While so far, this column has been used as a space to spotlight and celebrate new books by Northern women, I’m excited to take a slightly different approach in the year ahead. Platforming fresh voices remains an integral part of these reviews, but I’m also interested in sharing some iconic books written over the last century that I think are essential to the Northern literary canon.
This month’s pick marks the first of those: Pat Barker’sBlow Your House Down. Best known for her First World War trilogy, the third instalment of which won the Booker Prize, and more recently her feminist takes on ancient tales, I find this book often slides under the radar. I’ve pushed this into many hands since reading it, and every one of those people loved it, so I decided it was time to give this book its rightful spot in the NRTH LASS library.
Blow Your House Down was published in 1984 and follows the lives of a group of sex workers living in the North of England. Loosely based on the Yorkshire Ripper murders, the story is driven by a killer who roams the streets and targets vulnerable women. Despite the risk of death now associated with their jobs, they have children to feed and rent to pay – life must carry on. Like most sensationalised serial killer sagas, documentation of Peter Sutcliffe’s crimes often focuses on the man himself and the brutality of his murders. While fictional, Barker’s narrative places priority on the victims of such crimes and restores agency to the women impacted by the violence inflicted.
The working-class women in Pat Barker’s books are powerful, tender and complex, and Blow Your House Down is no different. Her intensive use of dialogue captures this brilliantly, crafting conscious and believable conversations between the characters. She incorporates a distinctive Northern dialect without patronisation and creates women worth falling in love with on the page. Written in the midst of Second Wave Feminism, Barker’s novel speaks strongly to the idea that sex work is work, and women who partake in such activity should be viewed no less than any other. During the Ripper investigation, prostitution was vilified by police and the media, and Sutcliffe’s victims were blamed in part for their own death. Blow Your House Down represents the multiplicitous perspectives of women and exposes the bigotry of this narrative.
Despite the grim circumstances faced by the women in this novel, the fierceness of their friendship is undeniable. They are comrades in arms, there for each other at every turn and brought together to fight against a common enemy. The women understand the danger posed to them by a patriarchal society and go to extreme lengths to ensure each other’s survival. This is demonstrated when another woman is savagely murdered by the killer, and her lover embarks on a mission to avenge her death – whatever it takes. The characters in this book fear the worst, but in friendship, they become more powerful than ever.
Above all, Blow Your House Down is a deeply honest representation of what it is to be a woman in a society rife with violent men. It highlights how minority groups are exposed to further risk, how working-class women suffer at the hands of men and how sex workers are blamed when men act out. The impact of this book is immense, and despite being written in the 80s, its social commentary remains more relevant than ever.
If you’re a fan of literary crime narratives with a strong message at their core, you will adore this touching and nerve-wrenching novel. Buy it here to support the indie bookshop community.
Beth Barker is a writer and blogger from Blackpool, and co-host of Up North Books, a podcast celebrating books and writers from the North of England.
Beth wanted to contribute a monthly review to NRTH LASS in order to shine a light on Northern women writing great books. The North is very much underrepresented in publishing and she hopes a monthly review throughout 2021 will showcase the talent Northern women have to offer.
For more book reviews and insights on publishing in the North, follow Beth on Instagram and Twitter.
2021 was an incredible year of publishing for women. From the Northern writers making their mark on the Women’s Prize Futures Award to the authors dominating 2021’s Portico Prize Shortlist, there’s no doubting the talent that continues to emerge from our region.
Creating a list like this isn’t always the easiest task. While Northern women are still drastically underrepresented in literary publishing, narrowing our selection down to such a small number this time was the most challenging part.
We’ll continue to share the latest publications throughout the coming months, but for now, here are 10 books by northern women to read in 2022.
From the author of prize-winning Saltwater comes Milk Teeth, one of our most anticipated books of 2022. A story about love, identity and sensuality, Andrews’ next novel feels like the natural progression from her debut. Centred around a young woman from the North of England, Milk Teeth is set to be another powerful tale about taking up space, navigating the world and the people we meet along the way.
