Diane Paul

Diane Paul is an editorial consultant and writer. She has tutored writing students on distant learning courses for The Writers Bureau, Open College of the Arts and Writers' News. Originally a PR consultant, she became a full-time journalist in the 1980s, working for papers in Bury, Warrington and Stockport. She freelanced and edited 'Call Boy' magazine for the British Music Hall Society and edited a newspaper theatre page. She launched and edited women's pages for weekly newspaper groups in Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne and Eddy Shah's Messenger group.

Diane has written for 'The Guardian', 'The Sunday Times', 'The Daily Telegraph', 'The Stage' and dozens of other national publications. She has written four books. Her first, 'Living Left-handed' was launched at Harrods by Bloomsbury Publishing and became the definitive book on the subject, published in several languages. Her second and third books, 'Left-handed Helpline (published by her own educational publishing company, Dextral Books) and 'The Left-hander's Handbook' won book awards from the British Medical Association (BMA). Diane was one of only two authors who had won more than one BMA award. Her fourth successful book was 'ADHD: The Essential Guide.'

Diane helps writers to improve their manuscripts at her consultancy, Keyword Editorial Services appraising manuscripts, copy-editing and writing features. She also runs writing workshops on Zoom for the Writers Bureau. They cover Feature Writing and Writing Non-Fiction Books. The last non-fiction book workshop she ran took place in January/February 2023 and she hopes to hold more soon. More details from Diane (diane.paul2@ntlworld.com) or The Writers Bureau. As one participant put it: 'Diane is so clear in her advice, encouraging and inspirational. I really feel buoyed up after her sessions...'

Many writers she's tutored are now in print themselves. She has worked as a writer in education in secondary schools and tutored in public relations at Huddersfield University and Manchester Business School. She studied for her Master's degree in scriptwriting at Salford University and has tutored on scriptwriting courses. Diane's play, 'A Bench in the Park' was showcased in London and produced for radio in the UK and USA. Currently, she writes for a community magazine. She is a long-term member of the Society of Authors.

Diane is an advanced pianist and accompanist. She teaches people to play the piano, something she's been doing herself since she was five. 'It was always a toss up between teaching piano and writing and I compromised by doing both' she says.