www.punchitup.co.ukPunch It Up. The name means to make something better, to help it go the extra mile. At Punch it Up we do that by working with people to sharpen their professional skills and develop their creative voice.Some Punch it up projects are one-off events, others are long terms consultancy type relationships. Clients include: Havas, Harrods, The Mind Gym, D&AD, Associated Newspapers, Ernst & Young, SAS, AplusB Studio, Clarks, Leo Burnett, Sidcot School, Hachette UK, Brand Opus, Lincoln Enterprise, Unilever, Penguin Random House, One Green Bean, London Film School. I also run residential sessions in various locations in the UK and Europe.

London Film School University of FalmouthLincoln UniversityKingston University Bucks New UniversityArts University Bournemouth Workshops: The Creative Detox: Seeing creativity differently. Hello World: Presence, confidence, collaboration. Skills for life post-university. Improv on Paper: Using the skills of improv to kick start creative writing.

I run longer workshops at various creative retreat centres. I've led sessions at The Syros Centre in Greece, and Cortijo Romero and Casa Ana in Spain. 'Improvisation on Paper' is the residential writing retreat I'll be running in 2024/5. If you want to start writing more, to write differently, or would simply like the whole process to be less stressful and more fun, this is the session for you. It takes place in a cosy country hotel, deep in the British winter. It includes excellent food, bracing walks, and good company. You can read about it in the link below.

This is the commercial writing. Copy, articles, scripts, ads. You'll find examples of my work in D&AD annuals under 'Writing for Design', and occasionally in bookshops. I also help business people with their writing. I run workshops to encourage clarity and confidence in written communication and I set up in-house writing groups. You'll find my name in the acknowledgements section of a number of business books, sometimes as contributor and co-writer; other times as hand holder and provider of drinks. You could say I have a good ear. It comes in useful when directing radio actors but also when working with words and writers. Of course, it was advertising that really tuned my ear. Under my guidance a whole generation of well known actors learnt how to sound convincing as they enthused about the deliciousness of breakfast cereals and the comfort of Gillet razor blades. Years of listening to this stuff left me with a heightened sensitivity to insincere writing and passionate loathing of business jargon. Nowadays I encourage others to be equally opinionated.Clients include: The Mind Gym, Harrods, Penguin Random House, Hachette UK, OR Consulting, Clarks, UKTV, The Design Council, D&AD, Havas. I run the Writers' Gym at the London Film School, and the Editors' Studio at Mind Gym.

If you’d like me to direct your radio session, or for any other talent directing or coaching, contact me at Punch It Up. Ditto for voice casting. If you want a script doctor - someone to work with you on polishing your radio work - contact Punch It Up. There are two script doctors at Punch It Up: me - I’m good on dialogue, and Luke Sorba, who specialises in comedy.For details about my radio experience see the info about Mandy Wheeler Sound Productions below.

My fiction writing work has won the following awards: Scottish Arts Trust Short Story Award 2022Edinburgh Short Story Award 2023 (2nd)Flash 500 Short Story AwardCranked Anvil Press Flash Fiction AwardBitterpill Project scriptwriting Award Women on Writing Flash Fiction Award Cranked Anvil Press Dialogue Award 2023Cranked Anvil Flash Fiction Award 2024And I've been shortlisted for this lot: The Bridport Award Fish Publishing Short Story Award The Winston Fletcher Award The Frome Short Story AwardMyslexia Short Story Award Cranked Anvil Short Story AwardBBC comedy drama: 'Late' featuring Paul Merton can be found on BBC iplayer.Here's an interview about my approach to writing:https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2022/03/interview-with-mandy-wheeler-runner-up.html

I ran Mandy Wheeler Sound Productions for around 20 years. During that time I made a lot of radio. All sorts of radio. Advertising, factual programmes, drama, documentaries. I also cast and directed voice performance for TV commercials and animations. MWSP programmes were broadcast on BBC Radio, World Service, and the Independent Network. I put The Guardian newspaper on air with 'Something for the Weekend', a weekly magazine programme on LBC Radio (you'd call it a podcast now - back then we distributed it on reel to reel tapes by courier bike). I also devised and ran the 3 minute radio drama project on Classic FM.I set up a series of radio training workshops for advertising agency writers, and worked with Dick Orkin (of The Radio Ranch in LA) to develop new ways of doing radio ads in the UK. For many years I was a consultant to the Radio Advertising Bureau. I designed and ran the D&AD/RAB radio training programme for universities. Awards: The company won most of the radio awards at least once, including the D&AD pencil and Sony Radio Awards commendations.