If you’re into literary biographies, cultish creativity and the world of alternative music, you’re going to love Ten Thousand Apologies. Co-written by singer Lias Saoudi and the acclaimed Yorkshire-based author Adelle Stripe, the book offers an in-depth exploration of the UK’s most notorious cult band – Fat White Family. Promising lucidity, humour and a definitive account of the era, this seems to be a must-read for music enthusiasts and culture fiends alike.
For avid non-fiction readers comes a disruptive, powerful and influential read from Bradford-born writer Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan: Tangled in Terror. In a bid to unpack the intrinsic narratives of Islamophobia from our history, society and daily lives, the book shows that until the most marginalised Muslims are safe, nobody is safe. If you’re passionate about current affairs, political meditations and looking past the surface level story, this is definitely one for your reading list.
January marks the publication of the long-anticipated debut from writer Lauren Brown. Hands, a memoir that offers ‘an anxious mind unpicked’, explores a whole host of themes alongside a central desire to uncover the roots of compulsive skin-picking. In the process, the book’s weaving narratives take readers on a journey through a young woman’s life, presenting joy, healing and a love song to the North.
Fitzcarraldo Editions are constantly serving up fresh and thought-provoking literature for their readership to enjoy, and 2022 is no different. York-based Daisy Hildyard’s Emergencyarrives in April, a novel about the dissolving boundaries between all life on earth. Stuck at home alone under lockdown, a woman recounts her 1990s childhood in rural Yorkshire. Dubbed as a reinvention of the pastoral novel for the climate change era, this one is undoubtedly topping our TBRs.
When Danielle Jawando’s powerful And the Stars Were Burning Brightly was published in 2020, it took the YA book world by storm. This year marks the arrival of her next novel, a powerful coming-of-age story about chance encounters, injustice and how the choices we make can completely change our future. When Our Worlds Collided explores the deep-rooted prejudice that exists within the police, media and our society today.
From the prize-winning author of the inimitable Treats and Supper Club comes The Odyssey, a book that promises a satire of modern life. Lara Williams’ latest novel follows Ingrid, a luxury cruise ship worker who is selected for the employee mentorship scheme that pushes her further than she thought possible. Exploring themes of class, consumer capitalism and unexpected voyages, this book is certainly set to cause a stir this spring.
Lovers of crime, take note: Manchester-based Stephanie Sowden’s debut is on its way. Set in modern America, this suspenseful story centres on Reeta Doe, who wakes up in hospital to be told she is responsible for the brutal murder of two women. She cannot answer the FBI’s questions – her only hope is Carol, a journalist who must follow the trail of devastation Reeta left in her wake. If you can’t get enough of a thriller, After Everything You Did is definitely one for the list.
Pragya Agarwal’s non-fiction work is some of the best there is, especially if you appreciate well-researched, fact-driven mediations alongside personal reflections. After the success of (M)otherhood: On the Choices of Being a Woman in 2021, this year offers Hysterical: The Gendered Nature of Emotions. Casting her astute gaze to another angle of feminist thought, the behavioural scientist sets out to chart how emotions really came to be so gendered.
After the storm of a debut that was Ariadne comes Jennifer Saint’s next mythological rewriting, this time bringing the tragic heroine Elektra to life. While focusing on the origins of the Trojan War and the dreadful curse blighting the House of Atreus, Saint is set to take readers on another female-dominated Greek adventure. If you enjoy the likes of Madeleine Millar, Pat Barker and Natalie Haynes, you’ll want to add this one to your 2022 stack.
Beth Barker is a writer and blogger from Blackpool, now working in Manchester. She also co-hosts Up North Books, a podcast celebrating books and writers from the North of England.
Beth wanted to contribute a monthly review to NRTH LASS in order to shine a light on Northern women writing great books. The North is very much underrepresented in publishing and she hopes a monthly review throughout 2021 will showcase the talent Northern women have to offer.
