I was born and raised in a council house by the sea on the south coast of Cornwall and have always taken inspiration from my homeland.
Natasha Carthew
I left school at 15 with next to no qualifications and instead of higher education; I embarked on a journey of low paid jobs whilst I worked on my writing career. From an early age I wrote Poetry, Plays and Song Lyrics and had early successes in top UK and US Poetry magazines which led to the publication of two poetry books, before my big break with Bloomsbury.
I consider myself a Country writer; rural issues, the environment and nature are always at the forefront of my work and I like to tell stories in a lyrical, timeless way. I spend most of my time outside, either hiking or writing in my cabin that I built out of scrap wood. I live in a cottage in the Cornish countryside with my girlfriend and when I am not writing in my cabin, I can be found climbing the cliff-tops and moors of Cornwall.
I’m a campaigner for Working Class Writers and it’s a subject really close to my heart. When I was growing up in the eighties I was a fierce reader, but I was often left feeling unfulfilled when I finished reading a book, where were the stories that featured kids that like me who lived in a council house with a single parent? I like to think about my own background when writing; no money, no transport, no visible prospects and I do this in order to inspire others to believe we can change our own narrative. As an adult I still find it hard to find Working Class characters in fiction that are truly typical of my childhood or the lower socio-economic world that children and teens have to negotiate in Britain today. Class is still a forgotten corner of diversity and through writing and campaigning, I want to change that. I also believe the construction of a Working Class identity in fiction is paramount for all readers no matter their background, because diverseness in literature fosters knowledge and understanding of others outside our own sphere of experience.
I have written all my books outside, whether Poetry, Short Stories, Young Adult or Adult Literary Fiction. As a writer I’m drawn to the outside countryside around me out of necessity. It’s a way to clear my head and immerse myself fully with the world that my characters inhabit. Daily I write in a three sided cabin I built out of scrap in my back garden, it overlooks a few farms and in the distance I can see my beloved Bodmin Moor. I head out for a hike every day in the neighbouring fields and woods and bring a small notebook and pencil with me for any lightning bolt moments.
This year I was lucky enough to have both my new books published in paperback, which has led to a UK wide tour called the Writing the Wild Tour where I explore themes and issues in my work, as well as running Wild Writing Workshops. All Rivers Run Free my first Literary Adult Fiction is published by Quercus and Only The Ocean is my third Young Adult book for Bloomsbury.
One of the biggest things that drives me to write is that fiction is the best way to deal with some of the social and environmental issues of our times and for me no more so than in the country. Issues that affect us rurally include social isolation, deprivation, poverty and all social injustices drive me to write daily. The slow destruction of nature and the environment is also themes that are at the heart of my work.
I run Wild Writing Workshops around the Country. We spend our lives looking at the world through screens; TV’s, computers, windows in houses and cars and buses and through these screens it’s like we are bystanders, watching the world go by. Writing outside makes us better writers and there are two reasons for that, the first reason is FREEDOM. There are no electronic distractions no other voices except the murmur of strangers to help you escape to whichever world you want. Writing outside also helps to clear the head and helps you focus. The second reason for writing outside is INSPIRATION. You can be inspired by your surroundings no matter where you are and a city is as wild as a jungle, crammed full of interesting animals and locations that can inspire and lead to greater stories, what you see is only the beginning. A million different things can stimulate your senses, evoke memories and ultimately free your wild mind.
To describe the world I write about I have coined the term Justopia; in a nutshell Justopia means something bad has just happened or is about to happen, and by making the events seem imminent I create a sense of urgency about the social/environmental crisis that we find ourselves in. I believe it’s my job as a writer to pull the reader from apathy and carry them toward a greater understanding of where we are and what we need to do to change.
My favourite writers are Cormac Mccarthy, Dorothy Allison, John Steinbeck, Ron Rash and Daniel Woodrell – I’m a massive GritLit fan!
BIOGRAPHY
Natasha Carthew is an award winning Working Class writer from Cornwall. She has written two books of poetry, as well as three novels for young adults; Winter Damage, The Light That Gets Lost and Only the Ocean, all for Bloomsbury. Her latest literary fiction for adults, All Rivers Run Free, has just published in Paperback with Riverrun/Quercus. She is the judge for the 2019 Writers & Artists Prize for Working Class Writers and has written on the subject for several national publications. She’s currently touring the UK with her WRITING THE WILD TOUR where she discusses Wild Writing and Working Class themes/issues in Literature. Natasha is represented by Jane Finigan at Lutyens & Rubinstein.