Linda Cracknell

Linda Cracknell is a writer of fiction, non-fiction and radio drama. Landscape, place and memory are key themes in her work. Following two published collections of short stories, her novel Call of the Undertow was published in 2013 (Freight) and is available as an e-book and a special edition hardback. It is described as a "haunting tale of motherhood, guilt, myth and redemption set on the rugged coast of Caithness at Scotland's furthest edge". Doubling Back: Ten Paths Trodden in Memory (Freight 2014/2015 & reissued Saraband 2024), is an account of a series of walks Linda took, each following a story from the past personal, biographical or communal. It was a Radio 4 Book of the Week. In March 2021, a novella 'The Other Side of Stone' (Taproot Press) was published. Set in a Perthshire woollen mill, Sara Maitland called it an 'extraordinary combination of contemporary concerns and deep, ancient stories.' In 2023 Saraband published a collection of essays, 'Writing Landscape : Taking Note, Making Notes', described in The Scotsman as 'a small book, but a mighty one'. Linda is also a self-employed teacher of creative writing in various settings. This includes workshops which integrate walking and outdoor exploration with creative writing. She has held residencies on a new long distance footpath, in a children's hospital and at Brownsbank Cottage, last home to the poet Hugh MacDiarmid. She sends a lively newsletter to those on her mailing list. As well as news of her writing and workshops, there are regular exclusive audio stories, special offers and themed editorials. Photo credits: Robin Dance