Write treatment for Cumbrian author : Cumbria County Council

The life and work of popular Cumbrian author Margaret Forster is the theme of a new book by Kathleen Jones, another acclaimed writer living and working in the county. Margaret Forster is another in the series of Modern Cumbrian Classics, published by Northern Lights, an imprint of Cumbria County Council.

Councillor Peter Jackson, Cumbria County Council Cabinet member responsible for culture, said:

“We are doubly pleased to publish this book, which showcases two of the major writers working in Cumbria at present. Margaret Forster’s work is widely read inside and outside the county and this introduction can only add to our enjoyment of her versatile talent. We couldn’t have picked anyone better to write about her than Kathleen Jones, whose standing has been enhanced by the success of her biography of Catherine Cookson.”

Margaret Forster is the first book to be written and published about one of Cumbria’s best-known contemporary writers and is an introduction to her life and work. One of our most prolific writers, she has a list of acclaimed biographies, memoirs, social histories and novels to her name that includes Georgy Girl, Hidden Lives, Precious Lives and The Memory Box. Margaret was born, brought up and educated in Cumbria and still spends half the year in her home in the Lake District. A number of her books have strong local connections with Carlisle and Cumbria.

Biographer Kathleen Jones, who lives in Appleby in Cumbria, is the author of the best-selling Catherine Cookson. She was commissioned by Northern Lights to write Margaret Forster because she and Margaret had so much in common, both being women with a background in the county and in the literary scene. Kathleen Jones’ most recent books have also included A Passionate Sisterhood. Margaret Forster is written for the general reader and deals with both the writer’s life and works, telling of her early days in Carlisle and at university and how she started writing. It discusses some of her books in detail. It is the second in the Northern Lights occasional series of Modern Cumbrian Classics, which spotlights writers working in the county in the 20th and 21st centuries. The first was Norman Nicholson, by Neil Curry.

Northern Lights is a publishing imprint of Cumbria County Council, showcasing the best new poetry and prose being produced across the county and reintroducing readers to the work of some of Cumbria's best writers of recent times. Other titles published include: Salvage by Jacob Polley; First Flight by Dickon Abbott; Seduction by Frederick Lightfoot; Wild Soup by Carol Springford; Lost Between Stations by Matthew Clegg.

Copies of Margaret Forster and other Northern Lights titles can be purchased from selected Cumbrian bookstores or direct from Cumbria County Council by ringing 01228 607306, e-mailing or writing to Community Regeneration, Cumbria County Council, Arroyo Block, The Castle, Carlisle, CA3 8UR. Copies cost £2.50 each (including post & packing). Cheques should be made payable to 'Cumbria County Council'.