For more book reviews and insights on publishing in the North, follow Beth on Instagram and Twitter.
Early March marked the exciting release of a new anthology, packed to the brim with writing from an exceptional lineup of new northern voices. The collection is edited by S.J Bradley, author of Brick Mother and Guest, both published by Dead Ink, and Anna Chilvers, author of East Coast Road, Tainted Love and Falling Through Clouds, novels published by Bluemoose Books.
Featuring 15 stories in total, the anthology celebrates work from 12 new Northern voices who have graduated from the Northern Short Story Festival Academy programme. It also includes 3 exclusive stories from editor Anna Chilvers, Litro Fiction editor Barney Walsh and Richard Smyth, author and literary critic.
Initiatives such as this one are so important to increasing regional diversity in publishing, shining a spotlight on new potential for the industry. We’re seeing more and more of a focus on Northern writing and regional voices breaking through the London-centric noise, particularly with incredibly insightful work from women.
In her foreword to the anthology, Chilvers reflects on the programme:
‘The discussions revolved around how far the form could be bent, stretched and subverted. The writing was exciting and brave… There was an atmosphere of playfulness, a freedom to try out new and innovative ideas.’
These traits can be read as distinctly northern; the seeking of innovation and subversion of the ways we see and write about the world are strongly present throughout the series of stories in the anthology.
In Haleemah Alaydi’sA Very Private Confession, she intelligently explores human desire and intimacy, both up close and at a distance. Alaydi’s narrator is obsessed with the couple next door and becomes entangled in their lives from the other side of the wall. She finds comfort in their intimate moments but the more she has to hide it, the more her own relationship with her partner Gabriel begins to suffer. This story was excellently written, structured with intention and features a twist to rival any bestselling crime novel.
The potential for honesty and vulnerability to be explored through short fiction is certainly a defining feature of the stories in This New North. Another piece that stands out is Jennifer Isherwood’s Artefacts. Capturing the intense feelings we experience in the most mundane of moments, Isherwood crafts a story that is both tender and thought-provoking.
Brian is faced with a letter that brings his security into question — his house has been built on a mineshaft and could collapse at any moment. Through this hook, the reader is encouraged to
think about home and heritage; at one point the author invokes historical locations on the northern landscape that cleverly connect the protagonist with his past. Through outstanding writing and sharp reflections, Isherwood’s story is certainly a memorable one.
Having explored the whole collection, it can be concluded that This New North is an impressive anthology of stories which carefully curates a wide selection of themes and experiences. It’s fresh, artistic and brilliantly captures the diversity of stories and talent in the North. Looking ahead, it will be exciting to see how these voices progress and how projects such as this one will inspire even more northern writers to emerge into the world. This New North is published by Valley Press, based in Yorkshire. You can purchase a copy here.
Words: Beth Barker
Beth Barker is a writer and blogger from Blackpool, now working in Manchester. She also co-hosts Up North Books, a podcast celebrating books and writers from the North of England.
Beth wanted to contribute a monthly review to NRTH LASS in order to shine a light on Northern women writing great books. The North is very much underrepresented in publishing and she hopes a monthly review throughout 2021 will showcase the talent Northern women have to offer.
For more book reviews and insights on publishing in the North, follow Beth on Instagram and Twitter.
Heather Howard-Thompson is a Cognitive Behaviorioural Pyschotherapist and Director of Yorkshire Psychotherapy Limited, living in sunny Yorkshire.
What a year this has been! We’re all trying to juggle the normal life struggles with the added pressures of working from home, financial pressures, isolation, home schooling and continuing uncertainty. These all add up to overthinking, anxiety, stress, overwhelm and ultimately can make us pretty miserable. While there’s some light at the end of the tunnel, it can help to learn techniques to manage how you’re feeling until life can start to get back to some sense of normality. That’s where mindfulness can help. You might have heard of it; it’s been a bit of a buzzword for the last few years.
