Paperback Writer!

'Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book - It took me years to write, will you take a look?'

(thank you Lennon and McCartney)

Cull of the Wild is out in paperback today!

photo by Pip Warwick

When I started studying hedgehogs, back in 1986 (at Leicester Polytechnic there was a computer room where you could book access to a terminal … that is how old I am!) it was to look at the impact that their introduction, in 1974, was having on the ground-nesting birds of North Ronaldsay, Orkney.

I went back in 1991, managing to understand more the complexity of the situation. Yes, hedgehogs were part of the problem, but there were so many other factors at play. This work then got me embroiled in the Uist hedgehog story that erupted all over the press in 2003 when Nature Scotland and the RSPB started killing the hedgehogs imported to those Hebridean islands in the early 1970s.

Long story cut very short, I ended up doing the research that helped stop the cull. But then found myself in agreement with a conservationist from New Zealand who was killing hedgehogs over there for the very same reasons - that they were imported and were having a serious impact on the native fauna.

So, this collision of head (evidence) and heart (love of nature and hatred of killing) started to ferment; bubbling away until I eventually wrote a book proposal for what was to be Cull of the Wild, Killing in the Name of Conservation.

When I first starting telling my nature writerly friends about this project they kept saying ‘you’re brave’ … I did not feel brave, nor was I intending to be brave - I just wanted to explore the complexities of our relationship with nature. Do we have a right, or even a responsibility, to kill one species to save another?

And today - 22nd May, 2025 - Cull of the Wild hits the streets in paperback and I am thrilled! Not only was it long listed for the Wainwright award, but has just, this week, be nominated for the Zoological Society of London’s Clarivate Award, which recognises achievements in zoology and conservation. Recent winners of this have included such luminaries as Dave Goulson, Erica McAlister, Dara McAnulty, and George Monbiot. I have never won anything, apart from a few premium bonds, and there are so many amazing books out there as ‘competition’ - but it is lovely to get this much recognition.

Actually, this is probably an indication of the fragility of my ego, the paperback has something so very special to me - two pages of the reviews that it picked up on release. These are from a wide range of people - including those who probably disagree with me on many of the ideas in the book, but still recognise its value.

reviews captured in the paperback - good for my ego!

So, if you would like to learn more about the fermentation that has taken place in my head - grab a copy, or, if listening is more your thing, track down the audiobook, read be yours truly!

And now, back to writing another book - this time, rather unusually for me, about hedgehogs!!!