Journalism Portfolio
I've written about everything from education to bisexuality to family history to property trends. Here are some selected clippings from the last five years, grouped roughly by subject:
Health/Dyspraxia/Specific Learning Differences
- Where's The Benefit? (Mental Health Today) The introduction of universal credit is causing much concern among mental health service users, but are their fears justified?
- Dyspraxia Can Be Serious: It Needs More Recognition (The Guardian) Dyspraxia is poorly understood compared to its better-known cousins, dyslexia, ADHD and Aspergers Syndrome
- Talk It Out (Learning Disability Today) Specific Language Impairments affect a person's ability to understand language, but can be easily missed
- Dyspraxia: A Hidden Problem (Learning Disability Today) Dyspraxia can have a profound impact on a person's life but often goes undiagnosed for many years
- Struggle to Gain Acceptance (The Daily Telegraph) Learner drivers with conditions such as dyspraxia can find it even more challenging than most to get their licence
- I'm Dyspraxic, Not Useless (The Guardian) During the debates over what jobs people should be doing, the obvious factor of innate aptitude seems to be being forgotten
- When Hard Work Is Not Enough (The Times) At university the burden of organising study falls on the students not the teachers. This is a massive challenge if you have some learning difficulties (NB: they incorrectly bylined me as a student: I wasn't - the piece was written for students)
Careers
- Do transferrable skills mean anything? (IdeasTap)
- Is Journo Pay Paltry? (IdeasTap)
- Can Creative Careers Ruin Romance? (IdeasTap) Part of a series discussing issues in the arts
- Don't Freelances Look Young These Days? (The Journalist) While working for yourself once came after a staff career, many new journalist must now go solo
- The Bosses Who Snoop on Facebook (The Guardian) Many employers now search workers' blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts - but are they any of their business?
Arts, History and Pop Culture
- The Austerity Games: London 1948 (Your Family Tree) Download Part 1 & Part 2 (PDF)
- Volunteers, The Foreign Legion and the International Brigades (Your Family Tree) Coming soon!
- 'Little Earthquakes': Tori Amos: 20 Years On (The Quietus)
- Ten Media Articles I Really Need To Stop Reading (Vagenda Magazine)
- The Size of A Cow (Popfessions) The strange, emotionally-wobbly tale of my 80s/early 90s indie obsession (and hopefully the last time I see the words 'The Size of a Cow' beneath my name...)
- Doing It The Write Way (One In Four magazine) They say that everyone has a book inside them. Maxine Frances Roper explores some of the delights and dangers of getting your experiences out there for others to see. Includes quotes from author Rae Earl, whose book was recently adapted into the hit E4 comedy My Mad Fat Diary
- The Love That Dare Not Tread The Boards (The Stage) As lesbianism is explored in a new production in the West End, Maxine Frances Roper investigates why the subject is not portrayed more often
- The Write Stuff: Arts Interview (Disability Now) Profile of playwright Nicola Werenowska
- Music Review: Common People - The Britpop Story (SoundScreen)
- Real Female Heroines (The F Word) My first ever piece of professional, non-student-related journalism, written post-Finals many moons ago, hence rather dated, but included here for sentimental reasons, and because The F Word is excellent
Profile/Q&A
- Profile: Jenny Grey, Director of Communications for the Cabinet Office (Durham First, alumni magazine of Durham University)
Consumer
I regularly write features for Covered Magazine, the consumer magazine produced by GoCompare.com
- Hen Nights On A Budget (Covered Magazine)
- What You Need To Know About Liability Insurance (Covered Magazine)
- An Essential Guide To Student Finance (Covered Magazine)
- Let's Hear It For Citizens Advice Bureau (Covered Magazine)
- Acropolis Now: Is It Safe To Travel to Greece? (Covered Magazine)
- What's Best For Your High-Tech Gizmos? Gadget Insurance v Home Contents (Covered Magazine)
- Six Ways To Beat The January Blues (Covered Magazine)
- Building A Business Website On A Budget (Covered Magazine)
- Buying A Property With A Friend (Covered Magazine)
- Six Easy Ways To Make Money (And A Few To Avoid) (Covered Magazine)
- Buying Safely Online (Covered Magazine)
- Why is Britain obsessed with home ownership?(Covered Magazine)
Misc
- Part of the shortlisting panel for the IdeasTap Columnist brief
- Quoted in Glamour magazine feature, February 2013, on the rise of student sexism, written by Observer journalist Elizabeth Day
- My 9/11 memory was chosen for a reader vox pop 'Where Were You on 9/11?' as part of the Guardian's 10-year commemoration
- Facebook And Loneliness My contribution to a Guardian Reader's Panel on whether Facebook and Twitter are making us more isolated
Recognition
- Shortlisted for Stylist magazine's Cultural Critic Competition 2011
- Shortlisted from over 500 applicants for Arts Correspondent post at What'sOnStage.com 2009
- Shortlisted for the BBC Magazines Postgraduate Traineeship 2007