So, what is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is awareness, cultivated by paying attention in a sustained and particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgementally (Kabot-Zinn, 2012). It is a trainable skill of being more present and aware of our thoughts and feelings so that we are better able to manage them. Mindfulness is often taught to children and adults as part of treatment for common mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. Mindfulness can dramatically reduce pain and the emotional reaction to it. Clinical trials show that mindfulness improves mood and quality of life in chronic pain conditions.
Research in Neuroscience has discovered that the brain can change its structure and activity. It is called Neuroplasticity. Kabot-Zinn* found that people who regularly practiced mindfulness showed more left-sided brain activity than right in important areas concerning emotional regulation. This suggests an increased ability to deal with situations in a more positive and balanced way. You might be thinking, sounds great, but I haven’t got time for it. The great thing about mindfulness is that you can integrate into your day-to-day activities!
5 Top tips for Informal Mindfulness Practices
1. Mindfulness in your normal routine
Pick an activity that constitutes part of your daily routine, such as brushing your teeth, shaving, making the bed, or taking a shower. When you do it, totally focus attention on what you’re doing: how your body feels, what you can taste, touch, smell, what you can see, hear, and so on, use your senses. Notice what’s happening with an attitude of curiosity.
For example, when you’re in the shower, notice the sounds of the water, notice the temperature of the water, and the feel of it in your hair, and on your body. Notice the smell of the soap and shampoo, and the feel of them against your skin. Notice the sight of the water on the walls or shower curtain, the water dripping down your body and the steam rising upward. Notice the movements of your arms as you wash. When thoughts arise, acknowledge them, and let them come and go like clouds passing in the sky. As soon as you realise that your mind has wandered, gently acknowledge it, note what the thought was that distracted you, and bring your attention back to the shower.
2. Mindfulness of domestic chores
Pick an activity such as ironing clothes, washing up, dusting—something mundane that you have to do (what I call boring jobs!) – and do it mindfully. For example, when ironing clothes, notice the colour and shape of the clothes, the sound of the steam, the creak of the ironing board, the faint sound of the iron moving over the material. Notice the grip of your hand on the iron, and the movement of your arm and your shoulder.
If boredom or frustration arises, simply acknowledge it, and bring your attention back to the task at hand. When thoughts arise, acknowledge them, let them be, and bring your attention back to what you’re doing.
3. Mindfulness of pleasant activities
Pick an activity you enjoy such as cuddling with a loved one, stroking the cat, playing with the dog, walking in the park, listening to music, gardening, taking a bath, and so on.
Do this activity mindfully: engage in it fully, using all five of your senses, and savour every moment. If and when your attention wanders, as soon as you realise it, note what distracted you, and re-engage in whatever you’re doing.
4. Mindful walking
When you’re out on a walk, take time to pay attention to the feeling of your feet on the floor, the sensation of your arms as they swing back and forwards. Notice the temperature, what you can see, hear, how your body feels. Again, if your mind wanders (which it will!) try and bring it back to noticing while you walk, without judging yourself.
5. Mindful eating (my favourite!)
We often eat mindlessly, without paying much attention. Try eating a meal mindfully. Eat slowly, savouring every mouthful. Notice the smells, the sensation of your mouth watering at the thought of food, your stomach rumbling. Chew each mouthful slowly and purposefully and you’ll see how much more flavourful your food tastes!
I hope you find the exercises helpful, remember to keep practicing, they get easier the more you try.
You can follow me on Facebook where I have quite a few mindfulness exercise videos and on Instagram @yorkshirepsychotherapy. On our website we have some helpful blog posts about managing through the current pandemic and more information about the services we offer.
We have a great team of experienced mental health professionals who offer a range of evidence-based therapies for mental health issues. All our therapies can be accessed via online platforms (Zoom, Facetime, Skype, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp) and you don’t have to live in Yorkshire to access us!
