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Tom Dean is a PhD candidate researching the world of pro-wrestling. His creative/critical project examines pro-wrestling as an art form, a mode of embodied performance in which performers confess the story of their lives through a blend of reality and fiction – the ‘work, shoot confessional’.

Further exploring these narrative dynamics, the creative side of his project is a fictitious biography of a female pro-wrestler, drawing inspiration from the 2005 Edge/Lita/Matt Hardy love triangle storyline.

This blog records his thoughts on creative writing practice, shares his creative work and research, and his frustrations with it, and offers pro-wrestling analysis through an academic lens.

  • Apr 2026

    “When true silence falls, we are still left with echo but are nearer nakedness”: Week 1 – Characterisation project

    | More |: “When true silence falls, we are still left with echo but are nearer nakedness”: Week 1 – Characterisation project
    “When true silence falls, we are still left with echo but are nearer nakedness”: Week 1 – Characterisation project
  • Apr 2026

    Characterisation in pro-wrestling – a new year-long project

    | More |: Characterisation in pro-wrestling – a new year-long project
    Characterisation in pro-wrestling – a new year-long project
  • Apr 2026

    WWE and ticket prices: narrative form as distraction

    | More |: WWE and ticket prices: narrative form as distraction
    WWE and ticket prices: narrative form as distraction
  • Apr 2026

    CM Punk is absolutely not the ‘Voice of the Voiceless’

    | More |: CM Punk is absolutely not the ‘Voice of the Voiceless’
    CM Punk is absolutely not the ‘Voice of the Voiceless’
  • Apr 2026

    “Absorb what you need .. and spit the rest back out”: Influences & inspirations (part one)

    | More |: “Absorb what you need .. and spit the rest back out”: Influences & inspirations (part one)
    “Absorb what you need .. and spit the rest back out”: Influences & inspirations (part one)
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deany15td

© Tom Dean — 2026
deany15.td@gmail.com
Substack: @workshootconfessional

    • About

Tom Dean is a writer and PhD candidate currently based in York, UK. He holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Manchester, and has studied under the tutelage of MJ Hyland, Jeanette Winterson, George Saunders and Mary Karr.

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