Lamorna Ash is a British writer and education specialist. Her first book, ''Dark, Salt, Clear: Life in a Cornish Fishing Town'', won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2021.

Biography

Ash attended St Paul's Girls' School and read English at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, graduating in 2016 with an English Literature degree. She earned an MA in Social and Cultural Anthropology from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. She worked as an intern at the Times Literary Supplement After university, Ash went to

Newlyn Newlyn ( kw, Lulyn: Lu 'fleet', Lynn/Lydn 'pool') is a seaside town and fishing port (the largest fishing port in England) in south-west Cornwall, UK.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Newlyn lies on the shore of Mount ...

, a fishing town in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

for one month to learn about their

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

community. She stayed with a local couple, Lofty and Denise, a fishmonger and a ship's chandler. She spent a week on the trawler Filadelfia, working with a crew of local fishermen. Her first book, ''Dark, Salt, Clear'', written about Ash's time in Newlyn, was published by

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

in April 2020. In 2021, Ash won the

Somerset Maugham Award The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors. Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awa ...

for her memoir. The book was a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

'Book of the Week'. She is currently a freelance writer to ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication i ...

'' and English specialist for an education charity in Hackney.

References

External links

Lamorna Ash Podcast interview, Russ Roberts of EconTalk
">EconTalk">Lamorna Ash Podcast interview, Russ Roberts of EconTalk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ash, Lamorna Living people People educated at St Paul's Girls' School Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of University College London British women writers British women novelists Year of birth missing (living people)