Ian Grosz talks with author Sandy Winterbottom

Sandy reads from her travel memoir The Two Headed Whale and talks about the journey of discovery and understanding the writing of the book took her on, drawing parallels between whaling and a self-perpetuating fossil fuel industry. She talks about hope, about action, and the importance of a just transition. The episode closes with a reading from recent work Sandy published in the Scotsman.

Sandy Winterbottom spent most of her career as an academic, teaching and researching in the Environmental Sciences and working in the renewables industry. She embarked on a life-changing journey to the Antarctic by tall ship in 2016 and went on to complete the Creative Writing Masters Programme at Stirling University in 2020. The Two-Headed Whale is published by Birlinn and Greystone and was nominated for the Saltire Society First Book of the Year Award in 2023.

Sandy is represented by Jenny Brown Associates. You can follow her on Instagram @moogstuff

Ian Grosz talks with writer, performer and activist Matt Sowerby about the Nature Chronicles Prize, the lessons we can learn from our relationship with the whale, and what hope might mean in the climate emergency.

Matt reads an extract from his essay ‘Hope is the Thing with Flippers’, which won the Nature Chronicles Prize in 2024. He discusses the story of the whale and whaling, the inspiration and thinking behind the writing of the essay, which focuses on the whale skeleton hanging at the entrance to the Natural History Museum, and his journey as both an activist and writer. Matt goes on to discuss his practice and the relationship between writing, activism and performance. The episode closes with a discussion around an event that brought writers and activists together in Aberdeen’s Maritime Museum in 2024, Matt’s current writing focus on oil and the ocean, what hope might mean in the context of the climate emergency, and a second reading from Matt’s award winning essay.

You can learn more about Matt’s work at mattsowerby.co.uk

This episode was recorded in March 2025.

Ian Grosz talks with artist and writer Christina Riley about her creative practice, the importance of books and the formation of The Nature Library.

Christina reads an extract from her series of prose fragments, ‘The Same Sunlight’, published by Gutter Magazine, Issue 30. She discusses her residency at the Mission Blue Argyll ‘Hope Spot’, and the remarkable biodiversity that can be found along the Argyll coast. Christina also gives a fascinating insight into her writing, her artistic practice, and the books that have inspired her. She talks about the formation and aims of The Nature Library, which she founded in 2019, and about the lasting importance of physical books and focussed reading. She closes with an outline of her current projects and future plans, with a reading of her beautiful fragment ‘Brittle Star.’

Christina is currently working on a series of essays exploring Scotland’s biodiversity, stemming from her time on the artist residency in Argyll.

The Argyll Hope Spot was established in June 2019 in collaboration with four Argyll community groups and the conservation organisation Mission Blue. Its aims are to celebrate and help protect Argyll’s unique marine biodiversity, and is the first such Hope Spot in both Scotland and mainland UK.

You can learn more about Christina’s work at christinariley.co.uk

This episode was recorded in February 2025.

Ian Grosz talks with author, playwright and Guardian Country Diary columnist, Merryn Glover, about her upbringing in the foothills of the Himalaya, the Cairngorms National Park where she lives now, and her book The Hidden Fires: A Cairngorms Journey with Nan Shepherd.

Merryn describes her early life in Nepal and India, and how that has shaped her as a writer. She talks about the beginnings of her writing career and the deep connection she has found with the Cairngorms through her writing, her involvement with the Storyland Sessions community project, and her time as first Writer in Residence for the Cairngorms National Park. Merryn reads from her book, The Hidden Fires, and gives an insight into how her spiritual faith informs her thinking on Nature and the Environment.

You can learn more about Merryn’s work at merrynglover.com

If you’re concerned about climate change, want to delve further into the issues surrounding it, and like great writing, follow and subscribe to the Paperboats Podcast to hear from a host of fantastic Nature writers.

Ian Grosz talks with author and poet Leonie Charlton about spiritual ecology, writing the more-than-human, and Scotland’s wild deer dilemma.

Leonie reads an extract from her diary essay ‘Fragments’, which first featured in Issue 1 of the Paperboats Zine and is included in the travel writing anthology There She Goes, edited by Esa Aldegheri and published by Saraband in March 2025. She discusses the spiritual connections we have lost with nature, and the way she approaches writing about the more-than-human world. Leonie also talks about her PhD by practice with the University of the Highlands and Islands, which explores the conflict of interests inherent in deer management and rewilding.

The episode was recorded in November 2024.

If you’re concerned about climate change, want to delve further into the issues surrounding it, and like great writing, follow and subscribe to the Paperboats podcast to hear from a host of fantastic nature writers.

Ian Grosz talks with Poet Chris Powici, who gives insight into his writing practice, what he sees as the role of the writer, and the importance of affirming the world around us.

Chris talks about the part he played in the formation of the Paperboats collective, his approach to writing poetry and his thoughts on the role of the writer in the climate and ecological crisis. We hear Chris read his poems ‘Night Fishing’ and ‘Deer’ from his first collection, This Weight of Light (Red Squirrel Press, 2015), and how capturing a sense of the intangible – the ‘otherworlds’ we inhabit through imagination – is an important feature of his work. Finally, Chris reads his poem ‘Loch Striven’ from Issue 1 of the Paperboats e-zine, at paperboats.org.

Chris’s latest collection, Look, Breathe, is available from Red Squirrel Press at redsquirrelpress.com.

If you’re concerned about climate change, want to delve further into the issues surrounding it, and like great writing, follow and subscribe to the Paperboats podcast to hear from a host of fantastic Nature Writers.

Ian Grosz talks with author and poet Karen Lloyd about microplastics and pollution in the UK’s Lake District National Park, about the Rights of Nature and how we might protect it.

Karen outlines her connection to Paperboats Writers, her views on the role of the writer in a climate and ecological crisis, and reads from her essay ‘Inside the Rockpool Shrimp there is a Dying Star’, first published on Dark Mountain in 2022 and featuring in the Anthology of Speculative Nature edited by Jos Smith and Harry Saunders at the University of East Anglia. Karen also talks about the pressures of tourism on the Lake District’s habitats, the solutions found in Europe to protect vulnerable ecosystems from human disturbance, and how we might approach that in the predominantly cultural landscapes of the UK.

If you’re concerned about climate change, want to delve further into the issues surrounding it, and like great writing, follow and subscribe to the Paperboats Podcast to hear from a host of fantastic nature writers.

Ian talks with Naturalist, Photographer and Nature Writer Polly Pullar about Polly’s life-long relationship with Nature and the plight of the gannet.

Polly talks about the beginnings of her deep connection with Nature and wildlife growing up in Ardnamurchan on the west coast of Scotland, how that brought her solace through a difficult period and continues to inspire her passionately today. She discusses the plight of Scottish wildlife under the pressures of climate change and habitat loss, and reads from her Paperboats Zine piece, ‘A Solan Goose Summer.’

Polly Pullar has regular columns in numerous magazines including The Scots Magazine and BBC Wildlife Magazine. Her most recent book, The Horizontal Oak – A Life in Nature, was published by Birlinn in 2022. See www.pollypullar.com to learn more.

If you’re concerned about climate change, want to delve further into the issues surrounding it, and like great writing, follow and subscribe to the Paperboats Podcast to hear from a host of fantastic nature writers.