Laura Barton

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Laura Barton (born 1977) is an English journalist and writer. She writes mainly for The Guardian , and wrote a novel, Twenty-One Locks, published in 2010.

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Biography

Barton was born in and grew up in the village of Newburgh in Lancashire, and was educated at Winstanley College [1] and read for an English degree at Worcester College, Oxford [ citation needed ]. Following graduation[ citation needed ], she began writing for The Guardian from 2000 specialising in writing features. She has also written for Q magazine, The Word , and Intelligent Life , and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Much of her writing relates to rock and pop music, and until late 2011 she wrote a fortnightly column about music for The Guardian's Film and Music supplement, called "Hail, Hail, Rock and Roll", as well as a weekly column on women's issues for the newspaper's G2 supplement, called "The View from a Broad". [2]

Her novel, Twenty-One Locks (2010), recounts the story of "a young small-town girl facing the biggest decision of her life." Barton has said she is working on a second novel and a non-fiction book about music. A series of short stories about Northern soul was broadcast on Radio 4 in 2011. Her favourite writers include Gerard Manley Hopkins, Richard Yates, Bruce Chatwin, William Carlos Williams, e e cummings, Raymond Carver, Lorrie Moore, and Joyce Johnson. [2]

Barton married in 2004. [3] She subsequently divorced. [4] Her first child, a son, was born at the end of 2023.

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References

  1. Barton, Laura (23 November 2009). "Lady Ashton went to my school". The Guardian . Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 Thwaite, Mark (5 August 2010). "Interview: Laura Barton". Quercus Books . Archived from the original on 7 December 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  3. "TFT Meets... Laura Barton". The Friday Thing. 27 August 2004. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  4. Barton, Laura (24 December 2017). "'The last time I went home for Christmas was five years ago. I was a terrible guest'". The Guardian . Retrieved 6 May 2021.