Wolfdog Press

30/03/2024

Window reflections at Kommune.

19/11/2021

Last chance to meet the artist collective behind This Ragged Edge, A Winter Journey into Devon's Wild Coast for an hour of story telling, poetry, stunning winter imagery and even percussion! We'll be starting at 4pm at the East Gate Bookshop in Totnes Fore Street tomorrow (Saturday 20th). This is a free event and will last for an hour. Come and join us!

16/11/2021

Come and see the South Devon Coast as you have never seen it before, through the eye of an Arctic storm. 'This Ragged Edge , A Winter Journey into Devon's Wild Coast' is being launched at the East Gate Bookshop in Totnes this Saturday the 20th of November at 4pm. There will be story telling, photography, poetry, percussion and the curious tale of the dog bowl.

Available online from www.wolfdogpress.co.uk

14/11/2021

11/11/2021

The artists collective behind This Ragged Edge are holding a follow up book lauch in the East Gate Bookshop in Totnes on Saturday the 20th of November between 4pm and 5pm. A free event celebrating South Devon's stunning coastline with storytelling, poetry and photography. Everyone welcome!

06/10/2021

A huge thanks to everyone who came along to the launch of 'This Ragged Edge, A Winter Journey into Devons Wild Coast' last weekend at the Ashburton Arts Centre. We had a great turn out with over forty people and are very grateful for all the positive feedback on the presentation and the book itself.

It felt a like a wonderful celebration of such a beautiful stretch of Devon coastline as well as an affirmation of over thirty years of friendship shared by the authors Jamie, Marcus and James.

We are thrilled to have sold more than 30 books on the night and overall (including bookstores) we are already set to sell half of our limited print run of 200 copies. You can order your copy now from www.wolfdogpress.co.uk.

01/10/2021

This Ragged Edge is launched today (Friday 1st October)! Hope you can make it down to Ashburton Arts centre at 6pm for an evening of storytelling, photography, poetry and live music. Entry is free and we will be signing copies of this limited edition book for £20 each (we have a card reader). There is a bar and snacks for after the presentation.

30/09/2021

'Down this Holloway
Storm-scattered twigs darkly etched
In untrodden snow'

Haiku by James Richardson, from ‘This Ragged Edge, A Winter Journey into Devon’s Wild Coast.

I hope to see you this Friday the 1st of October, either at the signing at Browser Bookstore in Dartmouth at 11:30am, or the launch with live music in the Ashburton Arts Centre from 6pm – 8pm.

This Ragged Edge will be also stocked by Harbour House Bookstore in Kingsbridge and East Gate Bookstore in Totnes and is available online at www.wolfdogpress.co.uk

29/09/2021

Abstract from 'This Ragged Edge, A Winter Journey into Devon's Wild Coast.' Launched this Friday 1st of October at the Ashburton Arts Centre and available now from www.wolfdogpress.co.uk

28/09/2021

Ordinance of Light
by Marcus Gladstone-Noble

Luminous
against the
Point’s
Jurassic spine
the lighthouse
alludes to
the moon,
marauding,
poised,
embattled parapet
sheer above
the cliff

Silent shards
of snow
from an ominous
ink sky,
fall along its
scales of mica schist,
late in our
coastal passage

Soon to post
beams of nautical light
into the dark breach
warding ships off
the Skerries bank
that lurks beneath,
scouring the peninsula,
to briefly touch
the wounded lip
of the lost village

Hallsands’ remains
haunt below the cliff,
with each tide’s scourge,
a little less for grief.

From This Ragged Edge, A Winter Journey into Devon’s Wild Coast We would love to see you on the 1st of October, either at the signing at Browser Bookstore in Dartmouth at 11:30am, or the launch with live music in the Ashburton Arts Centre from 6pm – 8PM. It will be also stocked by Harbour House Bookstore in Kingsbridge, East Gate Bookstore in Totnes and is available online from www.wolfdogpress.co.uk

27/09/2021

“Venericks’s Cove, or Moor Sands, is a stunning gem in the South Devon’s coastal hem. It is an isolated haven reached either by an old runnelled track and across a sloping vale of pasture; or by the coastal path we took, skirting between jagged headlands and sweeping shelves of metamorphic rock known as hornblende shist, fissured and veined like an elephant’s molar.”

Image and quote from 'This Ragged Edge, A Winter's Journey into Devon's Wild Coast.' Launched on the 1st of October at the Ashburton Arts Centre from 6pm – 8pm. It will be stocked by Browser Books in Dartmouth, East Gate Bookstore in Totnes and Harbour Bookshop in Kingsbridge and is available online from www.wolfdogpress.co.uk.

