Publications

"The Headless Horseman" (Cranborne Chase National Landscape/ Chase & Chalke, 2024)

"Motherhoodlum" (Jawbone, 2022)

Please see my Portfolio and CV (below this list of publications) for information about my plays and performance

My written publications include:

“Hurricane Lorenzo” (poem) Steel Jackdaw Magazine

 “Hardy’s Knuckles” (essay) Little Toller’s “The Clearing” https://www.littletoller.co.uk/the-clearing/hardys-knuckles-by-estelle-phillips/

“The Headless Horseman” (pamphlet) published by Cranborne Chase National Landscape and Chase & Chalke

“The Welshman” (poem) Motherlore Magazine

 “A Lover’s Confession” (poem) and “the Sparrow And The Hawk” (non fiction) Kingfisher Magazine (U.S.A.)

 “The Orphaned Fawn” (short fiction) the New Blackmore Vale Magazine

“Twenty One Turquoise Beads” (rural fiction) Dark Yonder (U.S.A.)

My award winning play about worms, “In Memory Of Annie” was produced by Prime Theatre and the BBC and published by the BBC here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0dvn02l

“Isaac Gulliver’s Buzzard” (short fiction) the New Blackmore Vale Magazine https://blackmorevale.net/isaac-gullivers-buzzard-a-halloween-short-story/

“The Trapped Doe” (short fiction) the New Blackmore Vale Magazine (page 14) https://issuu.com/unstuck/docs/bv_180823_hi-res

““110 m.p.h.” – Ten years in Waiting” (non-fiction) Dialect https://www.dialect.org.uk/blog/110-mph-ten-years-in-waiting

“Hand of Hazard” (poem) broadcast and published by the BBC here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0b0fdzc

“Dragon Child” (poem) broadcast and published by the BBC here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09xszcp

“Sketch in ‘D’ Minor” (short fiction) published by Jerry Jazz Musician (U.S.A.) https://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/sketch-in-d-minor-a-short-story-by-estelle-phillips/

“Motherhoodlum” (debut poetry collection), Jawbone Collective - “beautifully brutal” (Hannah Cox, The John Hansard Gallery)

“Tenderness” (short fiction) published by Rock And A Hard Place (U.S.A.)

I have also had poetry and prose published in Mslexia, Cult of Clio, Pen to Print, the International Times, Anti Heroin Chic, Sunday Mornings At The River, In Common, Army Flying Museum, Touchnote (Winner, “Fill The Space” non-fiction competition), Pseudonym and Tales From The Forest.

Here is my CV

Please see my Performance blog for upcoming dates.

2025 highlights

Current: I am editing my nature recovery memoir and working on a performance piece about trees

April 2024 to March 2025

I was delighted to be selected for the 2024/25 cohort of Literature Works’ Word Space programme for emerging writers with my nature memoir submission. Literature Works partnered me with Little Toller and I worked on my memoir throughout the year. This was a wonderful experience (thank you)

2025 highlights

“Write Nature Poetry Now”, nature writing workshop at Bournemouth Writing Festival and creator of Bournemouth Writing Festival Community Poem (two days)

Exhibition of “The Bride”, photo poetry at “Biophilia”, an exhibition created by Arts In Hospitals with The Arborialists and Dorset Visual Arts

I launched “Nature Talks With Humans” a podcast exploring human connection with nature, true stories from real people describing their personal interactions with nature

I was commissioned by Artful Scribe UK to write and perform work for The Women In Science headline show at MAST Mayflower Studios. I wrote “Lady Eve Balfour’s Haughley Experiment” about the beginning of the biodynamic/organic movement

2024 highlights

Blandford Literary Festival – performance “The Headless Horseman” and compere on their “Writing For Wellbeing” panel

Wrote and performed “New Forest Monarch” for inclusion in “New Forest Collage Radio” exhibition at Spudworks in May 2025

Cranborne Chase National Landscape at Larmer Tree Gardens – performance of “The Headless Horseman”

Created Bournemouth Writing Festival Community Poem (one day)

Workshop and performance session at Swindon Festival of Literature

“The Bride” written for National Trust “Blossom Week” and performed at NT Kingston Lacey

“The Headless Horseman” included in Chase & Chalke’s “Words In The Landscape” exhibition at Salisbury District Hospital

Headliner at “Taking The Mic” - poetry performance Exeter Phoenix

Wrote and performed “The Trapped Doe” a multi media one woman show of true and magical nature stories woven through with filmed landscape vignettes. Ran at Etcetera Theatre in Camden

