I tickled Larry the Downing Street cat | & meet author Brian Groom
Journalism Matters campaign plus latest news, events and opportunities
My fellow wordsmiths,
Welcome to the eighth (!) edition of Write Reject Repeat. Just a little plea to share this newsletter with your friends, fellow writers, journalists - everyone is welcome. It remains entirely free (just tick no pledge unless you can offer support) and we are quite the little gang but I’d love to grow further. Thankyou! Also get in touch - I’d love to hear how it’s all going. I will happily share those success stories.. we all need inspo.
Before I introduce this week’s guest, non-fiction author Brian Groom, I can share it’s been quite the week already. I bid au revoir to the pheasants and hares to venture out of the glorious north and across the border to the land of functioning 5G and over-priced coffee - London town. I was invited to a reception at Number 10 Downing Street (like you do) on Monday and a reception on the terrace overlooking the Thames at Parliament on Tuesday - both for Journalism Matters Week. If you are interested, I’ve shared a bit more in the news section at the bottom of this email about why I was asked to attend these events.
It wasn’t my first hoorah at either location but there is something very special about walking into Downing Street itself past security and then through the reinforced black door - I made sure to savour the experience this time and take in the pinch me moment of ascending those famous stairs past the portraits of Prime Ministers throughout history (and, no, I didn’t recreate the Hugh Grant ‘Love Actually’ dance despite the wine which kept being regularly updated in my glass). On my way out, and reunited with my phone from the security wooden cubby hole (so British), I did get told off by a very nice man with big gun for filming - I didn’t stop to argue. (Though if it’s OK for the BBC..)
I may have been there by invite of the Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer but it was a certain four-legged inhabitant of Number 10 I was bowled over to meet again. Larry the cat (he’s seen off multiple Prime Ministers) was lounging outside greeting leavers with a bored scowl. It took me a while to get him to look at the camera and accept a tickle - he’s not keen on journalists if not in the mood darling - but eventually he posed before returning to licking his bits. Last time I was at Number 10 he was inside wandering nonchalantly across priceless furniture, dragging his claws past historic artefacts and showing his bum to guests. Well behaved compared to most in there..
I’m safely back in the rainy north now with no gilded gold-frame paintings or 5G. (I’d be keen for even 4G to be honest) Which bring me to our guest this week - Brian Groom. The former journalist’s book Northerners was a UK best-seller - yet he only got published after he retired from his 40 year career as a journalist. He shares his journey to publication and a little inspiration..
“The north has a fascinating story that deserves to be told”
Brian Groom
Meet Brian Groom..
Tell us about you
I am in the fortunate position of having had the opportunity to start a new career as an author after more than four decades as a journalist (I am now 68). My book Northerners: A History, from the Ice Age to the Present Day, published in April 2022 by HarperNorth, became a national bestseller. My second book Made in Manchester: A People’s History of the City that Shaped the Modern World, is due out in May next year, also from HarperNorth.
Originally from Stretford, Lancashire, I went to Manchester Grammar School and read English at Balliol College, Oxford. My first job was as sports editor of the Goole Times in Yorkshire. From there I went to the Financial Times, where I did jobs including being a labour reporter during the miners’ strike. I had ten years away in Scotland when I launched and later edited Scotland on Sunday, the Scotsman’s Sunday paper. After that I returned to the FT and did several top jobs including political editor and comment and analysis editor. I retired from the FT in 2014 and moved back north to Saddleworth, in the south Pennines.
What is your goal as a writer?
I set out in Northerners to tell the north’s story honestly and colourfully. Amazingly I discovered that there had only been one general history of northern England ever published – and that was as far back as 1990. It seemed like a gap and an opportunity, especially when the north began making national news through issues such as the red wall and levelling-up. The north has a fascinating story that deserves to be told. My approach is to mix narrative history with chapters on social and cultural themes such as prominent women and reformers, the growth of leisure, how the north-south language divide developed and the story of ethnic minorities. That is aimed at giving a rounded portrait. I’ll be continuing that approach in Made in Manchester and hopefully in future books.
Where did it all start for you?
I was a history-mad kid and was reading History Today at age 12, but I went off the subject in my late teens for various reasons and decided to study English at university. However, I have become keen on history again as I got older, in the way that many people become interested in their roots. My dad was sales manager of a small textiles wholesaler and during school holidays he used to take me on his sales trips across Yorkshire, Lancashire and the north midlands, which gave me a strong sense of the north’s depth and variety. At the FT, one of my responsibilities was to run the regional reporting team and supervise coverage of the UK’s regions and nations, which underlined my fascination with regional affairs. When I came to think about writing book, the north’s history came naturally to mind.
