BBC Radio 4 + Oxford Event + Great British Menu

During the summer holidays at the age of sixteen, I spent a heavenly six weeks grinding freeze-dried honeybees into powder in one of Warwick University’s science labs. I’d captured the bees myself, bedecked in a white suit and mask, from a local beekeeper’s wildflower meadow hives. Once they were thoroughly decimated with a pestle andContinue reading “BBC Radio 4 + Oxford Event + Great British Menu”

Best books of 2022 + yearly round up

2021 favourites | 2020 favourites | 2019 favourites | 2018 favourites | 2017 favourites | 2016 favourites | 2015 favourites | 2014 favourites 🏆 FAVOURITES OF 2022 🏆 It’s time! For the best in show! Here are my favourite novels, poetry collections and non-fiction books of the year.  All of these books hooked me from page 1 and kept me reading in one sitting, whichContinue reading “Best books of 2022 + yearly round up”

Lecture on Writing Climate Fiction

I recently spoke at the BBC Television Centre on writing environmental issues into fiction. The 20 minute talk is now online to watch: I also took up a fellowship position at Aston University, Birmingham, this month. Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellows work throughout the UK in universities, helping students and staff one-to-one with writing developmentContinue reading “Lecture on Writing Climate Fiction”

Another Lesson in Plotting (AKA let’s fix Killing Eve)

Spoilers below for the final series of Killing Eve and James Bond. Hello. Hi. Hey. Once again, a screen project has fundamentally failed to understand the nature of a tragedy. How many times can this happen in one year? Your guess is as good as mine. As you might be aware, Killing Eve ended thisContinue reading “Another Lesson in Plotting (AKA let’s fix Killing Eve)”

A Lesson in Plotting (AKA how to fix the James Bond movie with 3 new scenes)

So, I saw No Time to Die. And I have a lot of thoughts, not necessarily good, about the script. It made some errors which are so incredibly basic – and so easily fixable! – that I haven’t been able to stop rewriting it in my head. Let’s do some script doctoring. Spoilers below forContinue reading “A Lesson in Plotting (AKA how to fix the James Bond movie with 3 new scenes)”

Best books of 2021 + yearly round up

2020 favourites | 2019 favourites | 2018 favourites | 2017 favourites | 2016 favourites | 2015 favourites | 2014 favourites A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers – set in a future world where humans live alongside nature in green, adaptive cities with vertical farms. Out in the wilderness, the descendants of robots from the ‘factory-age’ live in freedom, after developing sentience. This isContinue reading “Best books of 2021 + yearly round up”

Plant magic & the climate

Laura Lam, author of sci-fi Goldilocks, interviewed me about my new climate thriller Green Rising, out now with Walker Books. Laura: I zipped through Lauren James’ Green Rising when I was offered it for a blurb. It’s a perfect call to arms for teens (and adults) for climate change, while also being a rollicking goodContinue reading “Plant magic & the climate”