*Kabut-Zinn J (2013) Full Catastrophe Living: How to cope with stress, pain and illness using mindfulness meditation. Piatkus
Not many of us expected a global pandemic and even fewer foresaw the impact it would have on hard-won gains of working women. But as the nation pivots to adapt to the new economic landscape, one business hero is clear on how it should look.
“Facing the floods is one thing; you get on with it and you know what measures you have in place to deal with it. You get through it. But this situation is just something else. I have no idea.” Alison Bartram, 57, owner of Hebden Bridge’s Heart Gallery is musing on the impact of COVID-19 and the West Yorkshire town’s chances of survival as a shopping destination. Catastrophic floods in 2015 temporarily closed many local businesses – Alison, herself, had to shut down for six months to deal with five feet of waste water in her gallery that sells artisan jewellery, ceramics and contemporary art – but as yet, the legacy of this year’s nationwide lockdown is still to be revealed.
Alison Bartram, Heart Gallery
And no one, it seems, can give a definite answer on how it will all play out. But current forecasts don’t make for comforting reading – particularly for women. According to research from The Institute for Fiscal Studies and the UCL Institute of Education, nearly 50% of mothers are more likely to have lost their jobs, quit or been furloughed. There are warning cries that we are heading back to the 1950s, such is the expectation that women will pick up the bulk of the care and domestic work. And when the furlough scheme ends and the inevitable widespread redundancies come, it will be women – the ones who have taken the back seat, who have been absent from the Zoom calls in order to pick up the slack of home schooling, cleaning and feeding – who will find themselves facing the workplace guillotine.
Not only that, hospitality and retail – sectors which both employ a disproportionate number of females – are the two industries that have been hardest hit. A recent report by global business consultancy McKinsey has stated that while grocery and online retail has, not surprisingly, increased during lockdown, this increased expenditure has not managed to outweigh the number of closures in non-food retail – clothes shops, homeware, or galleries, like Alison’s. Accommodation and catering are next in the firing line, services vulnerable because it’s difficult to see how they can be performed remotely or with strict social distancing in place.
Rethinking the future
Anyone skimming such reports would be forgiven for thinking the worst. But unprecedented times can give way to unprecedented thinking and one figure who has been a vocal advocate of a fresh approach to business is Kate Hardcastle MBE, known also as television’s Customer Whisperer. Kate, 43, founded business consultancy Insight With Passion (IWP) in 2009 after a stellar career in marketing, which saw her turn around the fortunes of bed manufacturer Silentnight during her time as its head of marketing (“I developed a leading international online retail business in 2004, so still very early in that respect, and that gave me a lot of knowledge about how to help businesses transform,” she explains), train in strategic alliances at global business school INSEAD and win a seat at the boardroom table by the age of 30.
Her time working across Asia in global sourcing – sometimes being the first Caucasian woman many of the factories had seen – and learning both about international business, but also more functional skills such as manufacturing techniques, has meant that she can overlay the operational with the commercial and find common ground. It has proved to be an extremely fruitful mix. “What’s unique about IWP is that I can use my experience in operations, international trade and buying, for instance, and then apply them with the customer-facing side so we find a bridge,” Kate explains.
Kate Hardcastle MBE, Insight with Passion
IWP is, in essence, a transformation business that works with clients across the globe to restructure their current set-up. By reimagining the relationship with the customer (and by walking the shop or factory floor in addition to driving strategic changes), Kate and her team pride themselves on getting to know each organisation they work with and its supply chain and customers, finding creative, workable, and ultimately successful, solutions.
Insight with Passion also looks to transform businesses by also using Kate’s training in strategic alliance and partnerships – often bringing together complementing businesses with similar target audiences to help ideas and projects thrive. “The idea of working together collaboratively has always been our direction when many others would do the opposite,” she says. “We do things differently and it works.”
