Hometown Tales: South Coast

Description

Original tales by remarkable writers Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative non-fiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home. In these pages on the South Coast, you'll find two unique tales. 'Margate Calling' is an intimate, honest and inspiring account of living in Margate by award-winning BBC broadcaster Gemma Cairney. 'Maisie and Mrs Webster' is a bold, fiercely funny and deeply moving piece of fiction about an obese young woman who is confined to her bed and longs to see the sea, by Brighton-based playwright Judy Upton.

Gemma Cairney is a BBC broadcaster, magpie, and life enthusiast who has won awards for her documentaries. Gemma has presented shows across the breadth of the BBC. She is also founder of production company Boom Shakalaka Productions. Her first book, Open: A Toolkit for How Magic and Messed Up Life Can Be came out in Spring 2017 (Macmillan). Gemma was recently a judge for the Wellcome Prize. She hosts a regular club night in her home town of Margate. Judy Upton is a playwright and screenwriter based in Shoreham-by-Sea. She grew up in the Brighton area and the majority of her stage plays have been set there. Her plays have been produced by the Royal Court, National Theatre, Birmingham Rep and BBC Radio 4 among others. Her latest play Confidence stars vlogger, author and influencer Tanya Burr and will appear at the Southwark Playhouse from May 2018.