Laura Barton (born 1977) is an English journalist and writer. She writes mainly forThe Guardian, and wrote a novel,Twenty-One Locks, published in 2010.
Laura Barton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1977 (age 47–48) Newburgh,Lancashire |
| Occupation | Journalist, writer |
| Education | Worcester College, Oxford |
| Subjects | Rock,pop music,women's issues |
Biography
editBarton was born in and grew up in the village ofNewburgh inLancashire, and was educated atWinstanley College[1] and read for an English degree atWorcester College, Oxford[citation needed]. Following graduation[citation needed], she began writing forThe Guardian from 2000 specialising in writing features. She has also written forQ magazine,The Word, andIntelligent Life, and broadcast onBBC Radio 4. Much of her writing relates torock andpop music, and until late 2011 she wrote a fortnightly column about music forThe 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'sG2 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."Carol Birch, reviewing it inThe Independent, said "Too much grim-up-north trowel-laying mars Laura Barton's otherwise promising first novel. ... Wonderful writing - but it's hard to engage with such a passively selfish central character."[3] Also in the Independent Rob Sharp wrote "When she lets her words flow they become rhythmic; most of them, however, are painstakingly chiselled." and finishes "I look forward to Barton's second [book]."[4] Rosamund Urwin of Evening Standard says "But while well-rendered, the book feels light on ideas. Twenty-One Locks could have been a short story rather than a novel."[5]
Barton worked with photographer Sarah Lee on a photo-essayWest of West: Travels along the edge of America, which was published byUnbound (2020,ISBN 978-1783527694) and featured inThe Guardian[6] andThe New York Review of Books.[7] Her memoirSad Songs is to be published byQuercus books under its riverrun imprint on 1 May 2025 (ISBN 978-1529406948).
She made a three-part seriesNotes on Music forBBC Radio 4 in 2021, discussing the ages of seventeen in music, "happy sad songs", andBruce Springsteen.[8]
Barton has said she is working on a second novel and a non-fiction book about music.[2] A series of short stories aboutNorthern soul was broadcast on Radio 4 in 2011.
References
edit- ^Barton, Laura (23 November 2009)."Lady Ashton went to my school".The Guardian. Retrieved6 May 2021.
- ^abThwaite, Mark (5 August 2010)."Interview: Laura Barton".Quercus Books. Archived fromthe original on 7 December 2010. Retrieved6 May 2021.
- ^Birch, Carol (13 October 2011)."Twenty-One Locks, By Laura Barton".The Independent. Retrieved26 March 2025.
- ^Sharp, Rob (25 July 2010). "Rimbaud: first blood".The Independent.
- ^Urwin, Rosamund (8 July 2010). "Jeannie's dream of escape".Evening Standard.
- ^Lee, Sarah; Barton, Laura (4 April 2018)."West of West: Santa Monica pier and 'the end of America' - a photo essay".The Guardian. Retrieved26 March 2025.
- ^Barton, Laura; Lee, Sarah M. (22 February 2020)."Way Out West".The New York Review of Books. Retrieved26 March 2025.
- ^Sawyer, Miranda (3 April 2021)."The week in audio: Laura Barton's Notes on Music; The Crisis – review".The Guardian. Retrieved26 March 2025.
- ^"TFT Meets... Laura Barton".The Friday Thing. 27 August 2004. Archived fromthe original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved6 May 2021.
- ^Barton, Laura (24 December 2017)."'The last time I went home for Christmas was five years ago. I was a terrible guest'".The Guardian. Retrieved6 May 2021.