26/09/2021

Start Point Lighthouse on the South Devon coast…

“Standing 28 metres tall on one of the most exposed peninsulas on the English coast its tireless, rounded rebuttal of the elements and its unflagging heartbeat, as a seafarer’s lantern, are testimony to its design and construction.”

Quote by James Richardson from This Ragged Edge, A Winter Journey into Devon’s Wild Coast. Launched this Friday the 1st of October at the Ashburton Arts Centre from 6PM to 8PM.

http://ashburtonarts.org.uk/events/this-ragged-edge-book-launch-a-winter-journey-into-devons-wild-coast/

This Ragged Edge is available now online from www.wolfdogpress.co.uk

23/09/2021

I’m excited to announce that This Ragged Edge - A Winter Journey into Devon’s Wild Coast will be hitting the shelves this October. The book is my latest collaboration with fellow artists James Richardson and Marcus Gladstone-Noble.

This Ragged Edge is a book of imagery, poetry and prose that tells the story of our exploration of the South Devon coastline from Salcombe to Dartmouth that turned into a wild encounter with the heart of an Arctic storm (The Beast from the East).

Little did we know when we set out that we would end up being trapped in a quarry at Beesands by a huge tide and snow storm. The experience resulted in extraordinary images like this one of Start Point with snow running right down to the sea.

We are hugely grateful to the nature writer Miriam Darlington for writing the wonderful introduction in which she describes the book as: “The story of five days exploration into the stark beauty and dream-like possibility of coastline.”

I’d love to see you on the 1st of October, either at a signing at Browser Bookstore in Dartmouth at 11:30am, or our talk with live music in the Ashburton Arts Centre from 6pm – 8PM. It will be also stocked by Harbour House Bookstore in Kingsbridge, East Gate Bookstore in Totnes and is available online at www.wolfdogpress.co.uk

20/09/2021

A huge thanks to nature writer Miriam Darlington, author of Otter Country and Owl Sense, for her evocative introduction to our new book This Ragged Edge, A Winter Journey into Devon’s Wild Coast.In it she writes:

“Narratives such as these can be hypnotic, drawing us into the world with distinct, sensory textures and detail: lichens and schist, the rocky edge of the land as it vanishes into sea with all its mood colour and contour.”

This Ragged Edge is being launched at the Ashburton Arts Centre on the 1stof October and will be available from Browser Books in Dartmouth, East Gate bookstore in Totnes and Harbour House Bookstore in Kingsbridge.

20/09/2021

Snow at Dawn on Devon’s Wild Coast
Marcus Gladstone-Noble

Myself and two friends undertook a journey back in 2018, into the South Devon Coast. Not a wild, remote fringe of landscape by any stretch. But at the mercy of the so-called polar vortex it became the wildest experience of this is very familiar coastline we had ever had. We witnessed the coast rendered in a unique palate of winter light, and such rare moments as the white water of an incoming tide meeting a coalescing with a snow-covered beach.

Snow at Dawn

To wake alone
hemmed in snow,
turbine wind reaping
over the slate
quarry crater.

Unmoored,
the dawn
brought to ground,
for fraternal voices
and fire sparks arise.

Battered canvas
Parted by
an ashen hand,
a tin cup bearing
black medicine,
to course the cold
from my bones.

Outside,
down the
tangled path
from our
hidden world,
the narrow entrance
gapes on
Start Point
caped in white.

It seemed
a border had
been crossed
through the
obsidian night,
to behold
a world now cast
in a silver
arctic blaze.

This Ragged Edge is being launched at on the 1st of October at the Ashburton Arts Centre from 6pm – 8pm. It is available online at www.wolfdogpress.co.uk and will be stocked by Browser Books in Dartmouth, East Gate Bookstore in Totnes and Harbour Bookshop in Kingsbridge.

14/09/2021

Walking and writing on Devon’s Wild Coast
James Richardson

When Jamie, Marcus and I set off along the South Devon coast on a late February day we were not really anticipating the walk into the wilds we ended up with. After our wet and challenging 5-day walk across Dartmoor that resulted in our previous book, The High Oak, we doubted that our coastal ‘sequel’ would embody the same elemental wildness.

After all we were walking along a well-trodden coastal path, many stretches of which are easily accessible and hugely popular. It was partly why we decided to set off in February, when we knew at least we would be walking out-of-season. On our first day the amiably bright weather appeared to offer less artistic ‘grit’ for any dynamic creativity. But it’s funny how things unfold. What we actually walked into was at once unexpected and illuminating. It was nothing less than inspiring and all three of us would not have wished the circumstances to have been any different.

