JEAN RAFFERTY - BIOGRAPHY
CURRICULUM VITAE
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Jean Rafferty is a freelance writer and author of two books on sport.
She is an award-winning journalist whose work has been recognised in the fields of feature writing, travel writing and medical journalism. Her range is wide, though latterly she has focused on darker topics such as prostitution, Satanic ritual abuse, torture and rape. She has worked most recently for the Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday.
Rafferty is the author of two books on sport - ‘The Cruel Game,’ about a year spent on the snooker circuit; and ‘Ladies of the Court,’ with Virginia Wade, about 100 years of women’s champions at Wimbledon.
She is currently trying to establish herself in fiction and is doing a part-time PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Strathclyde.
Her company Fireopal is pioneering the production of flash fiction as a saleable product. Her stories on colourful postcards are highly visible and attractive and can currently be obtained from Borders store in Glasgow and at The Damselfly and Queen Bee in Great Western Road, Glasgow.
Rafferty has also worked as a trainer, in universities and colleges in Scotland; for the National Union of Journalists and other organisations; and on various workshops abroad in countries as various as Sierra Leone, Albania and Nepal.
Journalism AwardsIn 2008 she was longlisted in the Fish One Page Story competition and in their prestigious short story competition. These are international competitions, entered by thousands of people from all over the world.
She was also shortlisted in the Scottish section of the Real Writers' short story awards.
In 2007 she was shortlisted in the British Press Awards for her article on bereavement and the baby boomer generation, a rare achievement for a freelance.
She also won her category in the Norwich Union Medical Journalism Awards for a piece on the feeding of the elderly in hospitals. The judges said, 'This was beautifully written, and a powerful piece. It exposed a topic that is often brushed under the carpet and the people who run hospitals need to sit up and take notice of an article like this.'
In 2005 she won the Rosemary Goodchild Award for her 'gutsy and clever' piece on abortion. She was also short-listed in the Norwich Union Medical Journalism Awards that year for her article on Kylie Minogue's breast cancer. Both pieces appeared in the Sunday Herald.
In 2003 she won a Joseph Rowntree journalist's fellowship to write a book on prostitution.
She was shortlisted in the 1997 UK Press Awards and won the 2000 Travelex travel writing award for best travel feature in a national daily for her 'inspired piece' on Buenos Aires.
2007/2008
Her story, A Clean Life in the North was published in Riptide.
In 2008 she was longlisted in the Fish One Page Story competition and in 2007 she was also longlisted in their short story competition. These are international competitions, entered by thousands of people from all over the world.
Rafferty was a guest at the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma's one day international conference in London in January.
She also was one of the team organising International Pen's Writers in Prison Conference in Glasgow in April 2008.
2006 - She wrote on sexual mores and raunch culture for the Sunday Herald and on the baby boomers' generation and mortality for The Independent.
After her piece on hospital food appeared in the Sunday Herald she was invited to chair the 'Food for Thought' conference run by Holyrood Magazine.
She helped re-establish the Scotia Writers Group in the Scotia Bar in Glasgow. The original group contained people such as James Kelman and Billy Connolly.
2005 - She edited 'Alternative,' the creative writing magazine for the University of Strathclyde.
She is a member of Scottish PEN and attended their 2006 Writers in Prison Conference in Istanbul.
She ran one of two inaugural Penpower sessions at the Edinburgh Book Festival and did many sessions in schools, bringing freedom of expression issues to young people.
She took part in British Council training for young international journalists as part of the Edinburgh Festival of Politics.
2005 - Wrote many articles for the Sunday Herald, including several guest columns and an expose of the police treatment of prostitutes in Glasgow.
On editorial team of 'Alternative,' creative writing journal for the University of Strathclyde.
International observer at the trial of dissident writer and publisher Ragip Zarakolu in Istanbul.
Involved in setting up Penpower, a joint project between Scottish PEN and the National Union of Journalists. Its aim is to take writers into schools to make students aware of the importance of freedom of expression to a democratic society. Along the way they also learn some of the craft of writing.
Began teaching feature writing to undergraduates at the University of Strathclyde as well as continuing with teaching postgraduates at the Scottish Centre for Journalism Studies.
Took part in British Council training for young international journalists as part of the Edinburgh Festival of Politics.
Her story, 'Perfect Day,' was published in 'Cutting Teeth.'
2004 - Took Arvon course, Advanced Fiction, a selected course with Edmund White and Marina Warner.
Researching 'Disposable Women,' also articles on Satanic ritual abuse and prostitute murder for Guardian Weekend Magazine.
Began Ph.D in creative writing at the University of Strathclyde supervised by Zoe Wicomb.
Introduction to Screenwriting course at the University of Strathclyde, completing the script for a short film.
Shortlisted in the Scottish section of the Real Writers Awards.
2003 - Winner of Joseph Rowntree journalist's fellowship to write 'Disposable Women,' a book on prostitution.
Taught course on writing about health issues in Sierra Leone for Thomson Foundation.
Contributed a chapter to Researchers and their 'subjects,' Ethics, power, knowledge and consent, published by the Policy Press, University of Bristol
Took Arvon course, Fiction and Poetry, at Moniack Mhor with James Kelman and poet Sandie Craigie.
2002 - Working for Guardian Weekend Magazine, Observer Magazine and Sunday Express Magazine.
Also running one day feature writing workshops for NUJ.
2001 - Trip to Ghana as trainer for Africawoman, sister publication to Worldwoman, first internet paper written entirely by women.
Began teaching features course at Scottish Centre for Journalism Studies, run jointly by Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian Universities.
2000 - Won the award for best feature in a national daily in the Travelex Travel Writing Awards for ‘an inspired piece’ about Buenos Aires.
1998-2005 - Jean Rafferty worked for a variety of publications, north and south of the border. She wrote about everything, from gritty human interest stories to light-hearted comment.
She was shortlisted in 1997 in the UK Press Awards for her work on rape and the ritual abuse of children.
For the Guardian Weekend Magazine she did articles on prostitute murders in Glasgow; torture in the drugs community in Goole, Yorkshire; and the story of Emmanuel Caillet, a young French man whose body was found on top of a mountain in the Scottish Highlands.
For the Sunday Times Magazine she did long pieces on the suicides in Cornton Vale’s women’s prison and on anti-English racism in Scotland.
She did many comment pieces for the Daily Record and also wrote the whole of their partwork commemorating the anniversary of Princess Diana’s death.
She went undercover in a homeless hostel, wrote about bereavement for the Observer Magazine and has a continuing interest in the issue of ritual abuse, which she thinks has been misrepresented in the media.
Under her pseudonym, Gina Rose Black, she also did light think pieces for the Sunday Express Magazine.
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