‘The variety of artforms that Dominic is able to deliver – spoken word, live performance, music, film – makes for a unique and exciting combination. In addition to this, the content of the pieces he makes is not being made by anyone else in the region.‘

Alex Ferris – CEO, ARC.

‘Dominic J P Nelson-Ashley. One of the finest beings on Planet World. Creatively, sometimes you do find people with this kind of wide-ranging talent – from poetry and prose to acting, music, script writing and filmmaking – but it’s the way Dom presents his work that makes him singular, bringing that all-embracing connective sense of possibility to everything he does. ‘

Lisa Lovebucket – Producer/Ex-Politician/Curator. Founder of Teesside Rising.

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Hi, I’m Dominic Nelson-Ashley.

I write Positive Poems for a Hard Grind Life.

For the last 30 years, I have been one of the North-East’s leading Creatives whose work encompasses music under the name Domineeky, mentoring, and the writing found here.

I’ve written poetry, crime fiction, reportage and Sci-Fi.

I have a habit of turning up in unexpected places:

Atacama Desert, South Africa, New Zealand, Teesside.

You’ve probably met me somewhere before.

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My writing and stage plays often tackle the issues of fatherhood, role models, mental health and my travels.

My work has been commissioned by the BBC. I’ve been the headline performer at places as diverse as Durham Cathedral to the World’s longest-running online literary festival. I have been on ITV discussing the impact of the Windrush Generation, Black History Month and the power of Education.

I’ve been on BBC TV and ITV News discussing the importance of reclaiming narratives on a local, national and international level in response to the 2024 United Kingdom riots.

My poems have been used by schools to bring diverse voices to their curricula, used by colleges to teach A-Level Sociology and universities to promote and inspire Black business Entrepreneurship. The 13,000 students of Middlesbrough College voted me the number 1 teacher for nurturing ambition.

I am the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Black Business and Tech Awards (Tees Valley) for my work.

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My most recent theatre play was my one-man show called ‘My Name is Paul’.

Underpinning all my poems are optimistic tones, positive vibes and uplifting messages.

I love performing my work.

Performances and Interviews can be found at VIDEOS.

All my books can be found at AMAZON or BOOKS.

I have been a guest lecturer at Teesside University (where I did my MA in Creative Writing), and I curated and edited ‘Our Place, Our History’ – An Anthology of Black and Asian British Poetry from the North of England.

My book Wide Awake in Dream Land has been the Teesside University Book of the Month.

I post new poems to my blog.

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I’ve taught at the National Arts Festival, Makhanda, South Africa. The largest arts festival on the African continent.

I was one of the BBC New Voices and had my own radio show on BBCTees.

I’ve been a judge of the Crossing The Tees Short Story Competition (as well as a previous winner with my experimental non-fiction piece called ‘Plastic is better than metal’).

I was runner-up in the Harvill Secker Crime Writing Novel Competition and a finalist in Bloody Scotland (Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival) Pitch Perfect competition. (As I’d written my MA dissertation on Black British Crime Fiction, I thought I might as well have a stab at it myself. 🙂 )

I am the official voice of Middlesbrough Uncovered heritage tours.

In 2025, as well as receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award and being a North East Culture Awards Finalist, I have been shortlisted for the ‘Tees Valley Artist Of The Year’ Award.

Every year, I am one of the judges for the Interschools Poetry Slam Competition run by The National Literacy Trust.

I co-host the Happiness is Easy podcast (real-life strategies for mental health). Seasons 1 and 2 will be available on YouTube starting in November.

I also help run Tomorrow’s Leaders (North East) CIC.

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If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been for the last few years, I took time off to recover from Stage 4 cancer. I am all good now. My consultant said I was the most positive person he’d ever met, and my catchphrase of saying ‘Tasty’ to test results, no matter how small the improvement, stuck with him, and he thought of it every time he had a new patient in front of him.

email: blackbritishfiction@gmail.com

Other links can be found HERE.