Rob Cowen

LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2025 AND A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK ‘A dazzlingly inventive work of literature’ Robert Macfarlane, author of The Old Ways 'A wonderful, epic braiding of history, geography and personal memoir' James Rebanks, author of English Pastoral _____________________________________________________________________ At the heart of this book is a highway. The A1; The Great North Road. A 400-mile multiplicity of ancient trackway, Roman road, pilgrim path, coach route and motorway that has run like a backbone through Britain for the last 2,000 years. In this genre-defying and profoundly personal book, Cowen follows this ghost road from beginning to end on a journey through history, place, people and time. Weaving his own histories and memories with the layered landscapes he moves through, this is the story of an age, of coming to terms with time past and time passing, and the roads that lead us to where we find ourselves. Written in kaleidoscopic prose, The North Road is an unforgettable exploration of Britain’s great highway. __________________________________________________________________________ 'This is an astonishing book in its scope and vitality. It’s one to relish and revisit.' The Telegraph 'A remarkable, post-Covid, post-Brexit state of the nation literary archaeology.' Financial Times 'Stunning and utterly unique. The North Road sits in a genre of one' Benjamin Myers, author of The Gallows Pole 'A dazzling, dogged, layered account of one road’s passage through place, time and an ordinary family’s history, The North Road truly is a trip' Melissa Harrison, author of All Among The Barley 'Thought-provoking and beautiful' Matt Gaw, author of Under The Stars 'A beautifully woven and mesmerising book' Tom Bullough, author of Sarn Helen 'Sweeping, sensitive and enduring' Tristan Gooley, author of How To Read A Tree

LONGLISTED FOR THE JAMES CROPPER WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2022 ___ Take a journey filled with everyday beauty and wonder. A year of looking, listening and noticing across four unique seasons and thirty-five beautifully illustrated poems. ‘Dazzling, moving... A book that will touch many, and be given often: here, take this, you must read this.’ Robert Macfarlane ‘A book about people, place and nature that’s impossible to put down.’ BBC Wildlife Magazine ___ The world changed in 2020. Gradually at first, then quickly and irreversibly, the patterns by which we once lived altered completely. Across home and town, allotment and moorland, The Heeding paints a picture of four unique seasons caught in the grip of history yet filled with moments of wonder close at hand. A sparrowhawk hunting in a back street; butterflies massing in a high-summer yard as death rates rise; the moon overhead with a loved one held tight – the everyday memories that shape a life and help us recall our own. The Heeding leads us on a journey that takes its markers and signs from nature and a world filled with fear but beauty and joy too. Collecting birds and animals, land and people together, it helps us look again, to heed: to be attentive to this world we share, to grieve what’s lost and together seek a better and brighter tomorrow. ____ SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOK ARE MY BAG READERS AWARDS 2021 ‘The Heeding isn’t a book. It’s a gateway into the place all of us have been looking for.’ Joanne Harris ‘A love letter to all that still remains for us to hold dear, to protect, to celebrate.’ Kerri ní Dochartaigh ‘I have clung to this book since it arrived, keeping it close, and the words have clung to my mind.’ Jackie Morris ‘Rob Cowen’s poems speak to us all, guiding us through the emotional journey the nation has gone through… Powerful, moving and brilliant.’ Stephen Moss ‘Visceral, achingly tender and with stunning illustrations by Nick Hayes.’ Dara Mcanulty ‘Luminously hopeful . . . The Heeding is an invitation to appreciate the gifts of the moment.’ Kathryn Aalto

