Yvonne McGahren, Creative Writer

Yvonne McGahren

Creative Writer

Dubai Design Lab

Location
United Arab Emirates - Dubai
Education
Master's degree, Creative Writing
Experience
16 years, 4 Months

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Work Experience

Total years of experience :16 years, 4 Months

Creative Writer at Dubai Design Lab
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • October 2022 to February 2023

Creative Writing Services for Yellow Magazine and Zabeel School Project.

Drafting content for Yellow Magazine, including feature articles, interviews and stories.

Proofread and edited the final draft of all written content for the Zabeel School Project, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and consistency in tone and style.

Freelance Writer at Al-Monitor
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • November 2021 to May 2022

Writing articles (on a freelance basis) for the Middle East news website Al-Monitor.

Assistant Editor (Temporary contract) at The Tasting Class
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • May 2021 to October 2021

Writing blog articles for The Tasting Class website. Assisted with press releases and company case studies.

Freelance Writer at CNN International
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • June 2021 to June 2021

Features article for CNNi on the NFT artist Amrita Sethi.

Editorial Assistant at Tribe Magazine - Photography and New Media from the Arab World
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • April 2019 to October 2019

Sourcing and writing articles.
Editing and proofing final copy.

Volunteer at International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • January 2014 to February 2014

Took part in IFAW’s ‘Think Twice’ campaign to educate people regarding the damage caused by trade in wildlife souvenirs.

• Attended training on campaign aims and objectives.
• Assisted in setting up space at Falcon Centre.
• Communicated the campaign message with attendees.
• Wrote article from a volunteers perspective for the website.

Volunteer at International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • October 2012 to October 2012

Worked closely with IFAW’s Campaigns and Communications officer to deliver ‘Shark Conservation in Arabia’ Workshop to the public, opinion formers and the media.

• Coordinated inter-workshop communications.
• Assisted in the creating, writing and review of program
materials and external communications for the website.
• Oversaw proofreading and editing final documents
including spelling and grammatical errors.
• Maintained a positive and professional approach when in
contact with the delegates.
• Photographing.

Volunteer at Cable News Network International
  • United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi
  • April 2012 to June 2012

Research assignments on the economy in the Philippines and Kazakhstan. This was to assist the Senior Producer with research for the 'Eye on' program.

Key Achievements at Contact a Family
  • United Kingdom
  • December 1998 to September 2011

• Quickly adapted to working within a newly developed information service and then played a vital role in expanding the range and content of the information held in the library.
• Gained key experience of partnership working including:
- A key role in a steering group for Parentline Plus, working to develop their website aimed at parents of teenage children.
- Research for Grandparents Plus focusing on grandparents raising disabled grandchildren.
- Worked with the organisations Family Fund and One plus One on various guides.
• Took a key role in a working group considering corporate identity, in particular the revision of corporate publications. Introduced and maintained a style guide document and contributed to the re-design and re-launch of the corporate magazine.
• Member of a ‘database development working group’ undertaking the complete revision of the corporate monitoring requirements.
• A qualified First Aider and Fire Marshall.

Information and Publications Officer at Contact a Family
  • United Kingdom
  • January 2005 to September 2011

Edited Contact a Family's 'Connected' magazine.
Responsible for the preparation, editing and proofing of guides, leaflets and other publications, including drafting original material.
Contributed to and collected suitable articles and items for the corporate magazine and website (including e-newsletter)
Researched and responded to enquiries from professionals, colleagues and students.
Monitored legislative changes across the UK and
collected and interpreted statistical information relevant to disability.

Information Assistant at Contact a Family
  • United Kingdom
  • January 2000 to December 2004

Responded to all generic enquiries about disability.
Assisted with the collection and dissemination of library materials.
Updated guides, leaflets and other publications and wrote regular book reviews for the magazine.
Worked with an external organisation (BAAF) on a publication explaining disability to children.
Wrote an insert on supporting fathers, grandparents and siblings as part of a pack for health professionals.

Directory Sales Administrator at Contact a Family
  • United Kingdom
  • January 1998 to January 2000

Responsible for all 'Directory of Specific Conditions' sales, including processing orders and contributing to the marketing strategy.

Education

Master's degree, Creative Writing
  • at Open University UK
  • October 2020

I gained a Merit after two years of studying for my Master of Arts in creative writing. I enhanced my writing skills in the genre of fiction and gained sound knowledge and ability in the genre of creative non-fiction.

High school or equivalent, English Literature / Language & Psychology
  • at Southgate College
  • June 1995

A Levels - English Literature / Language & Psychology (1995)

Specialties & Skills

Information Dissemination
Online Publications
Publications Management
Statistics
Magazine Articles
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
DATABASES
STATISTICS
STEERING
WEB DATABASE
Critical reading and synthesising information
Research methods

Languages

English
Expert

Training and Certifications

Creative communication beyond VR and AR (Certificate)
Date Attended:
October 2022
Dramatic Writing, David Mamet (Training)
Training Institute:
MasterClass
Date Attended:
February 2020
Duration:
5 hours
The Art of Storytelling, Neil Gaiman (Training)
Training Institute:
MasterClass
Date Attended:
November 2019
Duration:
5 hours
Writing what you know (OU) OpenLearn (Certificate)
Date Attended:
September 2018
An Introduction to Screenwriting UEA (University of East Anglia) (Training)
Training Institute:
FutureLearn
Date Attended:
March 2018
Duration:
6 hours
Start Writing Fiction (OU) FutureLearn (2017) (Training)
Training Institute:
Open University
Date Attended:
December 2017
Duration:
24 hours
Befrienders SEN (Certificate)
Date Attended:
March 2003
Valid Until:
March 2003
Personal Effectiveness: Be more confident at Work (Certificate)
Date Attended:
March 2009
Valid Until:
March 2009
Writing Fiction (Certificate)
Date Attended:
April 2007
Valid Until:
June 2007
Writing Skills (Certificate)
Date Attended:
February 2004
Valid Until:
February 2004
Plain English (Certificate)
Date Attended:
May 2006
Valid Until:
May 2006
Moving into Management (Certificate)
Date Attended:
September 2005
Valid Until:
September 2005
Fundamentals of Project Management (Certificate)
Date Attended:
May 2008
Valid Until:
May 2008
Word, Intermediate (Certificate)
Date Attended:
August 2000
Valid Until:
August 2000
Pagemaker 6.5 Essentials (Certificate)
Date Attended:
August 2004
Valid Until:
August 2004
Improve your Newsletter (Certificate)
Date Attended:
February 2004
Valid Until:
February 2004
First Aid at Work (Certificate)
Date Attended:
November 2007
Valid Until:
November 2007