What I read in rainy Spain | & meet journalism innovator Ed Walker
Plus Penguin internships, Write for BBC Casualty, Derby Book Festival, Northern Publishers Fair, Aye Write Festival & author Brian Groom is on Booky podcast
My dear wordsmiths,
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As I write this, I have just realised how ridiculous it is that my plans to go to two of the sunniest places in the world were marred by rain but that’s life for you. I was due to be on a media-thingy in Dubai but the extreme weather event there put paid to that (see, the news) so instead I decided to visit my astronomer dad in the mountains of ‘sunny’ Andalusia, Spain, with my brother.
As the plane took off from cold and rainy Manchester we looked forward to our glorious arrival only to be greeted by much the same. You know that feeling when you step off the plane into warmth? It was essentially the opposite of that. But hey, I got away.. I’m not complaining ( well, maybe a little, I am British after all) and the sun did eventually show its face - weakly. But I should definitely have packed more jumpers..
Booky podcast episode 4
My fourth wonderful guest on Booky pod is Brian Groom. A lifelong journalist - he worked for The Telegraph and Financial Times amongst others but has now turned his hand to books. Brian is an alumnus of the Write Reject Repeat Q&A and his book Northerners: A History, from the Ice Age to the Present Day, published in April 2022 by HarperNorth, became a national bestseller. His second book Made in Manchester: A People’s History of the City that Shaped the Modern World, is due out on May 23 but is available for pre-order. But what tips does he have for writers? Have a listen.
Don’t forget to also go back and download my previous three fabulous guests - Milly Johnson, Joanna Nadin and Will Carver I’m not saying Booky is responsible (ahem) but Milly’s new novel The Happiest Ever After shot to the top of the entire Kindle chart after she featured - congratulations Milly on your number 1 bestseller!
What I’m reading
My few days in Spain in somewhat middling weather gave my opportunity to actually read something and it just so happens that my friends at Harper North kindly posted out two upcoming crackers - which went straight in my suitcase. Not only did I inhale them both - but I also took arty pictures of them in a bush. My dad has a glorious bougainvillae in the garden amongst his others beautiful but thorny plants. This one did not take kindly to being a bookstand and blood was indeed shed.
This makes the image appropriate indeed for this dark debut tale by journalist turned author Daniel Aubrey. His novel -Dark Island comes out today! (April 25, 2024). Set in the stunning yet brooding Orkney islands it features reporter Freya Sinclair whose move back home for a quiet life ends in a race against time to find a killer. With pacy twists, this is not just a crime novel but a quest for Freya to understand herself and how to cope with trauma and live with her neuro diversity - something very personal to the author. I found this extremely absorbing and the protagonist Freya relatable - and the mystery and shocking subject matter will keep you turning the pages.
Also a hard recommend from me (and I read this first), We Could be heroes by PJ Ellis is a glorious commentary of how far we have come in attitudes toward love and diversity but is also just a damn good story. Told with a split timeline, the book describes itself boldly as ‘A joyously original high concept novel with a super gay love story at it’s heart’ and is just that - warm, funny and a celebration of love, of friendship and super heroes. Is the title a nod to the David Bowie song, the computer game or the sci-fi film? Maybe all three but DB would defo love it. We could be heroes is out in hardback on June 6, 2024.
Meet journalism leader and audience strategist Ed Walker
Ed is a time-served journalist, media leader, and innovator - we’ve known each other a long time. The founder of micro-local website Blog Preston and of audience development agency Alma (named after his faithful pooch), he spent 15 years with publishers Reach working across the UK. A dad of two, he lives in the Lancashire countryside with his family. He shares his thoughts and what he’s been reading in relation to journalism and innovation via his own Substack newsletter (linked in article).
Who?
I wear many hats at the moment, I'm an experienced editor and journalist based in Preston, Lancashire, and I'm involved in a number of different projects from running a community news site called Blog Preston through to teaching journalism innovation at the local university and also I'm launching a series of email newsletters and newspapers across the North of England focused on social issues. I feel a bit of a fraud doing this Q&A, as my grand total of published books is once I co-authored a Guardian Shorts e-book with two friends all about online communities back in 2011.
Why?
