Laura Goodwin’s book is out a few days after collecting her degree at the Usher Hall
An Edinburgh Napier screenwriting student has had two reasons to celebrate her graduation – as it coincides with the publication of her debut novel.
Laura Goodwin began writing ‘One Last Mission’ in 2022 before beginning her course at ENU, where she was able to hone her storytelling craft.
The 28-year-old from Ayr says working on the book – which she describes as ‘James Bond meets Hamlet’ – gave her an extra creative outlet alongside her coursework.
Laura said: “I’ve always been writing stories and scripts since I was a young kid. I’m neurodiverse and my brain is constantly overthinking everything. I was hyperfixating during lockdown in 2020 when I came up with the idea for this book, fully-formed.
“I finally completed the novel, all 150,000 words and 425 pages of it, in April this year.”
After finishing the book, Laura had it published, and brought one of the first copies along to her graduation ceremony at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall.
As for her studies, Laura hopes the year-long MA Screenwriting programme will help give her a springboard into the production side of film and television.
She added: “I sent in my application 12 hours before the deadline, two days after discovering the degree existed. The course was a lot of work but it was great. It solidified what I want to do and made me feel like I made the right choice.
“I can’t put into words how proud of myself I am that after everything I’ve managed to get to a place in my life where I’ve achieved this.
“Not only am I graduating with a masters degree, my debut novel will be published and available to the world five days later.”
One Last Mission is available to buy from 31 October – and Laura already has plans to write another novel!
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