Zoë has almost finished her PhD in Eighteenth Century Literature, where she researches attitudes to meaningful consent in female-authored courtship novels. (Yes, she finds that a bit of a mouthful too.) A significant part of this research involves getting very cross at characters and critics who struggle with the finer nuances of the notion that women are people too. Fortunately, she also gets to point out the incredible advocacy work that these novels are doing, and talk over-excitedly about the role that fiction plays in shaping social change. She enjoys speaking at conferences, was a national semi-finalist in the UK Three Minute Thesis competition, and was shortlisted for the BBC New Generation Thinkers 2020.
Zoë also enjoys poking fun at the patriarchy in her spare time, and has participated in events like Book Showoff, History Showoff, and comedy panel show Never Explain. She worked for the best part of a year teaching people how to play board games – who even knew that was a real job – and has worked as a mentor and judge for the charity Debate Mate.
A keen ballroom and latin dancer, Zoë knows more about the application of rhinestones than is healthy. She spends most of her free time training with her university team, and has been lucky enough to make several national finals in competition. She has a background in theatre and performance, and ran her own production company for several years.
She can usually be found with a cup of tea in hand.