LONGLISTED FOR THE JAMES CROPPER WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2022 ___ A year of looking, listening and noticing across four unique seasons and thirty-five beautifully illustrated poems. 'Dazzling, moving... A book that will touch many, and be given often: here, take this, you must read this.' ROBERT MACFARLANE 'So vivid... A call out to our elemental relationship with love and nature. Beautiful.' WILLEM DAFOE ___ The world changed in 2020. Gradually at first, then quickly and irreversibly, the patterns by which we once lived altered completely. The Heeding paints a picture of a year caught in the grip of history, yet filled with revelatory perspectives close at hand: a sparrowhawk hunting in a back street; the moon over a town with a loved-one's hand held tight; butterflies massing in a high-summer yard - the everyday wonders and memories that shape a life and help us recall our own. Across four seasons and thirty-five luminous poems and illustrations, Rob Cowen and Nick Hayes lead us on a journey that takes its markers and signs from nature and a world filled with fear and pain but beauty and wonder too. Collecting birds, animals, trees and people together, The Heeding is a profound meditation to a time no-one will forget. At its heart, this is a book that helps us look again, to heed: to be attentive to this world we share and this history we're living through, to be aware of how valuable and fragile we are, to grieve what's lost and to hope for a better and brighter tomorrow. ____ 'The Heeding speaks to us all, guiding us through the emotional journey the nation has gone through during the past year, with humour, pathos and forensically sharp portrayals of people and nature at a time like no other.' Stephen Moss, author of The Robin 'Poignant and exquisite' Lucy Jones, author of Losing Eden 'Vivid, beating, aching. The Heeding feels like both a eulogy and a defiant, wild challenge to go on. I loved it.' Josie George, author of A Still Life 'It is rare to find a writer that is able to tease apart the threads that make up the fragile fabric of our loves, hopes and despairs with such care and humility. An exceptionally good book for an exceptionally bad time.' Matt Gaw, author of Under the Stars

All too often, we think of nature as something distinct from ourselves, something to go and see, a place that's separate from the ordinary modern world in which we live and work. But if we take the time to look, we soon find that's not how nature works. Even in our parceled-out, paved-over urban environs, nature is all around us; it is in us. It is us. That's what Rob Cowen discovered after moving to a new home in northern England. After ten years in London he was suddenly adrift, searching for a sense of connection. He found himself drawn to a square-mile patch of waste ground at the edge of town. Scrappy, weed-filled, this heart-shaped tangle of land was the very definition of overlooked--a thoroughly in-between place that capitalism no longer had any use for, leaving nature to take its course. Wandering its meadows, woods, hedges, and fields, Cowen found it was also a magical, mysterious place, haunted and haunting, abandoned but wildly alive--and he fell in fascinated love. Common Ground is a true account of that place and Cowen's transformative journey through its layers and lives, but it's much more too. As the land's stories intertwine with events in his own life--and he learns he is to become a father for the first time--the divisions between human and nature begin to blur and shift. The place turns out to be a mirror, revealing what we are, what we're not and how those two things are ultimately inseparable. This is a book about discovering a new world, a forgotten world on the fringes of our daily lives, and the richness that comes from uncovering the stories and lives--animal and human--contained within. It is an unforgettable piece of nature writing, part of a brilliant tradition that stretches from Gilbert White to Robert Macfarlane and Helen Macdonald. "I am dreaming of the edge-land again," Cowen writes. Read Common Ground, and you, too, will be dreaming of the spaces in between, and what--including us--thrives there.

After moving from London to a new home in Yorkshire, and about to become a father for the first time, Rob Cowen finds himself in unfamiliar territory. Disoriented, he ventures out to a nearby edge-land: a pylon-slung tangle of wood, hedge, field, meadow and river that lies unclaimed and overlooked on the outskirts of town.

'Two of the UK's most exciting nature writers. A thoughtful adventure in learning simple skills that help connect people to nature.' GuardianSkimming Stones and Other Ways of Being in the Wild is a book of simple skills that can help us to interact with nature, achieve a deeper connection with it and even step inside another dimension.Rob Cowen and Leo Critchley teach us, for example, making and flying a kite, making an elder whistle, damming a stream and building a den - and at the same time teach us about life.Their techniques are intended to be not only of practical value but also techniques for meditation. They help us to live in the moment, recover ancient insights and rhythms and encourage nature to reveal to us her secrets and treasures.They write that '...there are forces deep in everyone's subconscious that find a pure expression in the simplest of activities. This book explains why we should be taking the time to do them. It is born out of a wish to share our passion for our landscape and the contemplative, reflective pleasures and joys that were well-known to our grandparents, but which are in danger of being lost and forgotten. They will help us get back to a place where we all belong'.Skimming Stones was awarded the Robert Deakin Grant from the Authors' Foundation, by the Society of Authors. 'Essential reading.'Daily Express'At its simplest their book gives advice on connecting with nature through twelve activities... but Skimming Stones delves deeper. Each section draws the reader lyrically into deeper philosophical waters... I was simply carried along by the authors' sense of awe, and their quiet belief that our lives can be enriched through a deeper connection with nature.' 4*BBC WildlifeSkimming stones teaches you how to get back to nature and:*Skim a stone*Find a fossil*Forage for food*Make a kite*Carve an elder whistle*Track an animal*Build a den*Light a fire*Build an igloo*Catch a fish*Dam a stream*Walk in the wild