The prose in This Ragged Edge was borne out of the scribbled observations I made over five days as we walked into the wildest and most wondrous of weather. The pages of the Moleskine notebook I took with me are covered in a spidery graffiti, often scrawled against biting winds and flurries of snow. An impulsive love letter in elemental shorthand for a familiar landscape. Here is my opening passage to the book:

“The day was bright with brisk winds as we took to the coastal path rising up from Sunny Cove. Amidst the fleetness of the elements we walked through a loose-woven copse of salt-hardened sycamores. Hart’s tongue ferns breached the carpeting ivy and clusters of primroses flecked the greens throughout. We were in buoyant spirits and turning aside to stand on the cliff edge our laughter hitched a free ride on the eager wind.”

Like Jamie and Marcus I have explored this stretch of coastline since my late teens. So many memories across those 35 years: sleeping out under the stars on its rocky shores. Campfires in the shingle and pan-frying fresh-caught fish. Cliff-side scrambles to reach hidden caves and carrying shoulder-loads of driftwood up steep rocky paths to make sculptures back in my studio. All the summer swims I have enjoyed in its secluded coves. The moonlit dips and winter plunges. And after long hikes along the coastal path the late-night pool sessions back at The Pig’s Nose.

Our walk, however, proved to me that no matter how much you think you know somewhere there’s always more to be revealed. It is a knowing that is only as exhaustive as the curiosity we have to meet it.

Information and tickets for the launch at Ashburton Arts Centre on the 1st of October:

https://www.wegottickets.com/event/524934

You can order your copy of This Ragged Edge now:

https://www.wolfdogpress.co.uk/books

13/09/2021

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13/09/2021

James Richardson - Intro to reading from This Ragged Edge

When Jamie, Marcus and I set off along the South Devon coast on a bright but brisk February day we were not really anticipating the walk into the wilds we ended up with. After our wet and challenging 5-day walk across Dartmoor that resulted in our previous book, The High Oak, we doubted that our coastal ‘sequel’ would embody the same elemental wildness.

After all we were walking along a well-trodden coastal path, many stretches of which are easily accessible and hugely popular. It was partly why we decided to set off in February, when we knew at least we would be walking out-of-season. On our first day we seemed blessed with amiable weather, which we feared would offer less artistic ‘grit’ for dynamic creativity. But it’s funny how things unfold. What we actually walked into was at once unexpected and illuminating. It was nothing less than inspiring and all three of us would not have wished the circumstances to have been any different.

So, this post begins a short series of audio readings taken chronologically from the prose that was inspired by our journey. What I wrote in This Ragged Edge was borne out of the scribbled observations over the five days, often scrawled into my ‘moleskine’ notebook, against biting winds and flurries of snow. An elemental shorthand scribbled with love for a familiar landscape.

Like Jamie and Marcus I have known and explored this stretch of coastline since my late teens, 35 years ago. So many memories of sleeping out on its rocky shores. Of campfires in the shingle and cooking out. Of gathering shoulder-loads of driftwood, carried up steep rocky paths, to take back to my studio. Of summer swims in its secluded coves and winter plunges on its wide beaches. Our walk, however, proved to me that no matter how much you think you know somewhere there’s always more to be revealed. It’s a knowing that is only as exhaustive as the curiosity to meet it.

13/09/2021

James Richardson

When Jamie, Marcus and I set off along the South Devon coast on a bright but brisk February day we were not really anticipating the walk into the wilds we ended up with. After our wet and challenging 5-day walk across Dartmoor that resulted in our previous book, The High Oak, we doubted that our coastal ‘sequel’ would embody the same elemental wildness.

After all we were walking along a well-trodden coastal path, many stretches of which are easily accessible and hugely popular. It was partly why we decided to set off in February, when we knew at least we would be walking out-of-season. On our first day we seemed blessed with amiable weather, which we feared would offer less artistic ‘grit’ for dynamic creativity. But it’s funny how things unfold. What we actually walked into was at once unexpected and illuminating. It was nothing less than inspiring and all three of us would not have wished the circumstances to have been any different.

So, this post begins a short series of audio readings taken chronologically from the prose that was inspired by our journey. What I wrote in This Ragged Edge was borne out of the scribbled observations over the five days, often scrawled into my ‘moleskine’ notebook, against biting winds and flurries of snow. An elemental shorthand scribbled with love for a familiar landscape.

Like Jamie and Marcus I have known and explored this stretch of coastline since my late teens, 35 years ago. So many memories of sleeping out on its rocky shores. Of campfires in the shingle and cooking out. Of gathering shoulder-loads of driftwood, carried up steep rocky paths, to take back to my studio. Of summer swims in its secluded coves and winter plunges on its wide beaches. Our walk, however, proved to me that no matter how much you think you know somewhere there’s always more to be revealed. It’s a knowing that is only as exhaustive as the curiosity to meet it.

