Helmsley Literary Festival - Jenn Ashworth & Wendy Pratt

Two Northern authors share their physical and emotional journeys

Chair: Kate Fenton


Jenn Ashworth

Join Jenn as she recalls her post-COVID Coast to Coast walk, recounted in The Parallel Path.

Jenn was born in Preston and studied at Cambridge and Manchester. She is Professor of Writing at Lancaster University. Her latest book, The Parallel Path, subtitled Love, Grit and Walking the North, tells the story of how, emerging from lockdown, she followed her urge to undertake the Coast to Coast Walk. ‘Reading The Parallel Path feels like going on a long walk with an old friend: Jenn Ashworth is exceptionally good company. I loved it.’ Mark Haddon

More about Jenn Ashworth


Wendy Pratt

The Ghost Lake – A memoir of grief, nature and rural Yorkshire roots.

Wendy Pratt is a poet, author, and editor, living and working on the North Yorkshire Coast, where she grew up. In 2021 she founded Spelt magazine, which celebrates rural living through poetry, creative non fiction and poetry film. Her book, The Ghost Lake, is a pilgrimage through her local and emotional landscape.

Photo Credit: James Thackeray.

More about Wendy Pratt


Helmsley Literary Festival Brochure

Presented by Helmsley Literary Festival

View all events