from MA Professional Writing at Falmouth

Here in Falmouth, our thoughts are turning to summer holidays. But before jetting

off to our villas in Antibes and Antigua (as if – but who needs them when you live

in Cornwall?) we’ve put together some ideas for holiday reading from titles

recently published by our alumni, tutors, visiting lecturers and writers in

residence. Which gives us quite a panoply of talent to choose from…

If you’re heading to Spain this summer, you’ll find your experience of the country

much enriched by alumnus Paul Murphy’s poignant As I Walked out through Spain in

Search of Laurie Lee, recently shortlisted for the International Rubery Book Award. As

the selection panel writes: “What could have been an exercise in imitation that

couldn’t match the original turns out to be a poetic treatment of the author’s own

journey. He explores his own troubled circumstances against the background of his

knowledge and obsession with Lee, skilfully weaving their two experiences together

in his own potent language.”

Cutting down on the luggage by putting books on your Kindle instead? Do take a

moment to download alumna Joy Salisbury’s The Dangerous Lies of Blue Eyed Boys, the

second in her splendidly quirky ‘Tales of Ice Cream and Espionage’ trilogy and a

perfect beach read.

“If you have a week-long, do-nothing holiday planned… then Richard House’s

monumental, Man Booker-longlisted thriller may be the ideal accompaniment,”

wrote the Evening Standard of our former fiction tutor’s extraordinary, Man Booker

long-listed The Kills. The four-part novel runs to over 1,000 pages on paper, but

reading it on a tablet or smartphone gives you access to embedded video, animations

and audio clips created by the author. The Guardian’s reviewer wrote: “The simple

yet elegant enhancements work to take us beyond the page, adding depth and texture

to the story. This is the first time I've read a digital edition of a primarily text-based

novel where I've thought: yes, this works.”

Off on a walking holiday with your dog? Don’t neglect to pack a copy of alumna Gill

Garratt’s Your Dog and You: Understanding the Canine Psyche, which will help avoid

any crossed wires between you and your mutt – and make you laugh, too. Look out

for the cheeky Jack Russell pictured on page 40 – it’s Jack, faithful friend of our

scriptwriting tutor Jane Pugh, on his first modelling assignment!

Of course, family holidays are not always entirely friction-free, particularly when

teenagers are involved. If the grumpy adolescent in question in a One Direction fan,

what better way to ward off those “I never asked to come on your effing holiday”

moments than by giving them alumna Sarah Oliver’s Harry Styles & Niall Horan: The

Biography, the latest in Sarah’s ever-lengthening list of best-selling celebrity biogs.

Alternatively, you might find that your own family relationships don’t seem quite so

tricky compared with those explored in the searing, controversial Big Brother by

Lionel Shriver – a wonderful writer in residence at Falmouth last year. Let alone

those portrayed in The Wake, the ground-breaking historical novel by MA supervising

tutor Paul Kingsnorth, which last year won the Gordon Burn Prize and the

Bookseller Book of the Year Award. Written in a version of Old English, it’s not a

light holiday read – but an utterly engrossing one.

Lionel’s successor at Falmouth in the spring was the brilliant novelist and non-fiction

author Matt Haig, whose workshops for our students were memorable not least for

his use of the Mr Men series to illustrate the interplay between character and plot.

Matt’s latest book is the widely acclaimed memoir of his struggle to overcome acute

depression, Reasons to Stay Alive. Holidays are often touted as the best antidote to the

blues, but if you’re finding yours ineffective then this remarkable book could be a

lifesaver.

Planning a holiday on Cornwall’s incomparably beautiful coastline? Good call, and

we hope you’ll take the opportunity to sample some of the county’s superb locally

produced food while you’re here. Forget Duchy Originals and the greasy parodies of

Cornish pasties that you may have encountered elsewhere. For the real deal, get hold

of alumna Hayley Spurway’s Saltwater Kitchen Cookbook: Cornish Food Adventures from

the Beach to the Table. It will give you plenty of mouth-watering ideas for beach

barbecues, as well as fascinating stories about the places and people behind the food.

If you fancy getting off the beaten track in Cornwall’s richly historic – and indeed

prehistoric – hinterland, you’ll find the ideal companion in Rising Ground: A Search for

the Spirit of Place by Falmouth Honorary Fellow and MA supervising tutor Philip

Marsden. “An astonishingly keen eye for detail and a beguiling gift for the

description of landscape,” enthused Justin Cartwright in the Spectator. “This is an

extraordinary, complex and fascinating book. It’s not just about Cornwall; it’s also

about the human endeavour to make meaning of life.”

For insights into a more recent aspect of Cornwall’s past, try alumnus Pete London’s

Cornwall in the First World War, a beautifully illustrated and impeccably researched

book that brings home the human impact of war at every level of Cornish society.

As always, summer in Cornwall offers an array of literary treats. This year’s Penzance

Literary Festival (8-11 July) has been organised by two former MA students, Joy

Salisbury and Lucy Cooper, and features authors including long-time friend of

Writing at Falmouth Patrick Gale, who’ll be reading from his latest book, A Place

Called Winter. Patricia Duncker was one of many critics to heap praise on Patrick’s

first historically set novel: “Bold, moving, intensely erotic - I couldn't put down this

tale of passion and endurance, told with such tenderness.”

And if you’re here at the end of July, don’t miss the Glastonbury of literary festivals at

Port Eliot (30 July–2 August). Some of our current students have been contributing

their copywriting skills to the festival’s publicity team in return for tickets for what

promises to be a fabulous weekend of writing, music, wild swimming and more.

Still undecided about where to go this summer? You might get some ideas from an

unusual travel book published later this month by alumnus Rob Self-Pierson,

Twinned With. In 2012, Rob visited 45 towns across Europe, each twinned with a

counterpart in the UK, as part of a 10,000-mile road trip. On 23 July, he’s launching

the book that came out of his experiences at the London Review Bookshop with a

reading, Q&A and signing.

Epic road trips like Rob’s aren’t for all of us. If you’re in the mood for something less

strenuous, perhaps to recharge your creative batteries, then one of the writing,

walking and meditation retreats offered in Andalucia by alumna Elaine Kingett could

be just what you need.

Finally, if – like many – you’d be happy to settle for a blissfully relaxed staycation

catching up on great TV that you missed earlier, then do take a break from those box-

sets to watch Hoff the Record, the acerbically funny new reality TV series starring the

legendary star of Baywatch and Knight Rider, David Hasselhoff. Wittily scripted by a

team including alumnus Chris Hale, the show launched on Dave this month to rave

reviews.

Wherever you’re heading, have a great summer!

Helen, Susy, Tom, Jane & Kris

MA Professional Writing

Twitter: @falwriting