Pathfinder Career Narratives is an ongoing series tracking the career choices and experiences of doctoral graduates. You can see all of the posts in the series here. You can find all the Pathfinder resources and opportunities here. Today’s blog is written by Dr Katy Turton, who is a novelist and historian. You can find Dr Turton on LinkedIn and on her staff profile page.
Name: Katy Turton
Doctorate subject area and year of completion: Russian History, 2004
Role and employer: Novelist and Teaching Assistant at the Centre for History at the University of the Highlands and Islands
I have had a very varied career since I gained my PhD from Glasgow University in 2004, but all the work I do and have done has been driven by the skills, knowledge, and experiences I gained as an under- and post-graduate student.
I graduated from Aberdeen University with a degree in English and History, then went on to study the Russian language at Strathclyde University before embarking on a PhD on Lenin’s sisters at the University of Glasgow.
Throughout my studies, I did part-time work in the field of widening access and participation in higher education. At Aberdeen University, I was a tutor on an English Access course, while at Glasgow University, I took part in the Top-Up programme, which was designed to prepare school pupils for university education, particularly in localities which traditionally had a low level of participation in tertiary education.
I was fortunate to secure academic work as soon as I graduated. After a short temporary lectureship at the University of York, I took up a permanent, full-time post as a history lecturer at Queen’s University, Belfast. I worked there very happily for about ten years, pursuing my research on women’s role in the Russian revolution in Russia and the United States, and publishing two monographs: a book on Lenin’s sisters and one on family networks in the Russian revolutionary movement. I also took on administrative roles that chimed with my previous part-time work. I was an Adviser of Studies and then a Personal Tutor, with the latter role in particular involving pastoral support for students.
My career, however, was complicated by the fact that my husband worked in Scotland. Commuting on a weekly basis to Belfast was manageable while it was just the two of us, but when we started a family, it became much more difficult. I resigned from Queen’s. While I worked out what I wanted to do career-wise, I decided to take advantage of my new free time and try my hand at novel writing. I had not done any creative writing since I was a teenager – even though I had studied English literature at university. But, to my great delight, the temporary switching off of my academic brain seemed to switch on my creative side and the idea of a novel came to me. It was deeply grounded in the Russian historical research I had done and a story set in the 1905 Russian Revolution poured out.
I was very lucky, after a few rejections, to be taken on by an independent press, based in York of all places. Blackbird’s Song was published by Stairwell Books in 2020, with one of my former colleagues from the University of York providing the review quote for the back cover.
While my novel was being printed, I was still finishing up a number of history publications on the Russian revolution. As a result of those, I was asked to appear on the Russian Revolution episode of the Lucy Worsley programme Royal History’s Biggest Fibs.
My academic career also resumed in 2020, when I secured a part-time teaching job at the Centre for History at the University of the Highlands and Islands. UHI teaches all its history online, so I did not need to worry about a difficult commute any more. I have worked there since then, teaching on a range of courses which has broadened my academic knowledge to include Scottish, American and early modern European history. I have continued to pursue my specialism in Russian history, attending conferences and publishing my research.
I have also taken up a part time role as a Personal Development Adviser at Inverness College, a partner of UHI. There I work with Further Education students, helping them develop their academic skills and complete their studies successfully. I run regular workshops for my students and in this my years of academic teaching are very useful.
I have continued writing too and have just published a sequel to Blackbird’s Song called A Fistful of Ashes. This time the review quote came from one of my Centre for History colleagues.
What does the future hold? I have started the as yet untitled third book in what I quickly realised would be a trilogy of novels. I hope to continue working for UHI and Inverness College. Beyond that, who knows?
If I have any wisdom to impart about building a career, it would be: follow your passions, don’t be afraid of compromises, and always be open to new opportunities – if they don’t present themselves in a timely fashion, take charge and create them for yourself.
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