Mr Derek William Niemann

I'm a freelance writer who was coaxed into teaching at PACE in 2016 and found I absolutely loved it. I've been here ever since, teaching creative writing on a whole range of courses, from short online courses in nature, life writing and telling your family story through to the International Summer Programme and MSt. In face-to-face teaching, I'm apt to encourage students to sniff a flower, hug a tree, walk barefoot through the grass. Some even do.

My background was as an editor and feature writer, for many years focused on nature. I've written a few books too but I'm most proud of being a monthly contributor to the world's oldest (and smallest) newspaper column at The Guardian called ‘Country Diary’. I try to impart a little of what I've learned on the job over the years and my biggest thrill is drawing out a student's innate talent, watching someone gain self-belief and rejoice at what they can achieve.