Hometown Tales: Midlands


Book Description

Original tales by remarkable writers Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative non-fiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home. In these pages on the Midlands, you'll find two unique works of fiction. A richly-imagined tale about a young girl adopted by a couple living in the village of Fleckney - 'Home Is Where the Heart Is' - by author of Costa-shortlisted Pao, Kerry Young. And 'Time and Seasons', a heartfelt, powerful story of young love across the ages in Milton Keynes by Carolyn Sanderson.




Hometown Tales: Birmingham


Book Description

Original tales by remarkable writers Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative non-fiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home. In these pages on Birmingham, you'll find two unique tales. 'Silver in the Quarter' is a vivid coming-of-age fiction about a boy who finds himself caught up in the Birmingham pub bombings of 1974 by Maria Whatton. 'In the Ape's Shadow' is a fascinating exploration of the music scene that inspired him growing up in Birmingham, by BAFTA Award-winning comedian and author Stewart Lee.




Hometown Tales: Yorkshire


Book Description

Original tales by remarkable writers Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative non-fiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home In these pages on Yorkshire, you'll find two unique memoirs. 'The Yorkshire Years' is Cathy Rentzenbrink's deeply moving account of returning to Snaith, where her brother Matty was knocked down by a car over twenty years before. 'The Island upon the Moor' traces a powerful journey - from a carefree childhood in the village of Holme-upon-Spalding Moor - to surviving dark periods of depression, by Victoria Hennison.




Hometown Tales: Lancashire


Book Description

Original tales by remarkable writers Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative non-fiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home. In these pages on Lancashire, you'll find two unique tales. 'After the Funeral, the Crawl' is an arresting portrait of a couple forced to confront a dark secret over the course of a pub crawl one night in Preston, by award-winning novelist Jenn Ashworth. 'JUDAS!' is a vivid, coming-of-age story that traces the political and cultural history of Manchester, from its industrial past to its eventual separation from the county, by Benjamin Webster.




Hometown Tales: Wales


Book Description

Original tales by remarkable writers Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative non-fiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home. In these pages on Wales, you'll find two unique short stories. 'Last Seen Leaving' is a gripping account of the days following the disappearance of a local man by award-winning writer Tyler Keevil. 'The Lion and the Star' by Eluned Gramich is a vivid retelling of the Welsh language protests that electrified Cardiganshire in the 1970s and the impact of the protests on ordinary lives.




Hometown Tales: South Coast


Book Description

Original tales by remarkable writers Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative non-fiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home. In these pages on the South Coast, you'll find two unique tales. 'Margate Calling' is an intimate, honest and inspiring account of living in Margate by award-winning BBC broadcaster Gemma Cairney. 'Maisie and Mrs Webster' is a bold, fiercely funny and deeply moving piece of fiction about an obese young woman who is confined to her bed and longs to see the sea, by Brighton-based playwright Judy Upton.




Hometown Tales: Highlands and Hebrides


Book Description

Original tales by remarkable writers Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative non-fiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home In these pages on the Highlands and Hebrides, you'll find two unique tales. 'The Boy in the Bubble' is a bright, intensely funny and deeply felt memoir about growing up on the Isle of Mull from award-winning musician, the man behind Mull Historical Society, and author of The Letters of Ivor Punch, Colin MacIntyre. 'A9' is a captivating piece of short fiction about a girl torn between her love in Inverness and the chance to spread her wings, by Ellen MacAskill.




Hometown Tales: Glasgow


Book Description

Original tales by remarkable writers Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative non-fiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home. In these pages on Glasgow, you'll find two unique memoirs. 'The Old Asylum in the Woods' is an intimate, intensely moving account of growing up in the shadow of Woodilee Hospital by author of The Gracekeepers and The Gloaming, Kirsty Logan. 'Glasgow Sang' is a deeply personal journey on foot through the city, from Kelvin Way Bridge to George Square to the statue of La Pasionaria, by Paul McQuade.




Midland


Book Description

Leading journalists between the coasts offer perspectives on immigration, drug addiction, climate change, and more that you won’t find in national mainstream media. After the 2016 presidential election, the national media fretted over what they could have missed in the middle of the country, launching a thousand think pieces about so-called “Trump Country.” Yet in 2020, the polling was way off—again. Journalists between the coasts could only shake their heads at the persistence of the false narratives around the communities where they lived and worked. Contributor Ted Genoways foresaw how close the election in 2016 would be and, in its aftermath, put out a public call on Facebook, calling on writers from those midland states to help answer the national media’s puzzlement. Representing a true cross-section of America, both geographically and ethnically, these writers highlight the diversity of the American experience in essays and articles that tell the hidden local truths behind the national headlines. For instance: -Esther Honig describes the effects of the immigration crackdown in Colorado -C.J. Janovy writes about the challenges of being an LGBTQ+ activist in Kansas -Karen Coates and Valeria Fernández show us the children harvesting our food -And Sydney Boles chronicles a miner’s protest in Kentucky. For readers willing to look at the American experience that the pundits don’t know about or cover, Midland is an invaluable peek into the hearts and minds of largely unheard Americans.




Voices from a Blue Box'


Book Description

In this, the first published book from a lifelong procrastinator, wit and soon to be retired policeman. Bryan Connor, the author, recounts a successful thirty year career with the British Police Service, providing a fascinating insight into the day to day life of a British copper. Delving into selected extracts from the more humorous stories he noted down following his tours of duty. Modern Police Officers are now life guards, crime prevention officers, crime fighters, admin clerks, scenes of crime officers, taxi drivers, social workers, interrogators, gaolers, stewards for sporting events, missing persons specialists, call centre operatives, traffic wardens, first aiders, accurate chronologists, road safety consultants, filing clerks, truancy officers, messengers, fraud investigators, locksmiths, message dispatchers, emergency fire-fighters, road crossing patrol operatives, undertakers, tourist information officers, security officers, youth and community workers, delivery drivers, school liaison officers, street cleaners, first aiders, and sometimes even street patrol beat officers all rolled into one. In other words, they are 'Jacks of all trades and pretty much masters of none'! This book covers some of the tricky situations, embarrassing moments and uncomfortable episodes that quite often arise when some of the people local to and just passing through the busy Borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands of England decided to breach the laws laid down by Her Majesties Government. Bryan's style could best be summed up as......Style, what style? But it is genuine hearty humour with just a hint of sarcasm, Infused with a wealth of peculiar characters. Bryan extracts just some of the more notable episodes in his past, letting you in on some of the more amusing incidents that he and his colleagues had to deal with daily. Only the names and locations have been changed to protect the not so innocent!