The facts support this statement. Kate has won countless awards and accolades (including Yorkshire Business Woman of the Year in 2018, the same year she was honoured by the Queen for her services to business) and IWP’s in-built corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, Access For All, which requires her employees to give 20% of their working hours to start-ups and charities free of charge, is also making waves.
Access For All means that micro-businesses and not-for-profits – often founded by women – get exposed to expertise allowing them to grow and develop, which might otherwise cost them thousands – perhaps best framed as a B2B mentoring scheme. We hear a lot about sending the ladder back down and anyone having heard Kate’s keynote speeches or seen her talk knows she’s a champion for women in business. Access For All is her walking the walk, not just paying it lip service.
Of course, it’s notoriously hard to measure the monetary value of guidance and mentorship but Savannah Roqaa, 24, knows first-hand how useful a guiding hand can be. The Leeds-based make-up artist and part-time nanny found herself stripped of half her revenue stream as social distancing became paramount and to fill the time, began baking, leaving brownies or the ubiquitous lockdown favourite, banana bread, on her friends’ doorsteps.
What happened next takes some believing, but to cut a long story short, Savannah, with the help of various friends’ kitchens, fortuitous sharing on some Leeds United players’ Instagram accounts, and all-night cake-making sessions, has found herself sole founder of a highly successful baking business – The Savvy Baker – all within two months. But it hasn’t been without pitfalls.
Savannah Roqaa, The Savvy Baker
“Leeds Council called me and asked if I’d registered the business at Companies House. And I was like, ‘Companies what?’” recalls Savannah. “Tax. Packaging. Premises. I’ve literally no idea.” So when Sara Hassan, 33, Kate’s protege messaged Savannah offering help to start mapping out a long-term business strategy, it couldn’t have been more welcome. “I was just bobbing along so when Sara came out of nowhere… no one has ever done that before, just offered help free of charge. Not unless there’s been an underlying agenda. And it’s so welcome because I think you can have a brilliant idea and a successful business, but make one mistake and it can quickly go south.”
Similarly, Kate – a proud Yorkshire woman who lives outside Wakefield with her husband and three children – has previously given an enormous amount of her time to Welcome to Yorkshire, the county’s regional tourist board. Working with her during that time was Laura Kirk, 34, former Head of Membership, whose job it was to put together free events and workshops for her members to add value to their annual subscription fee. Kate’s sessions focusing on the customer experience – given free of charge as part of Access For All and delivered the sole intent of helping businesses improve their customer offer – were attended by marketing managers of Yorkshire’s big attractions along with proprietors of the smallest seaside B&Bs.
“When Kate spoke you could see people ferociously making notes and action points,” says Laura. “A lot of the businesses simply wouldn’t have had access to that sort of support otherwise – free help for which they’d normally have to pay hundreds of pounds. And Kate broke it down into achievable points, so attendees could go away and implement a couple of changes, then perhaps a couple more. It was practical and inspirational. Kate’s guidance was invaluable.”
Access For All
Corporate social responsibility is often regarded as something only the largest of organisations can accommodate and even then, the amount of time given over to socially conscious programmes is often minuscule compared to IWP’s remarkable pledge of 20%. It’s common to find that employees are given three days a year to volunteer or that a certain amount of monthly revenue goes to a local charity.
Laura Kirk
“For micro-businesses and start-ups, there really is a need for pro-bono help,” explains Laura, who has seen first-hand how tourism and hospitality ventures can thrive with the right advice. “I’m not sure how all businesses would be able to afford the 20% that Kate has built into her Access For All model but she makes it work.”
Kate and her team have spent a lot of their Access For All quota in places like Hebden Bridge, assisting small independents find their feet again after the floods. “I’ve definitely followed Kate’s mantra and implemented things that she’s said in the past,” says Alison. “She talks about passion a lot and I fully believe that the businesses that survive are the ones where the owners are passionate about what they do. She’s always had that passion and always been really positive.”
