Jennifer Barclay

Five new short plays, including author commentaries, from female and non-binary writers of Irish heritage in response to Samuel Beckett.What does Irish heritage mean to members of the modern-day diaspora? Global playwrights Olwen Fouéré, Jennifer Barclay, FELISPEAKS, Nicola McCartney and Hannah Khalil make their mark with five unique pieces loosely inspired by seeds from the Beckett canon.Originally staged for the international Not Beckett festival 2024-25, a festival created by writers Hannah Khalil and Jennifer Barclay to expand on the idea of what Irishness looks and sounds like. Premiering in October 2024 at London’s Jermyn Street Theatre, the plays were then staged internationally with partners on the project: The Samuel Beckett Research Centre in Reading, the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York, Fishamble in Dublin in collaboration with the Lir Academy, and Villanova University in Philadelphia, PA, amongst others.Each short play provides an ideal vehicle for students and readers to further explore the artistic influence of Samuel Beckett’s work through a modern-day, multicultural lens. The collection is introduced by Dr Matthew McFrederick, Co-Director of the Beckett International Foundation at the University of Reading, who considers the plays in the anthology and their impact.duet by Olwen FouéréNever Apologize by Jennifer BarclayWAIT; by FELISPEAKSI CAN'T REMEMBER THE by Nicola McCartneyThe Lighthouse Keeper's Son by Hannah Khalil

The Taverna by the Sea is an enchanting, funny, poignant travel memoir about answering the call of adventure by taking on the challenge of running a Greek beach taverna. During a walking holiday on the island of Karpathos, a chance encounter with a Greek-American hotel owner results in a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Jennifer Barclay. The best-selling travel writer and long-term resident of Greece drops everything, returning with dog and tent to the remote bay that will form her home for one hectic, event-filled summer. This book offers a rare account of life in north Karpathos in the South Aegean, famous for its traditional community and dramatic, rugged landscape. While primarily a light, engaging, amusing read full of anecdotes, one-liners, twists and turns - perfect for summer - Barclay's fourth book about life in Greece also conveys the life-affirming importance of trusting one's instincts, taking risks and grasping opportunities. Wake with Jennifer to experience a summer of pink dawns over the olive grove and an empty bay, and swim with her in moonlight, hearing only the waves. Or help yourself to local cuisine - creamy yoghurt and local honey and warm figs, olive oil and rosemary, freshly baked bread, and wine on tap. Alongside a cast of characters from farmers to fishermen, mad guests and a wicked witch, meet Minas the hotel owner, a creative, unconventional Greek-American with the ability to fix anything mechanical and create money out of thin air with food, plus a penchant for drinking, singing and falling asleep. Experience days full of music, days of no running water, and days with a goat tied to a tree - but also nights when the overworked taverna manager awoke convinced there was a large fish in the tent, and customers outside waiting to be served. In The Taverna by the Sea, Barclay reveals what happens behind the scenes of an apparently blissful, peaceful paradise, capturing both the magic and the difficulties of island life. Underpinning an entertaining read for lovers of Greece and its cuisine is an inspiring call to live life to the full - and even escape the rat race.

"A vivid and intoxicating account of these beautiful islands" - Victoria Hislop. "A must-read for anyone who loves the Greek islands" - Richard Clark 'There's something about abandoned places which moves me and captures the imagination.' So says seasoned travel writer Jennifer Barclay as she walks with her dog and her backpack through the deserted spaces of the Dodecanese, islands that were once bustling but are now half forgotten and reclaimed by the wild due to a mix of misfortune and the lure of opportunity elsewhere. Join her on a journey through abandoned villages and farms, cave-houses and captains' mansions, the homes of displaced Muslim fishermen and poets, as she discovers beauty in the ruins, emptiness and silence, and inspiration in the stories of people's lives. A long-term resident of Greece, Jennifer Barclay spent more than four years researching Wild Abandon, visiting islands multiple times and talking to local people to hear their stories. She travels from the very west to the very east of the Dodecanese, from the very south almost to the very north, taking in some of the smallest and the biggest islands, and highlighting different stories along the way to show the complex history behind these havens of tranquillity. She discovers a villa intended for Benito Mussolini's retirement, an island that links a gramophone from St Petersburg and a portrait in the American National Gallery via a pack of cigarettes, and reflects on the days when an economy based on sponges and burnt rock supported thousands. Wild Abandon is an elegy in praise of abandoned places and a search for lost knowledge through the wildest and most deserted locations.

David Attenborough, Dion Leonard (Finding Gobi), Dervla Murphy and Brian Jackman are just four of the authors whose work features in this new anthology from Bradt focusing on true stories about travelling with animals. In Beastly Journeys, there are 46 tales of extraordinary animal travel experiences, from hilarious holidays with pets to journeys on which wild animals somehow came along for the ride, including: David Attenborough tries to get an armadillo through Paraguayan customs; adventurer Ash Dykes takes a white cockerel to Maromokotro to ward off evil spirits; Mike Gerrard shares a car journey from Belsize Park to Canvey Island with a python; Brian Jackman rides, walks and swims with Abu the elephant; Bradt New Travel Writer of the Year Dom Tulett rows with a kingfisher; and John Rendall travels to Africa with Christian, the lion he bought at Harrods and raised in west London. Also included is a brand new piece of writing from ultramarathon runner Dion Leonard about his experience with Gobi, the stray dog who accompanied him for 80 miles over the treacherous Tian Shian mountains. A mix of new, previously unpublished writers and old favourites are included, with extracts from writers such as Mark Shand (Travels on my Elephant), Dervla Murphy (Eight Feet in the Andes) and Robert Louis Stevenson (Travels with a Donkey), not to mention Gerald Durrell, 19th-century explorer Isabella Bird and renowned publisher Michael Joseph. Compelling, engaging, surprising, humorous and entertaining. if this book proves one thing it's that travel with animals is every bit as unpredictable as you would expect it to be.

When Jennifer moves alone into the Honey Factory on a tiny Greek island, bringing a laptop, her hiking boots and plans for a peaceful life, she has no idea what surprises are in store. Dive into this exquisite, honest and deeply moving tale and taste the sweetness of living life to the full on a small island.

One heartbroken winter, Jennifer decides to act on her dream of moving to a tiny Greek island. Funny, romantic and full of surprising twists, Falling in Honey is a story about relationships, tzatziki, adventures, swimming, Greek dancing, starfish... and a bumpy but beautiful journey into Mediterranean sunshine.