Our Staff

Writing on the Wall’s staff team are young, dynamic, creative, hardworking, and committed to ensuring WoW’s work is of the highest quality and always engages local, diverse communities. The team has multiple skills and interests – writing, spoken word, design and publishing, festival and event organisation and delivery. Sometimes they shine individually on the projects they are assigned to, but always work as a collective to make WoW’s events professional and welcoming.

This young team, with a skillset that allows them to lend their hand to finance, fundraising, website copy and design and social media, as well as working with the Co-Directors to develop our strategic aims, are the future of arts organisation and administration. They make a daily difference to our project participants, our partners and our festival audiences, through the inspirational projects, events, showcases and book launches they deliver every year.

Mike Morris
Co-Director

Mike is a founder member of WoW and has a background in community activity, in education - working as a Learning Mentor in Anfield CC School, and film-making as a writer on Dockers (Channel 4, 2000), and as co-director and producer of a ground-breaking documentary, Liverpool’s Cunard Yanks (Granada, 2008). He studied Literature & American Studies at Liverpool John Moores University and has an MA in Creative Writing. He is a playwright, with his first play Waiting for Brando, which he wrote and produced, appearing at Liverpool’s Unity Theatre in 2012 and 2013, followed by a short tour of UK theatres. His second play, Subterranean Theatre: The Maurie, based on a short story by George Garrett, was produced as a site-specific piece in Liverpool’s Cunard Building during the city’s Three Queens celebrations in 2915. Mike created WoW's Pulp Idol competition and is responsible for the editing and publishing of WoW's annual Pulp Idol - Firsts (a book of the finalists’ First Chapters) and leads on WoW’s publishing strategy. Mike created and directed the George Garrett Archive Project and is currently working with actor and director Raymond Waring to produce George Garrett’s second play, Flowers and Candles, for June 2018. Mike is also working with Madeline on WoW’s long-term strategic aims and development.

Madeline Heneghan
Co-Director

Madeline Heneghan became WoW’s first full-time Festival Director in 2006 and was ultimately responsible for the delivery of the annual month-long Festival and all WoW projects. Madeline has an MA in American Literature and History, and prior to joining Madeline was the Action Plan Coordinator for The Black and Racial Minority Network. As a former Equalities Consultant, Madeline gained a thorough understanding of the needs and preferences of different communities and hard to reach groups. Her excellent community engagement skills and expertise in diversity and audience development have been the driving force behind WoW’s growth and its diverse audiences. Madeline has organised and led on many festival events and projects. Most recently, Madeline has written and published, with Emy Onuora, a book based on the findings of the Great War to Race Riots Creative Heritage Project. Madeline is now delivering our latest Creative Heritage Project based on the archives of the Liverpool 8 Law Centre, and working to shape WoW’s long-term strategy and development.



Stuart Borthwick
Chair of Trustees

Stuart Borthwick is chair of Writing on the Wall and a photographer, DJ, historian and academic professional. He has written three books, Popular Music Genres: An Introduction (with colleague Dr Ron Moy), The Writing on the Wall: A Visual History of Northern Ireland's Troubles for Bluecoat Press and Positive Vibrations: Politics, Polytricks and the Story of Reggae for Reaktion Books (shortlisted for the Penderyn Prize 2023). He is currently working on a new book on the murals of Northern Ireland. Stuart considers his contribution to Writing on the Wall to be his greatest achievement the fulfilment of all his dreams. Favourite book: The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. Favourite album: Screamadelica. Favourite film: Meantime. Favourite WoWFest events, the first one he did with Danny Morrison, all of Phil Scraton’s events, that crazy Irvine Welsh one, and 2023’s closing event, the None of the Above cabaret.

Lisa McMullen
Trustee

Lisa has been a WoW Trustee since 2019. She has a background in women’s economic development and entrepreneurship. She has experience of working directly with would-be entrepreneurs, small businesses and social enterprise leaders to build entrepreneurial capacity and create value for their communities. Lisa’s work includes designing, developing and delivering innovative and impactful projects that seek to bring meaningful change for individuals, organisations and communities. Based in Liverpool, Lisa works across the region as well as with organisations nationally and internationally to provide quality services and understand their impact.



Paul Amman
Trustee

Paul Amann is a policy officer for employment and skills at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. He has been working in the sector for over 20 years and has won the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Best Regeneration and Best Social Housing awards for his work in helping people improve their neighbourhoods. Paul helped set up the first official Liverpool Pride, and is founder of Kop Outs the LGBT+ fan group for LFC. Paul is an active trade unionist and has worked on UNISON’s Black and LGBT+ self organised group national committees. Having attended WoW events for many years and participated in a WoW writing workshop project, Paul is keen to contribute to the continued success of Wow’s work.

Penny Feeny
Trustee

Penny Feeny is the author of four contemporary novels, including the best-selling That Summer in Ischia, as well as several award-winning short stories. She has also worked as a CAB adviser, a Radio Merseyside presenter, a copywriter and a freelance editor. She’s been closely involved with community and the arts in Liverpool for many years, and has served on the boards of the Everyman Theatre, Brouhaha International and Liverpool Housing Trust. She has been a judge and editor for WoW’s unique Pulp Idol competition since its inception and is proud to be a Trustee of Writing on the Wall.



Janaya Pickett
Creative Heritage Manager

Janaya Pickett is a local historian, writer and facilitator whose career began in 2014 as a volunteer on WoW's Great War to Race Riots project, namely the hugely successful 1919 Walking Tours. Janaya was also a participant on our L8 Law centre archive project and went on to curate the Mersey Sounds soundscape for our Speaker's Corner installation. Most recently Janaya worked as project manager on our Dorothy Kuya archive project, writing and narrating the Dorothy Kuya archive podcast, as well as hosting and producing WoW events for WoWFEST and Black History Month. Janaya is currently an MRes student at the University of Liverpool, researching post-war black Liverpool.

Jenny Dalton
Publishing Coordinator

Jenny is a writer and bookworm from Middlesbrough who joined the WoW team in 2021. Jenny has an undergraduate degree in English Literature and Creative Writing and a MA in Creative Writing from LJMU. As Publishing Coordinator, Jenny works on the editing, design, production, publication and distribution of WoW’s books. Jenny also works on design for various projects and manages WoW’s annual Pulp Idol novel writing competition. When Jenny is not at WoW, she will definitely be found reading or hanging out with her pet rabbits: Rue and Rhea.



Lyn Papadopoulos
Project Coordinator - Write to Work

Lyn joined the WoW team in September but has been a supporter since its inception after she was a trainee script editor on Dockers (Channel 4).  Since then, a varied career in soaps has seen her storylining and script editing some of the most explosive moments on the small screen in recent years from tram crashes in Coronation Street to train crashes in Hollyoaks. Having spent many years writing Moving On (BBC), a romcom for Reel One and over 60 episodes of Hollyoaks, Lyn is currently Project Coordinator on the Write to Work programme. 

Alys Oates
Project and Admin Assistant

Alys started off on a student placement with us then as a volunteer and became a part of the team in late 2023 upon completing a Master's programme at Edge Hill University as an international student from the United States. Their role involves contributing to publishing, projects, festivals and social media. Alys is concurrently working on a personal novel and they have a fondness for reading and watching movies.