Hello! Welcome to my site.

My name is Emma McKenzie. I am a writer and artist living in the beautiful city of York. I am also a fully qualified occupational therapist and have over twenty years experience in mental health care and recovery. I offer independent classes in creative writing, and can also develop bespoke workshops and classes in any of the following areas:

  • Personal Development 
  • Team Building
  • Community Connection
  • Themed writing classes (i.e. nature / arts / animals – any subject of your choice!)
  • Memoir and Life Writing
  • Craft of Writing (i.e. workshops in fiction writing, poetry, prose, building stories etc).

My journey in teaching creative writing started by running eco-therapy writing classes at the fabulous St Nicks nature reserve eco-therapy programme in York (2014 – 2021). I now work freelance to deliver workshops and writing classes, alongside creating my own work. I am currently also studying for a practice led PhD in Creative Writing and Humanities and have enjoyed combining my arts and health career.

This site is called Life At Base Camp because I strongly believe that life is one big adventure! Base Camp is my home, the place I have my adventures from and to which I return to write.

I am an active member of Naturewrights – a nature based collective group of writers and artists. Naturewrights was set up independently by a group of my students from the Field Studies Council.

Publications:

Narrative Medicine – Trauma and Ethics (multi-author volume)Vernon Press (2024). Chapter: Narrative and the Mental Health System: Removing Horror from Mental Health Experiences and Environments.

McKenzie, E. (2023). We Will Be Gone Soon, I Promise. In K. Saitta, Written Tales Chapbook: Nature’s Embrace, A Symphony of Voices (pp. 152 – 157). Great Britain: Amazon.

Seeds of Promise – An Anthology of Nature Writing

An anthology of new nature based creative writing. The work was contributed by students who have attended the Field Studies Council nature courses (see events page for more details). You can buy Seeds of Promise here on amazon, all proceeds go to environmental charities.

All work on this site is copyrighted to the author Emma McKenzie. No posts may be published or used for commercial use without first contacting the author for full permission to be granted.