Kate, again, has shown she’s ahead of the curve here because for a long time, CSR was merely considered a nicely polished trophy on the corporate mantlepiece. However, increasing amounts of research are pointing towards it being a vital component of customer trust and relationship-building, and equally a surefire way of attracting young, ambitious talent. In 2011, a survey by Deloitte found that 70% of millennials listed their company’s commitment to the community as an influence on their decision to work there. For Sara Hassan and Laura Kirk, and their peer group, giving something back to the communities in which they live and work is as important a part of their job as is their monthly wage.
And let’s not forget that despite the hardships of the last few months, there has been a renewed and welcome onus of the power of community; shopping locally or just checking in on neighbours, offering services and sharing goods, be it a bag of self-raising flour or a dozen hard-to-come-by eggs. And while many are keen to cherish and nurture this focus on community action, it remains to be seen if it can transcend the everyday and move into business, with organisations incorporating the community in their plans, collaborating and partnering with like-minded ventures to share skills and resources.
Sara Hassan + Kate Hardcastle MBE
Certainly, Alison, who as well as running the gallery in Hebden Bridge is chair of the Hebden Bridge Business Committee, is adamant that everyone contributing to improving the town freely and willingly and therefore encouraging a greater trade, is the only way small independents – and therefore high streets – rejuvenate after COVID.
“We’ve got to work together to survive. By that I mean not just the business community but also the community in general,” she explains. “In the past, businesses were happy in their own bubble but now our survival – and the survival of the town – depends on us collaborating and partnering up. And people staying loyal to local, as they have in lockdown.”
And it’s this approach – the strategic alliance approach that Kate was advocating 15 years ago, the sharing of skills and data and budget – that might just prove the most successful and sustainable way out of the COVID slump. And hopefully her attitude to giving back, and helping the little businesses survive and thrive, will spread too. As Sara so succinctly says: “Working alongside Kate to deliver great work and good deeds is really inspiring. And she proves on a daily basis that success always leaves room for kindness.”
Thought Bubble is the largest comic art festival in the UK, taking place across Yorkshire and based for the first time this year in Harrogate convention centre from 4th – 10th November 2019.
This year Thought Bubble will host artists whose work is known and loved all over the world, with guests and exhibitors attending representing Marvel, DC, Black Horse, Image, The Walking Dead, Rick & Morty, Star Wars, Nickelodeon, Netflix, The Guardian, New York Times, and countless more.
Leeds-born and based Lisa Wood founded Thought Bubble to bring artists together, with the festival now moving into its 13th year, celebrating all of Yorkshire with their move to the new North Yorkshire based site. As well as founding Thought Bubble, Lisa is an internationally acclaimed comic book artist, currently working on Scarlet Witch for Marvel and All Star Batman for DC. She also recently received the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award from San Diego Comic Con for her community work with Thought Bubble – all achieved from her rural Yorkshire home.
Here Lisa tells us of her start in the industry, her motivation for a far-reaching festival, and the future of Thought Bubble.
How did you get your start in the comic art industry?
I’ve always loved art. As a child I used to go to Batley market with my Dad to pick up my weekly comics which I loved getting! That’s definitely where my love of comics came from.
After that I went to Bradford university and studied Art & Design there. I dabbled in some freelance illustration after that, but because it’s so difficult to start a career in freelance illustration, and art generally, I was working other jobs around that time.
I trained as a 35mm projectionist at an art house cinema, alongside that I was working part time in several comic shops. One of those comic shops was Travelling Man, it was there that I decided I wanted to set up Thought Bubble – that was back in 2007.
The festival is in its 13th year now and it’s just huge! It’s amazing to see it grow and grow each year. Alongside all of that, I started drawing comic books about eight years ago which has become my main profession.
Photo credit: Howie Hill
What was the first comic art project you worked on and what has shaped your style since?
