Mark My Words – April 2026
Power of Place
Dear Friends, New and Old,
This newsletter comes hot on the heels of the last one; I’m getting in early as it’s about to get VERY busy with the launch activity for the Final Approach hardback edition, as well as other stuff happening around the same time – isn’t that always the way? Plus, this is my last chance to tell you about all that stuff. I’ll leave you alone for a while after that!
In the meantime, I’m managing to maintain a ‘published in print somewhere every month’ record for the year to date, which is pretty gratifying! Sometimes I do wonder whether I should take a step back and concentrate on the next ‘grand opus’, but it is a buzz to see my work on the physical page and perform it and receive the reaction from live audiences.
This month, I’m delighted to report that my piece Cliff Point will be included in the Word Kitchen ‘Power of Place’ anthology. This is a collection of writing inspired by the East Devon coast and countryside; my piece focuses on the beautiful seaside town of Budleigh Salterton, where I made my very first public reading appearance.
I’ll keep you informed regarding the availability of this.
Final Approach Illustrated Hardback Launch
I’ve already told you that places for the London event on April 30th are filling up and now I’m happy to report sales for the Somerset launch are catching up; I won’t be talking to an empty room! But there’s still plenty of space, so if you are close by and free, do please come and join me. You can book tickets here: Mark Blackburn – Final Approach: My Father and Other Turbulence at Brendon Books CIC event tickets from TicketSource It’s at 6.30pm at Brendon Books in Taunton on Thursday 23rd April – I’ll be in conversation with author Elizabeth Delo (Becoming Liz Taylor – link here). Brendon Books do charge a fiver for these events but they do give you a glass of wine or a soft drink!
Bournemouth Writing Festival
As I said, the end of April is going to be a really hectic period; I’ve actually had to pass on a couple of opportunities to cope with it all, a rare instance of good sense on my part!
Sandwiched between the Final Approach hardback launch events, I’ll be giving a talk with the writer and artist Victoria L. Humphreys at the Bournemouth Writing Festival – Taming Trauma: Fiction or Non-Fiction (tickets here Taming Trauma: Fiction Or Non-Fiction? | PDSW)
Here’s the event description:
Taming trauma is no easy feat, but the pen can be a powerful weapon to help tackle it. Indeed, much writing is inspired by trauma; putting it on the page can be cathartic for both writer and reader. So what’s the best way to attack it – fiction or non-fiction? In disguise or in the flesh?
While writers may feel impelled to write about trauma, whether it be their own or trauma they have uncovered in other people’s lives, it will not be an easy task. Victoria, a novelist, and Mark, a memoirist, look at ways of helping writers to address the challenge.
Should be a load of fun! But seriously, I think we’ll have a really good discussion and I’m sure writers and others will find some benefit in it. All welcome.
Calendar of Events
EVENTS 2026
Fri 17th April
Silly Point Poetry, Long Sutton Cricket Club – 7.30pm
Thurs 23rd April
Final Approach Hardback Somerset Launch – Brendon Books, Taunton – 6.30pm
Sat 25th April
‘Taming Trauma’ with Victoria L Humphreys, Bournemouth Writing Festival
Thurs 30th April
Final Approach Hardback London Launch – Society of Authors
Sat 16th May
‘Flights to Freedom’ with Pen Farthing, Dorchester Library
Sat 30th May
North Somerset Authors Event, Weston-super-Mare
Sat 20th June
Stroud Indie Book Fair
Sat 4th July
Frome Independent Publishing Fair
Mon 3rd Aug
The Unreliable Narrator, Read with Yeovil
Weds 23rd September
Final Approach Event Westlands Centre Yeovil
Thurs 22nd October
Wild Words at Sandridge Barton Vineyard
Book Review – Homework, by Geoff Dyer
Some background: in the early 80s, Geoff and I were big buddies. We were ‘going clubbing together sleeping on each other’s floors’ buddies. He had just come down from Oxford and was living in Brixton, I was working in the Virgin Megastore and living in a flat in Crouch End. He always knew he wanted to be a writer, I just didn’t have a clue what to do.
He became a writer, one of the country’s most respected; I became a businessman first and came to writing late. A few years ago we randomly met; I won’t tell you exactly what he said, but he was pretty dismissive of my stated intention to begin writing myself. (Mind you, it does give me twice the satisfaction that I’ve since won competitions and ended up in print!)
So, Homework, his childhood memoir. It’s good; it’s not great. We were born in the same year, 1958, and so actually cover some of the same childhood ground in our books – Airfix kits, conkers, Tommy Guns, verrucas. “Though they were a source of intense pain, it’s difficult, now, not to feel a certain fondness for the verruca as the municipal sole of the welfare state”. Undeniably, Geoff does write delightfully about those times, with full and graphic detail. But what I feel we don’t get is enough insight into Geoff’s thoughts and feelings about what lies beneath all this fantastic detail. For example, he talks about a young man, appropriately named Nutter (really), who having previously been a friend has taken an extreme dislike to Geoff and wants to do him harm. Most would wonder why this change had come about; Geoff doesn’t. For what it’s worth, I can think of another book that mines some of the same material and delves a little deeper into what lies beneath…
Still, it’s a beautifully nostalgic story well told, and worth a read if you’re of a certain age.
And Finally
To celebrate the launch of the hardback version of Final Approach I’m still giving books away! With every ‘pre-order’ of a signed and numbered copy of the limited edition illustrated hardback (link here), I will give away a copy of the original Final Approach paperback or one of my Brian the Bear books. I will either send it to you when I post your hardback, or send it to any UK address, dedicated to whoever you like.
If you do buy or read one of my books, please consider leaving a review on Bookstore UK/Goodreads/Amazon or wherever you can – it makes a massive difference.
That’s all for now; you can view all my my work here.
markblackburn.co.uk 