo Credit -Taken at the Disconsortia DIY Cabaret by Kev Howard

Press

An interview in NARC Magazine about the Words Weekend Festival and my beloved North East. There are more articles available in this section.

Commissions and Residencies

I have been fortunate to have been commissioned to create work in a variety of different mediums for different organisations. You can read about them all here. A game changer for me in the way I came to view myself as writer and artist occurred when I was awarded the 2019 Early Career Residency for Literature at Cove Park by the Fenton Trust.

photo description: The heading reads Cove Park, Residency, Early Career Residencies 2019, 02/09/2019 - 21/09/2019, Lisette Auton, and there is a head and shoulders photo of me looking to the left, appearing whimsical, wearing my favourite black dress adorned with tigers. Text reads: Cove Park's programme of Early Career Residencies supports UK-based artists in the process of establishing their careers, providing an opportunity for research and the development of new work at this crucial stage. We are pleased this year to offer four residencies to artists specialising in composition/music, crafts/design, literature and visual art. This year, the literature residency has been awarded to Lisette Auton.
photo description: There is a head and shoulders photo of me looking to the left, appearing whimsical, wearing my favourite black dress adorned with tigers. Full text is in Alt text for screen readers.

Creative Practitioner

Lisette stands pen in hand with purple doc boots covered in red ladybirds. She is wearing a white boiler suit covered in giant word bubble questions such as - Who is MIMA?
photo description: Lisette stands pen in hand with purple doc boots covered in red ladybirds. She is wearing a white boiler suit covered in giant word bubble questions such as – Who is MIMA?

As a creative practitioner I specialise in working with people who are not fully represented in the mainstream. I work in schools, community centres, prisons, probation hostels, galleries, libraries, wherever the words will have me… You can read about the different areas in which I work in this section.

Nice Things People Have Said About Me

Some people have been kind enough to say some lovely things about me and the things we’ve made when we’ve been in a space together. You can read some of them here.

Thank you for a wonderful workshop journey. Your warm up got the creative cells going, the quickfire focused my thoughts and then the stream of brilliant exercises made me fasten my literary seatbelt and enjoy the ride! A wonderful safe and accessible environment to write and share.

Well planned. Beautifully executed. Exhilarating. Thoughtful & caring. Thank you very much.

Please do Contact Me if you’d like more information about how we can work together.