Natural Selection

I sometimes forget that this blog was originally set up to provide a platform for my writing, rather than to give life histories of ringed gulls. Fear not larophiles I will return to ringed gulls very soon, as I’ve had some good recoveries recently. But for now an update on my published / to be published contributions to books.

A couple of months ago Where To Watch Bird In Northwest England came out. It was fascinating to be involved significantly in a book for a major publisher, something I never thought would happen to me. I hope it’s proving useful to anyone who buys a copy, the feedback I’ve had from several people and a couple of reviews I’ve read through my fingers has been positive.

A fragmented essay I wrote about local gulls will be appearing in Seaside Shuffle, an anthology of short pieces about Blackpool mostly by local authors. I’ve read a proof of this and apparently it will be published in August. If like me Blackpool is part of your DNA following childhood holidays you should find a lot in here to entertain you.

It is still possible to get copies of North Country the anthology edited by Kendal writer Karen Lloyd. This includes an essay I wrote about the nature of Ormsgill Reservoir and the rising fortunes of Barrow AFC. It is now a historical piece as the promotion to the football league it refers to has this weekend sadly been followed after six seasons by relegation.

Whilst mentioning Karen another thread in this blog has been book reviews. Karen’s latest book Earthworks was recently published and I attended one of the launch events in Kendal. The book is a collection of generally excellent essays. In particular the piece about the proposed Morecambe Eden Project and the issues of deprivation in the town is recommended.