My goal as a writer, or I guess as a journalist, was to get published. But as I've grown throughout my career then I think it's more about purpose and what you're writing/editing/sharing actually meaning something to people and making a difference too.
Where?
My earliest writing experience was on the Wimbledon, Mitcham and Morden Guardian, I grew up in South London and I went on a work placement and ended up doing loads of really community-based reporting. I enjoyed it. And, at the same time, I used to run a music social enterprise in South London (which was an excuse for me and mates to put on band nights, under the guise of ensuring there were activities for us youngsters to do rather than sneaking off to the park to drink cider). It was great fun. I was very good at getting funding for the social enterprise and making things happen.
For my formal journalism career then I trained at UCLan (University of Central Lancashire) in journalism, edited the student newspaper for a year (we won awards, and also got a student essay-writing ring deported!), and I also started Blog Preston shortly after graduating which led me to work for Reach PLC for nearly 15 years who are the UK’s largest publisher
What?
Throughout my career there’s been two common themes, the first is digital. I was one of the few people who studied the ‘online journalism’ route as it was called then and it gave me a good grounding in the way people consume and need to be written for in a digital world. And also community, I’ve always tried to cover campaigns and people doing interesting things and being involved in where they live or something that interests them.
When?
The main place I write at the moment is on Blog Preston which as of this week I’ve written more than 10,000 stories for over the years - I’ll cover anything on there, from politics, to breaking news, to more in-depth features, to community stories. If it’s Preston, I’ll take a look. I also oversee publication of The Lead’s northern editions and I do a weekly Substack post about journalism innovation too with some interesting links and analysis on what’s happening in the digital media landscape.
How?
My tips when it comes to writing would be a) just bloody write the thing, it’s much easier to refine something that has managed to find its way out of your head b) be interested, it’s a great skill being able to write about something you know nothing about when you first start writing about that topic c) give context, always try to give something extra for your reader to help them understand d) consistency, if you write regularly then you’ll find it easier. I recently went back to reporting on Blog Preston and I was very rusty as I hadn’t been doing it for a few years! And e) I wouldn’t be too fussy about where you’re published, if it’s out there, then you never know who will stumble across it and then things you never expected to happen may happen.
What are you reading now?
I’m actually terrible at reading books - my wife is an avid reader but I find I fall asleep after about five pages when I pick something up. I think I’m still trying to get through a Lee Childs book from when we went on holiday recently and failing miserably.
Thanks to Ed!
News, events and opportunities
Derby Book Festival (link thanks to my colleague Ria at DerbyWorld): One of the region’s leading book festivals has released its calendar of events ahead of its summer edition next month. Derby Book Festival’s summer outing will be held from Thursday May 30 to Wednesday June 5, 2024.
Penguin Random House internship: A chance to spend eight weeks in summer working with the largest publishers in the world. You’ll work on a paid independent project made especially for the internship, making decisions for yourself and contributing to our shared mission All nine selected interns will be e paid the London living wage and theyoffer financial support to those commuting from outside of London. It takes place on 1st July – 30th August 2024 - check out the website for details.
Write for BBC Casualty: The Writers’ Studio: Casualty is an open script call for screenwriting talent who are looking to take the next step in their writing career and join the ranks of the Casualty writing team. Ten writers will have the opportunity to write shadow scripts and up to four will be commissioned to write an episode. Details of the Writers' Studio: Casualty and apply via the BBC Studios website
Northern Publishers Fair: To be held this weekend (April 27) the event will be taking place at Manchester Central Library from 11am to 3.30pm. Lots of publishers attending from Saraband to Harper Northand Northodox Press.
Aye Write is back on again - on a smaller scale: (via my colleagues at Glasgow World): Aye Write, Glasgow’s book festival was cancelled for this year after a failed bid for funding from Creative Scotland, the government’s arts body. This year’s events will go ahead on a much smaller scale, secured by a £65,000 donation from the charitable foundation established by the late Euromillions winner, Colin Weir. Full story via link.
CWA Daggers longlist: The longlists for the 2024 Daggers have been announced at the CWA (Crime Writers Association) annual conference in Brighton. Members celebrated their peers’ success and toasted the listed authors and publishers. 13 are awarded in total. Full details on the website.
Thanks so much for reading - please get in touch if you’s like to take a Q&A or write a guest article. Have a lovely week, Nicola xx