Natasha Carthew

Natasha Carthew is a leading voice in the working class writers community, she founded the nature writing prize for working class writers and is director of the festival for working class writers.In Rough Edges, she looks to the coastline of Britain to explore and discover the voices she finds there. Coastal communities are typically some of the most disadvantaged in the country and Natasha explores the day to day challenges they face, bringing in themes of identity, discrimination and what it means to belong. She shares the stories and the experiences of the people she meets, all in her lyrical, provocative but compassionate way. Her journey takes her to: Holderness, Brighton, Clacton, Pembrokeshire, Salcombe, Looe, Aberdeen, Blackpool and Middlesborough where she encounters the shared challenges, hopes and disadvantages that come with living, quite literally, on the edge.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO BOOK AWARDS 2023'A powerful story of social inequality' RAYNOR WINN'Important and beautifully lyrical' THE TIMES'A fierce, urgent memoir' AMY-JANE BEERTo grow up in rural poverty is to fight for life before you can walk. Natasha Carthew was born into a world that sat alongside picture-postcard Cornwall - one where second homes took the sea view of council properties, summer months shifted the course of people's lives, and wealth converged with poverty on sandy beaches.In the rockpools and hedgerows of the natural world, Natasha found solace in the wild landscape, and a means of escape in her mobile library. In Undercurrent she retraces the cliff paths of her childhood, determined to make sense of an upbringing shaped by political neglect and a life defined by the beauty of nature._____'A story of queer resistance, of community and of finding your own voice' DAMIAN BARR'By turns marvellous, moving and mesmerising' ANITA SETHI'A proud, defiant account' CAUGHT BY THE RIVER'Haunting and powerful' KATE MOSSE'Fierce and honest' BBC COUNTRYFILE MAGAZINE

'At times roaring and visceral, in turn gentle and embracing, always driven by hope and determination'RAYNOR WINN'Haunting and powerful' KATE MOSSE Natasha Carthew was born into a world that sat alongside picture-postcard Cornwall, one where second homes took the sea view of council properties, summer months shifted the course of people's lives, and wealth converged with poverty on sandy beaches.In the rockpools and hedgerows of the natural world, Natasha found solace in the beauty of the landscape, and in the mobile library she found her means of escape. In Undercurrent she returns to the cliff paths of her childhood, determined to make sense of an upbringing shaped by political neglect and a life defined by the beauty of nature.This is a journey through place, and a vivid story of hope, beauty and fierce resilience.'Marvellous, moving and mesmerising' ANITA SETHI'A story of queer resistance, of community and of finding your own voice' DAMIAN BARR

'Engaging, modern fables with a feminist tang' Sunday TimesDARK, POTENT AND UNCANNY, HAG BURSTS WITH THE UNTOLD STORIES OF OUR ISLES, CAPTURED IN VOICES AS VARIED AS THEY ARE VIVID.Here are sisters fighting for the love of the same woman, a pregnant archaeologist unearthing impossible bones and lost children following you home. A panther runs through the forests of England and pixies prey upon violent men.From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today. 'A thoroughly original package that has a hint of Angela Carter' The Times'Sharp writing and cleverly done' Spectator

Breath-takingly fierce, smart and tender, Only the Ocean is a story of survival and courage in the midst of darkness that will thrill fans of Patrick Ness and Sarah Crossan.The two girls sat at opposite ends of the boat and Kel dug and stretched the oars into the ocean like her life depended upon it because it did. ‘Just so you know,’ said Rose, ‘everything, and I mean everything, is your fault.’Kel Crow lives in a dead-end swamp with her deadbeat family and a damaged heart. But she has a plan to escape. It’s a one-two-three fortune story that goes: stow away on the ship, kidnap the girl, swap the girl to pay for passage to America and a life-saving operation.But the ocean is an untameable force, and wrecks ships and plans alike …Sweet, raw and uncompromising – this is the story of an unforgettable relationship forged on an epic journey.

'Raw, passionate, hallucinatory' Rachel Holmes'Extraordinary, beautiful and wild allegory for our times' Katharine Norbury'Hypnotic and powerful' Fanny Blake, Daily MailA woman on the edge of the sea finds a girl on the edge of life. On the flooded coast of Cornwall, Ia Pendilly ekes out a fierce life in a childless marriage, as rough and stubborn as the sea. When a strange young girl washes up on the beach, Ia's rescue is only the beginning of a dangerous journey ­- one that will take them downriver, into the fringes of a collapsing society and for Ia, towards something she hopes might be love.A vision of the near-future and an odyssey of motherhood, All Rivers Run Free is a true original from a powerful new voice..