Why did you want to be a writer?
As a student I spent much of my time acting and directing plays. The idea of becoming a journalist came quite late when I thought about how I could make a living. It was an ambition that combined my love of words with my interest in current affairs. I had a short spell of unemployment after graduating, but luckily managed to get hired by a weekly paper that at the time was part of the Yorkshire Post group. I then won the top national prize in the trainee journalists’ proficiency test and managed to get a job at the FT. Early in my career I also wrote an unperformed play and an unpublished novel in my spare time (I had a top agent, but the best we got out of publishers was ‘show us your next one’). Family and career then took over for many years, but later I found time to start researching a book, by which time my interest in history had returned.
When can we read your work?
Northerners is available from bookshops, all the main bookselling websites and can be borrowed from libraries. Made in Manchester will be available from all the same sources when it’s published on 23 May next year. It’s already available to preorder from bookshop.org, waterstones.com and Amazon. I have done almost 100 lectures and events on Northerners at book festivals, bookshops and societies. Next year I will be giving talks on Made in Manchester: watch out for one near you.
“Keep sentences simple and use only as many words as you need”
Brian Groom
Any advice on how to start writing and get published?
For non-fiction writers I would say tell the truth, be transparent about sources of information and keep potential readers front and centre of your mind. If your topic is history, remember that history is about people. Keep sentences simple and use only as many words as you need. Getting published is far from easy. I had a lucky break: just at the time I was looking for a publisher (about halfway through writing the book), HarperCollins set up its new northern arm, HarperNorth, based in Manchester. My project fitted their remit and they have been brilliant. My fear had been that national and international publishers would see the topic as too regional, while at the same time it might not be local enough for specialist local interest publishers. Do thorough online research into suitable agents and publishers. You will need a chapter-by-chapter synopsis, a sample chapter and evidence on how your proposal differs from other books on the market, who it is aimed at, why you are the best person to write it and how you can help to promote it.
What are you reading now?
Writing history books to a tight deadline does not leave much time for leisure reading. During the early stages of researching Northerners I read the entire published works of Elizabeth Gaskell. At present I am reading histories of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, which gives you a clue about what my third book is likely to be about.
Thanks so much Brian! A reminder that his new book Made in Manchester is available for pre-order HERE
News, events and opportunities
Journalism Matters 2023: I was in London at 10 Downing Street this week at the invitation of culture secretary Lucy Frazer to mark the start of Journalism Matters Week celebrating the critical role reporters play in democratic life. It comes as a refreshed National Action Plan (NAP) for the Safety of Journalists has been published, introducing new measures to protect journalists from harm and building on previous pledges to create a safe environment for them to operate.
The enhanced plan will see the creation of a new online tool where journalists can report abuse and help build greater understanding of safety issues affecting them. I was specifically invited due to the unprecedented levels of abuse experienced (while in my former role as editor of Lancashire Post/Blackpool Gazette) by my team and I while reporting the tragic story of Nicola Bulley.
I attended a second reception at Parliament at the invitation of the NMA (News Media Association) and Shadow DCMS Minister Alex-Davies Jones, to celebrate local news brands and the power of the press in positive change.Mallaig Book Festival: It calls itself a Write Highland Hoolie and takes place at the West Highland Hotel over the weekend November 10-12. It opens on Friday evening with Duncan Chisholm, Hamish Napier and poet Jim Mackintosh, and their celebration of the Life and Work of George Mackay Brown – Beyond the Swelkie. Authors signed up include Jenny Colgan, Denise Mina and many more. It also features the Deirdre Roberts Poetry Competition.
BBC Writersroom Open Call: The BBC’s submission windows for scripts is about to open between between 12 noon on Tuesday November 7 and 12 noon on Tuesday December 5, 2023. After the deadline has passed, the scripts received are assessed intensively by script readers and the BBC Writersroom team, and a shortlist drawn up. The BBC then offers various opportunities for the shortlisted group of writers including our Drama Room and Voices development groups. Full details on the website, linked above.
Alma consultancy: A trio of Lancashire-based business partners have joined forces to launch Alma, an audience development agency offering a range of services across digital & media, communications & PR, and training. Partners, Former journalists Ed Walker, Luke Beardsworth, and communication specialist Shirah Bamber, have decades of experience between them developing and engaging with a diverse range of digital audiences.
SEO for journalists: Journalism.co.uk provides resources/job opportunities for journalists including this useful piece on why SEO is crucial.
If you have got this far and not subscribed please do - it’s just an email address and no spam, I promise. Until next week.. Nx
This was a great read Nicola. As a proud Northerner, I read Brian's book earlier this year and would recommend it to anyone. Looking forward to the next one!