I kind of did a few different ones all at the same time… the first one I ever did was during Thought Bubble: through the festival we set up an anthology and collected stories from our guests, selling the anthologies and donating the profits to the children’s charity, Barnardo’s. I did a short comic book in that with film director Stuart Gordon who is probably most well-known for the film, The Animator. That was published by Image Comics and the first comics work I did.
Very quickly after that I did the cover for Elephant Men as well as about five pages of interiors for Elephant Men #54. That was around the time I set up social media pages and started sharing my work on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter etc. I was posting illustrations up on there and ended up getting work from people like DC from that. That was my first big bit of comics work, working on DC’s Vertigo.
Getting started in Leeds, did you ever find that you had difficulty reaching out to the comic art community?
Not really, while I was working at Travelling Man I was surrounded by a lot of people in the comics industry, a lot of writers and artists. I think we’re quite lucky in the North of England to have a lot of people working for the big American publishers, that’s made it quite easy to speak to people, to find friends, and get them involved.
I think the only drawback we’ve had regionally has been getting publicity for the shows. We’ve found a lot of the press is very London-centric and so they don’t tend to cover things in the North so much. In terms of getting the actual comics industry involved though, that’s been no problem, from the beginning we’ve had so much support!
Photo credit: Howie Hill
What was your main motivation for the creation of Thought Bubble and how has that motivation been realised over the years?
When I set up Thought Bubble 13 years ago, the main thing I wanted to do was to use the medium of comic books as a learning tool, to help young people and adults with literacy issues. I wanted to put on free workshops and create a stronger support network for them.
I struggled with dyslexia growing up and left school unable to read or write properly. My experience of education was quite bad in that regard. The way I really learnt to read and write was through comic books and it showed me what a powerful medium it is and the impact it can have on young people with these problems.
I love to read now but I don’t feel like I’d be able to do that if I didn’t have those comics at the beginning. I really feel comics are a medium in their own right, an incredible medium for adults or anyone to read now. That’s why I set up Thought Bubble, it was that community aspect. That’s also something we’ve been able to grow with support from The Arts Council, The Charlie Adlard Foundation and comiXology.
How will the move from Leeds to Harrogate make the convention more accessible for a wider Yorkshire audience?
It opens up opportunities to more people in rural areas around North Yorkshire, it’s much easier to get to for those people while remaining very easy to get to for people in say Leeds (where we’re still based).
Photo credit: Kendall Whitehouse
The projects you have developed through Thought Bubble have been far-reaching and so inclusive of diverse groups and backgrounds. How would you like to continue supporting people through the festival?
We just want to continue doing what we’ve always done! We’ve put together some more ambitious funding applications to various organisations to help further our outreach work and constantly getting in touch with new organisations and working alongside existing partners. Those existing partners include some really valuable organisations like Leeds Autism services, asylum seekers & refugees organisation and Leeds LGBT organisations.
We work very hard each year to bring as diverse a group of guests as we can, that’s something we’re going to be working very hard on in the next few years.
Which comic character would you say you share the most traits with?
Uhhhhh! That’s a really hard question… Not a comic book character, but one I feel could be adapted very easily is Napoleon Dynamite. I feel more similar to him than any other fictional character I know…
For more information, including a full line-up and to buy tickets, see the Thought Bubble website.
We’re sure there are many of you out there who dream of starting your own business, whether you aspire to be your own boss, or be a trailblazer in your field, we know that making the jump can sometimes be the hardest part about realising our dreams. With this in mind, we wanted to introduce you to the women behind Buttercrumble. Not only are they one another’s cheerleader, but they are also big supporters of female collaboration and empowerment, who want to inspire strong women so that they too can run their own teams and partnerships.
With the Beast From the East hopefully behind us (fingers and toes crossed), Faye Chambers gives us a reason to embrace Spring and venture out to the West Yorkshire town of Halifax. Currently in the midst of a cultural revolution, the Calderdale hot spot is reinforcing that it’s not so grim up North!
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