Putting Worlds into Words… to make a difference
The Writerly+Wild team would love to tell your story
We are Hilary Macmillan and Julia Bracewell — communication professionals who believe that good communication is at the heart of successful wildlife conservation stories — and so we set up Writerly+Wild to help tell these stories.
Ours is a story that has come full circle. We met more than 30 years ago at one of the country’s largest county Wildlife Trusts through a shared love of education and communication. We published numerous educational resources for both primary and secondary schools and for the general public, created content for interpretive centres and had endless fun working in the field with school groups, youth organisations and the wider public.
Our paths then took different turns (still in education and communication) until 2018 when we once again found ourselves working together — this time for a national conservation charity.
Writing
Hilary MacMillan
My writing focuses on nature, travel and place and a fusion of all three. I like to intertwine sound ecology and conservation with a strong and creative narrative, evoking and playing with the sensory nature of our connection to wild places and spaces. I have a solid natural history knowledge, an extensive understanding of wildlife conservation and a wealth of experience in writing for a range of audiences and purposes.
I have worked in the conservation sector for more than 35 years — and was the first full-time salaried Education Officer amongst the UK’s federation of Wildlife Trusts.
I am also a qualified and experienced teacher and in my spare time I tutor young people with specific learning difficulties and teach English to refugees newly arrived in the UK.
I have written features for a range of national publications including BBC Wildlife Magazine, Dorset Life, The Clearing (Little Toller Press), Church Times, Cycling UK, Smallwoods magazine and more. In 2019, I was longlisted for the Bradt New Travel Writer of the Year Award.
I am a member of the Society of Authors and have an MA in Nature and Travel Writing.
Design, Writing
Julia Bracewell
It started with a childhood of walks with my dad and his camera. I learned about wildlife, about place and space and about looking with an eye for an image.
Following a degree in plant science, I’ve enjoyed careers as a teacher (secondary and primary), an editor and a graphic designer — sometimes I’ve been fortunate enough to be all three in one job.
I have an MSc in Creative Non-Fiction Science Writing and enjoy the challenges of crafting and revising and editing words — and then to put those words into creative and eye-catching layouts so that they can really sing.
My work to date includes logo design, layout design for newsletters, magazines, booklets, information leaflets, posters and one CD cover so far! And all the photographs on this website are my own — apart from those linked to articles and blogs.
We are also fortunate to be able to call on the support of editors and videographers when needed.
“We are very pleased with our CD cover design. Julia worked hard in the freezing barn where we were recording to get the right photos and images… and then worked with us to produce a complete design ready to send to print.”
— David Evans, The Cherrystones
