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Kurt Vonnegut and his daughter Nanette in 1997. Photo: Family handout

Kurt Vonnegut’s daughter is following in his footsteps

When Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five was burned by a North Dakota school, the writer acted. Half a century later, his daughter Nanette is also challenging book bans. She spoke to me for Index on Censorship.
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Photo: Teena Lyons

Ghostwriters to the fore: why authors behind the names are coming out of the shadows

A shifting landscape means more recognition may be on the way for celebrities’ secret, and sometimes not so secret, co-writers. I spoke to some of the UK's top ghostwriters for the Bookseller.

A pox on your holiday

What happens when your fantasy family holiday turns into a quarantine scenario? Join me on my pox-ridden holiday, for Family Traveller.

“Everything a Woman Ought to Know”

From the moment I saw The Woman’s Book sitting on a dusty shelf in a secondhand shop, I knew I had to rescue it. I wrote about how much, and how little, has changed for women in the last 100 years, for The Conversationalist.
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Photo: Kennedy Library / Flickr

Reform UK’s ‘children’s book bans’ could open the floodgates for censorship

The party that claims to champion “free speech” is now trying to crack down on books whose messages they disagree with. I reported on a very murky case of book banning for Byline Times.
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Photo: Alisdare Hickson, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

​Refugee Week 2023: Where is the ‘compassion’?

While Suella Braverman claims her approach to asylum is compassionate, I explore how the reality is very different to the rhetoric for Byline Times.
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Photo: Chloe Hashemi / EBU

How Liverpool came alive with Ukrainian culture

When Liverpool was announced as the host city for Eurovision 2023, it was always going to be Ukraine’s party. I spoke to Ukrainians in the city to find out how Ukrainian culture hit UK streets, and what it meant to see it all playing out. For the official Eurovision website, as part of their digital team.
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Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

Backstage at Eurovision: Discover the magic of show day

Behind each live Eurovision broadcast, a huge crew of people work hard to make everything go smoothly. I went backstage to get a glimpse into what happens on show day – from giant pyrotechnic microphones to getting ready with the stars.
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Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU

Ukraine's most memorable Eurovision moments

The Eurovision Song Contest has been a story of success for Ukraine, and the country has brought us plenty of unforgettable moments. I explored the moments that mattered most, for the official Eurovision website as part of their digital team.

Culture can help in the fight against Putin – we must not limit it

Following a decision from the Ukrainian parliament to ban music created by Russian citizens, I wrote for the Byline Times on the issue of cancelling the culture of an entire nation.

We need to fight book bans, not just fear them

As book bans sweep the US, booksellers, librarians and readers are fighting back. I wrote an opinion piece for The Bookseller, with an insight into the latest issue of Index on Censorship magazine.

The curious history of Regency dating

Bridgerton season two is around the corner, but ahead of the flings, frocks, and frissons, is a newly released paperback, The Curious History of Dating by Nichi Hodgson. This book breaks down romance across every period, starting in Regency ballrooms, romping through the war years, and bursting into the Tinder dates of today...

I interviewed author Nichi Hodgson for Reader's Digest.

Sciencing the "Bazinga!" out of The Big Bang Theory

David Saltzberg is the science consultant behind The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon. He’s the one who keeps the facts tight. I asked him to take me behind the scenes for TOPIA, and tell me what it’s like to fact-check Sheldon Cooper.

When Beatie Wolfe beamed music into space

This is the age of streaming. So how do we put meaning back into music? Beatie Wolfe is making music more tangible – and it’s even taken her into space. I met the artist embracing silence and musical jackets for TOPIA.

Read more TOPIA stories

I'm stoked to be the lead writer at newly-launched positive impact magazine, TOPIA. Anything goes, as long as it's good.

Mental Floss book lists

I have a serious reading habit. I don't need much of an excuse to add to my To Be Read pile and am regularly sneaking BSOs (book shaped objects) into the house. Thankfully, I've got an output — books lists at Mental Floss. I regularly compile pieces for this site, from "Books that transport you around the world" to "11 books to read after The Handmaid's Tale."
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Photo: Cooper Studio

Pandemic Parenting

Four months into my new life as a parent, the UK went into lockdown after Covid-19 hit. This is my experience for Lacuna Voices.

Finding calm in bookshelf memories

Books mean everything to me. They hold memories. I might hang photos on the wall, and smile as the memories flood back, but instead I put up bookshelves. I write about my bookshelf memories for WhyNow.

I'm worried how growing up in a pandemic will affect my baby

Every time I swoop my son away from a friend, I feel like I’m teaching him that interacting with others is wrong. Am I doing him harm by keeping him apart? For HuffPost.

Baby Talk

A regular humour column for Paranting Magazine (now closed), through the eyes of my toddler. Join him as he navigates his new world...

​Pick up issue two or three to read Baby Talk.
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Photos from Tilemahos Efthimiadis, europeanspaceagency