Jenn Ashworth – författare

''Forget The Salt Path - this writer''s introspective journey provides genuine food for thought... Chastened but buoyant, she''s stimulating to be with, her book the best kind of walking companion'' Guardian

It''s Friday in the Leeke household, but this is no ordinary Friday and the Leekes are a little unusual: they are Lancastrian Mormons, and this evening their son Gary will return from 2 years as a missionary in Salt Lake City.His mother is planning a celebratory dinner - with difficulty, since she''s virtually housebound with an undiagnosed, embarrassing condition. What she doesn''t realise is that the rest of the family - her meek husband, disturbed oldest son, and teenage daughter - have other plans for the evening, each involving drastic and irrevocable action.As the narrative baton passes from one Leeke to the next, disaster inexorably looms. Except that nothing goes according to plan, and the outcome is as unexpected as it is shocking. Giving a fascinating insight into the Mormon way of life, this blackly funny tale of innocence betrayed shows the havoc religion can wreak.

''Dark, compelling, beautifully written'' Andrew Michael Hurley, author of The LoneyIn this eerie, atmospheric and mysterious tale, a woman returns to the house in Morecambe Bay where she grew up in the 1960s to find it falling apart, undermined by the roots of two huge sycamores. She is unaware that she has awoken the spirits of her parents, Jack and Nettie Clifford, who watch anxiously as their daughter Annette is overwhelmed by the state of the house and realise too late how far they neglected her as a child. As their memories come alive, the story unfolds of a crucial summer when Annette was 8 and Nettie became too ill to run their boarding house. The lodgers have to go - all except the newly arrived butcher''s apprentice, because he seems to have miraculous healing powers and is Jack and Nettie''s last, desperate hope. But is he who he says he is? Why do those he lays his hands on feel an erotic charge? And why does he despise his own gift? As everything comes to a head, so too does Annette''s story in the present. But this time, someone is looking out for her and comes to her rescue. Finally, the spirits of her parents can let go.

A present contains a monstrous secret.An uninvited guest haunts a Christmas party.A shadow slips across the floor by firelight.A festive entertainment ends in darkness and screams.Who knows what haunts the night at the dark point of the year? This collection of seasonal chillers looks beneath Christmas cheer to a world of ghosts and horrors, mixing terrifying modern fiction with classic stories by masters of the macabre. From Neil Gaiman and M. R. James to Muriel Spark and E. Nesbit, there are stories here to make the hardiest soul quail - so find a comfy chair, lock the door, ignore the cold breath on your neck and get ready to welcome in the real spirits of Christmas.

Original tales by remarkable writersHometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative non-fiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home. In these pages on Lancashire, you''ll find two unique tales. ''After the Funeral, the Crawl'' is an arresting portrait of a couple forced to confront a dark secret over the course of a pub crawl one night in Preston, by award-winning novelist Jenn Ashworth. ''JUDAS!'' is a vivid, coming-of-age story that traces the political and cultural history of Manchester, from its industrial past to its eventual separation from the county, by Benjamin Webster.

22 writers talk about their memorable excursions and the act of walking, and share their creative observationsIn these six series, taken from BBC Radio 3''s The Essay, an array of novelists, poets, journalists and biographers chart the varied and inspiring walks they have taken around Britain and elsewhere. Here are treks taken at daybreak and after dark; in winter and in spring; in the footsteps of the past; and - in the case of Robert Macfarlane - along the ridges of the South Downs.Dawnwalks and Night Walks find Nicholas Shakespeare, Nicola Barker, Kamila Shamsie, Ian Sansom, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Owen Sheers, Janice Galloway and John Walsh taking early morning and late-night strolls around locations ranging from their back garden and local cemetery to Manhattan, Paris, Tasmania and the Antarctic.Springwalks and Winterwalks feature Michele Roberts, Ross Raisin, John Walsh, Kirsty Gunn, Philip Hoare, Deborah Levy, Christopher Hope, Scarlett Thomas, Erica Wagner and Owen Sheers, as they sample the transforming qualities of spring and the wonders of winter. From Poland and the Languedoc to Hampstead Heath and the Yorkshire Wolds, they delight in the details of the landscape and reflect on what it means to them.Strange Strolls sees Jenn Ashworth, Michael Donkor, Stephanie Victoire, Nat Segnit and Sophie Coulombeau embarking on walks of entertaining eccentricity, revisiting favourite places including Wandsworth Bridge, the Blue Ridge mountains of Appalachia and Ibiza.And in A Five-Day Journey, Robert Macfarlane walks the length of the South Downs in monsoon rain and in sunshine, discovering its chalk trails and its ghosts. He ponders the relationship between paths and stories; explores the poet Edward Thomas'' love affair with tracks; considers the concept of the Aboriginal Australian songline; re-imagines the life of artist Eric Ravilious; and contemplates the sometimes eerie relationship between walking, collecting and creation.Intimate, evocative and immersive, these 30 uplifting programmes transport us to a wealth of wonderful places, and offer fascinating personal insight into the inner worlds of our walker-writers.Production creditsProduced by Duncan Minshull, Ciaran Bermingham and Tim DeeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on the following dates:DawnwalksNicholas Shakespeare 28 March 2016Nicola Barker 29 March 2016Kamila Shamsie 30 March 2016Ian Sansom 31 March 2016Lucy Hughes-Hallett 1 April 2016Night WalksNicholas Shakespeare 27 October 2008Owen Sheers 28 October 2008Janice Galloway 29 October 2008Kamila Shamsie 30 October 2008John Walsh 31 October 2008SpringwalksMichele Roberts in Poznan 31 March 2014Ross Raisin in the Yorkshire Wolds 1 April 2014John Walsh 2 April 2014Kirsty Gunn in Sutherland 3 April 2014Philip Hoare in Sholing 4 April 2014WinterwalksDeborah Levy on Hampstead Heath 18 February 2013Christopher Hope in Languedoc 19 February 2013Scarlett Thomas 20 February 2013Erica Wagner 21 February 2013Owen Sheers in Poland 22 February 2013Strange StrollsJenn Ashworth - The Abiding Mental Riches of Preston 10 February 2020Michael Donkor - On Westminster Bridge 11 February 2020Stephanie Victoire - Dark Hollow Falls 12 February 2020Nat Segnit - The Other Ibiza 13 February 2020Sophie Coulombeau - Walking Matilda 14 February 2020A Five-Day JourneyMarking 2 November 2009Haunting 3 November 2009Singing 4 November 2009Flying 5 November 2009Collecting 6 November 2009© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.