Tony Durrant

The social aspect of a neighbourly running group.

Communities are tight here in the high Pennines where outsiders such as myself are known as 'offcumdens' (off-comers), Being the inquisitive creature I am, I want to get to know the locals more than ever so what better way of meeting people than indulging in their sports and pastimes. Here's a piece I wrote for the regional magazine, The Dalesman, about an old game played in this part of the world: As any Yorkshire man and woman knows, the distinctive sound of leather on will

Bad news visits in the dark before the dawn when a message from another time zone interrupts the sleeplessness. It was from a name I didn’t immediately recognise: ‘Hi Tony, I’m not sure if you remember me but I visited you in the UK with John a few years ago. I just wanted you to know that John passed away Friday night. I thought you needed to know.’ It was from John Bacot’s former girlfriend and travelling companion, Christine. I saw John then – a tanned, jovial face and

There are a lot of writing competitions out there, and they're mainly for short stories. I find this odd, considering most bookshop shelves are filled with novels (there's a debate for another day). It's a genre I usually avoided as a writer: why should I go to the trouble of learning the skill and nuance of another style while still grappling with that second novel? However, the dark days of winter have driven me to sample a few short stories from a writer's perspective; ge

My son adopted the expression that I called his thinking look – all big eyes and as much a frown as a four-year old could muster on a crease-free forehead. I braced myself. He thrust a little polystyrene aeroplane between me and my computer screen. ‘Is this a baddie, Daddy?’ I recognised it from my childhood model collection; the unmistakeable black on white crosses: a Messerschmitt 109. ‘Is it a baddie?’ ‘Well, not really, son,’ I pronounced, adopting that let-me-explain

Bookshelves and the internet are awash with resources for aspiring writers (if in doubt start at #WritingCommunity on Twitter). There are gems among the dross, but what really inspires is mutual support; inspiring words and actions from fellow strugglers. Dan Cross, one of my fellow shortlisted authors in last year's Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, did the honour of promoting my work in the print and online magazine Pen to Print. https://pentoprint.org/showcase-veldt-

I am finally at the final editing stage of a manuscript and am wincing at the suggestions of a literary consultant. There they are, couched timidly in the margin in Review mode, my prose crammed into tight little pens to be carted off to the abattoir. 'Surely not,' I mutter to myself. 'I've just read similar in one of Wilbur's works.' It's 'over-writing' apparently; that stuff that slows the narrative, unnecessarily holds the reader's hand. Sob. It's the stuff I throughly

We had been beaten to it by a few hang-gliders who were out for the first flight of the year.

...men with weathered faces sit by pub fires.