MICROPHONE

OK, so this is available to pre-order and is out in April. It’s all about how the microphone upended our world and changed our lives. There’s a fun chapter about the transition from silent cinema to ‘talkies’, and a bit where I talk about how weird ASMR has become. It’s part of a Bloomsbury series called Object Lessons, which looks at how objects of various kinds have had a huge impact on the world. There’s one called ‘Cat’, if you’re interested. I’d call the cat an animal, not an object, but there you go.

WELCOME TO WINKDALE

My first book of fiction, Welcome to Winkdale is a collection of short stories all set in a fictional seaside village.

Paul Chuckle called it “gripping”; Danny Wallace called it “delightfully funny”; and Richard Bacon said it was “like a really vivid fever dream”. It was nominated in the Book Award category of the 2023 Page Turner Awards.

It’s available to order NOW.

HOW TO SKIM A STONE

Nice story, this.

After reporting on the phenomenon that is the World Stone Skimming Championships for The Guardian in 2019, I was asked to write a book on the subject.

How to Skim a Stone, part of Quercus’ ‘Little Ways to Live a Big Life’ series, teaches the reader how to skim a stone – obviously – but also looks at the meditative aspect of the practice, as well as the surprisingly competitive side. It was my first book. Derren Brown called it “a modest masterpiece and a complete delight”.

You can order it here. Incidentally, it is illustrated by the one, the only, Vyvyan Almond.

Here is a photo of me being cradled by a horse at the aforementioned world championships.