‘Riot Music poetry collection is a fantastic creative response to one of the North East’s darkest days.’ Jennifer Henry (ITV News).

‘Original Soundtrack poetry collection is a book to read back stage, in the near dark by the curtains, smoking a last cigarette before walking directly out into the light. It’s a book of rhythm and rebellion, part biography and part scratched vinyl. It’s a roar of a read, poetry that teaches us to remember our feet, and to dance.’  Joelle Taylor.

‘Dominic is a great writer with a lot to say about the Black British experience.’ Testament.

‘Poetry to remember, full of the rhythms of living music and lived experience, all in a genuine voice with images and words that resonate long after the page is turned or the performance over. Dominic Nelson-Ashley has something to say and he does it with both exuberant verve and studied craft.’ Andy Willoughby (Ek Zuban press).

‘I love the String Theory collection, the voices in the work and the fragmented stories that emerge. This is a powerful and important work.’ Francesca Beard.

‘ In our Y7 curriculum, we have a ‘literature from other cultures’ module, using the wonderful Our Place, Our History anthology.’ Danielle Bell (Head of English Dept, The English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College).

‘Your work is fantastic! (Standing still, Bed of Nails and Challenge, particularly).’ Nicola Riley, A-level Sociology teacher, Stockton Sixth Form.

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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 host the Speaker’s Corner podcast and the Happiness is Easy podcast (real-life strategies for mental health).

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.