2023 highlights

Commissioned by Cranborne Chase National Landscape to write and perform new work as headline performer at the Festival Of Words. I wrote “The Headless Horseman”

My nature work “Skirmish” was performed at Salisbury Fringe by Lynda Rooke, Equity President and Beth Coldridge, actor

I exhibited performance poetry, film and photography - “The Desire To Hold” at Maternal Bodies Symposium, University of Birmingham

“Puppy” - my full-length play made its scratch debut at MAST Southampton

Nominated for the Forward prize in relation to my debut poetry collection “Motherhoodlum” which includes my photography

“Motherhoodlum” was accepted into the National Poetry Library Collection at Southbank

My play “In Memory Of Annie” won the BBC’s competition “Ten Tiny Plays About Wiltshire”

Judge for Cranborne Chase National Landscape writing competition

Longlisted by The Emma Press with a WIP of short stories

Residency, Museum Of Motherhood, Florida. One month. I wrote a spoken word play

Poetry and prose broadcast multiple times by BBC radio, my landscape poetry appeared at Portland’s “B-side” festival and Bournemouth Writing festival and short fiction published by Dark Yonder (U.S.A.) and The Kingfisher (U.S.A.). The latter also published my poetry.

Performances included Dorchester Literary Festival (slam winner), and Southampton’s “All Aboard Fest”, Ilminster Literary Festival - “Best Of The Best Short Fiction”, Wyle Valley Writers and “Fresh Fiction” at David’s Hall, Petherton.

2022 highlights

“Motherhoodlum” my debut poetry collection was published by Jawbone Collective -

“beautifully brutal” (Hannah Cox, The John Hansard Gallery)

Southbank, London - Poetry performance with the Mum Poetry Press at the National Poetry

Library

“Reaper” (poem) broadcast on the BBC, published by Ukraine’s Museum of Literature, Dnipro and Dnipro Region, anthologized, republished, performed and released as a poetry film which I made for YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv-Ynj9L3no,

“Dear Khrystyna” a full-length spoken word play made its debut on the Salisbury Fringe

“Morning Post” a short play made its debut on the Salisbury Fringe

“Hard Wet Sand” my debut novel came second in the Yeovil Literary Prize (Novel)

“Sketch in ‘D’ Minor”, a short story, was shortlisted in the Jerry Jazz Musician Short Story Contest (U.S.A.)

“Dear Khrystyna” shortlisted by The Ukraine Institute Writer’s Lab (non-fiction)

Poetry and prose was broadcast multiple times by BBC radio and I fulfilled extensive

performance obligations and achieved a number of publications (e.g. Dialect and Mslexia)

2021 highlights

Multiple BBC broadcasts/publications including poetry films I made:

“Hand of Hazard” https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0b0fdzc

“Dragon Child” https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09xszcp

Poetry published by Army Air Flying Museum, Wiltshire responding to the exhibition, “Remembrance: their stories”

Performances including The Royal Albert Hall, as a finalist representing Southampton at the Hammer & Tongue National Poetry Slam Finals

2020 highlights

“110 m.p.h.” I performed my full length multi media work, “110 m.p.h.” through a run at the

Nuffield Theatre.

Poetry performances included The John Hansard Gallery “The Rime of The Ancient Mariner Big Read”. Earlier highlights include responsive poetry performance at two shows with The John Hansard Gallery, “Waves” and "Resist: be modern (again)" and the Russell Cotes Museum (“Lost Words” exhibition, Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris)

Pre 2020

For more than five years, I was editor in chief for St Pauls Lifestyle, an online music and culture magazine. In this role I wrote many articles and made many films (mainly session music and interviews), gaining more than one million views on YouTube. Film wise, I tended to single takes for efficiency and immediacy. This film of Duff McKagan and “Walking Papers” is an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQp3XHlvpms

Earlier

I have written since I was a child.

After leaving university I became a city lawyer. This career ended when I sustained life-changing injuries as a passenger in a car crash. After a long period of recovery, I returned to writing.

Before attending Cardiff University, I did a photography course at St Edmunds Arts Centre in Salisbury. At university I was photographer for the university magazine and founded the filmmakers club alongside working in the theatre and completing studies for my English and Linguistics degree (2.1 B.A. Hons.). The University sponsored me to take a production to Edinburgh Fringe