An unexpected honour

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I am immensely grateful to Lancaster University for awarding me an honorary doctorate DLitt in recognition of my fiction ‘on key topics including near-future environmental collapse and ectogenesis.’ 

Many thanks to Dr Oliver Langmead for his oration at the conferral ceremony. I’m delighted he referred to my interviewer-in-residence role for the Arthur C Clarke Award and Ada Lovelace Day, and also highlighted that climate and climate catastrophe has been at the heart of my fiction (including Alston Moor coming soon!) 

Photographed here with Deputy Vice-Chancellor Prof Rebecca Lingwood and Dr Oliver Langmead. 

What an incredible honour. Heartfelt thanks to everyone involved. It was a joy to share the day with all the graduating students, and a pleasure to meet my fellow honorary graduand, renowned editor Bill Swainson, trustee of Lancaster LitFest. 

It may take a few days before I settle back into my work-in-progress!

Alston Moor: Cover Reveal

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I’m thrilled to reveal the stunning cover (and spine) art for my forthcoming novel, ALSTON MOOR, which will be published on 29 September 2026 by Goldsmiths Press/Gold SF. I’m immensely grateful to cover art designer Heather Ryerson and the Goldsmiths’ team.

To bring this novel to fruition I’ve immersed myself in the science of peatlands and the history of the North Pennines. The novel is shaped by moorland walks and my visits to restoration projects on remote peatbogs! It’s been both challenging and fun, and I can’t wait to see Alston Moor in print.

From the publisher:

In an epic novel set on the North Pennine moors, Elizabeth has abandoned avalanche science to restore desolate peatlands. She treks in the footsteps of Isabel who, five centuries earlier, herds her cattle to remote summering grounds.

Both are reeling from the overwhelming crises of their day. In 1548, Isabel and her father, together with the priest in this poorest of parishes, grapple with the chaos of the protestant reformation. Today, a grieving Elizabeth fights to save an invaluable ecosystem, one that is threatened by wilful fire-raising and arson.

The entwined stories are told through multiple voices creating a rich portrait of England’s most remote landscape. At its heart, this deeply moving novel interrogates how society confronts crisis whether through science, faith or superstition.

More updates as they come!

Early praise for Alston Moor, read on…