by Rebecca Hannant
Author Adam Farrer is set to return to Withernsea to showcase his acclaimed book, Cold Fish Soup.
On Saturday, June 17, at 10.30am, Adam will visit the Withernsea Centre, in Queen Street, to read extracts of the book and answer questions from the audience.
Adam, who is a writer, lecturer and editor of the creative non-fiction journal The Real Story, became the inaugural Writer in Residence for Peel Park, Salford, in 2019. The manuscript for Cold Fish Soup, a memoir in essays, won the NorthBound Book Award at the 2021 Northern Writers’ Awards and was later published by Saraband Books in 2022.
The book has been described by one reviewer as “a love letter to Withernsea and all the people in it, its crumbling cliffs, its strange beauties and its losses”.
Adam said: “Cold Fish Soup explores my life and experiences on the Holderness coast, and in Withernsea in particular. In the book, I examine ideas of family, friendship, place and male mental health through stories of reinvention, rapacious seagulls, interdimensional werewolves, coastal erosion, burlesque dancing pensioners, and my compulsion towards the sea.
“The book has afforded me the opportunity to appear at literary events all over the UK, from Edinburgh to London, and particularly across the North. I’ve spoken about the book in Manchester, York, Bolton, Leeds and Newcastle and went on a Yorkshire book shop tour last summer – but have yet to put on a book event in Withernsea. So, as it’s been almost a year since publication, it seemed like high time I did something about that.”
The event follows a book signing appearance at Ellis’ Cafe, in Seaside Road, last autumn.
Adam added: “When I returned to Withernsea last October, the people there were so supportive. But there wasn’t time to really discuss the book or answer any deeper questions. While Withernsea sadly doesn’t have a book shop, it does have a library with a vibrant writer collective, so it seemed the ideal place to stage an event.
“It’ll be especially meaningful to me to talk about this book in a town I’m bonded to, has shaped me and my family, and is at the heart of my book. Cold Fish Soup has changed my life in so my wonderful and unexpected ways and, without Withernsea, and the generosity of the people here that I got to write about, this book wouldn’t exist.
“I’ll have copies of the book available to purchase and get signed after the event and will be happy to sign copies for anyone who has already bought it.”
Lynne Snaith, customer services supervisor at the Withernsea Centre, said: “This promises to be a fascinating and enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning, and a great chance to hear Adam and his journey from Withernsea to becoming a successful writer.”
To find out more about Adam, visit adamfarrer.co.uk.