13/09/2021

James Richardson
Intro to reading from This Ragged Edge

When Jamie, Marcus and I set off along the South Devon coast on a bright but brisk February day we were not really anticipating the walk into the wilds we ended up with. After our wet and challenging 5-day walk across Dartmoor that resulted in our previous book, The High Oak, we doubted that our coastal ‘sequel’ would embody the same elemental wildness.

After all we were walking along a well-trodden coastal path, many stretches of which are easily accessible and hugely popular. It was partly why we decided to set off in February, when we knew at least we would be walking out-of-season. On our first day we seemed blessed with amiable weather, which we feared would offer less artistic ‘grit’ for dynamic creativity. But it’s funny how things unfold. What we actually walked into was at once unexpected and illuminating. It was nothing less than inspiring and all three of us would not have wished the circumstances to have been any different.

So, this post begins a short series of audio readings taken chronologically from the prose that was inspired by our journey. What I wrote in This Ragged Edge was borne out of the scribbled observations over the five days, often scrawled into my ‘moleskine’ notebook, against biting winds and flurries of snow. An elemental shorthand scribbled with love for a familiar landscape.

Like Jamie and Marcus I have known and explored this stretch of coastline since my late teens, 35 years ago. So many memories of sleeping out on its rocky shores. Of campfires in the shingle and cooking out. Of gathering shoulder-loads of driftwood, carried up steep rocky paths, to take back to my studio. Of summer swims in its secluded coves and winter plunges on its wide beaches. Our walk, however, proved to me that no matter how much you think you know somewhere there’s always more to be revealed. It’s a knowing that is only as exhaustive as the curiosity to meet it.

10/09/2021

A Journey along Devon’s Wild Coast
Jamie Grant

This photo of the three friends (myself, James Richardson and Marcus Gladstone-Noble) was taken outside of Kingswear, right at the start of our five-day exploration of the South Devon coast that ended with our book ‘This Ragged Edge.’ I look back at it now with a tingling sense of foreboding. There is no hint in our relaxed stance of the storm clouds that were gathering beyond the horizon.

The day was calm and overcast but I do remember a cold breeze tugging at our jackets as we lined up for the photo. Although bad weather was forecast later on in the week, none of us had any idea that it would become the now fabled ‘Beast from the East’. Little did we know that we would end up sheltering in a public toilet on the Slapton Line, or become trapped in our tents in an abandoned quarry with what sounded like a 747 roaring full tilt over our heads. The snow ended up settling on the beaches, right down to the tidal mark.

There is another theme that jumps out at me when I look at this image: friendship. Marcus and I have been buddies since we were at primary school and James since we were teenagers. We have all grown up or spent many long years in Devon and share a common love for remote and wild places. We have been on many adventures together, including a five-day journey across Dartmoor exploring three ancient woodlands that resulted in our book ‘The High Oak.’

But it is this coastline rather than Dartmoor that has always been the biggest draw for me, ever since I started visiting with my family as a child. From my late teens I spent long, languid summers swimming and exploring the headlands between Dartmouth and Salcombe with friends. Beaches like Gara Rock, Venericks and Mattiscombe bring back a rich weave of memories. When I walk down to them it feels like treading so many paths back to those pearly coves of my youth.

Marcus and James have similar long-standing associations with this landscape, so we decided to go on an artistic journey of exploration. We packed tents and all of our food and set off in February’s winter light. Drawing on our separate artistic talents we sought to conjure up a collective and very personal portrait of the Devon coastline as winter edged into spring.

I still remember the clunk of the shutter of my old camera at this moment of departure, at the very start of our journey. It would prove to be a very long one. That winter’s storm was followed by a global pandemic and national lockdowns which have delayed publication of the book until now. Just making it through such a turbulent time feels like some sort of achievement. This book is about much more than a stretch of coastline on the South West of England. It is, for me, about friendship, tenacity and a sense of belonging.

This Ragged Edge is being launched at the Ashburton Arts Centre on the 1st of October. Get your free tickets by following this link: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/524934

06/09/2021

Book Launch – Friday 1st October 6pm - 8pm.
Ashburton Arts Centre, Devon

This Ragged Edge is the story of a journey by three artists and friends between Salcombe and Dartmouth in 2018. Seeking out secluded coves, shipwrecks and wind ravaged headlands they end up walking through the heart of an Arctic storm.Their resulting book is described by nature writer Miriam Darlington as, ‘The story of five days exploration into the stark beauty and dreamlike possibility of coastline.'

Join the authors, Jamie Grant, Marcus Gladstone-Noble and James Richardson as they launch their book that celebrates Devon's incredible coastline and gives a unique perspective on its many moods.

This Ragged Edge will be available to buy for the first time at the event and the authors will be offering an evening of projected imagery, storytelling and poetry.

There will also be drinks, snacks and live music. No tickets required. This is a free event, so just turn up!

05/08/2021

Welcome to the Wolfdog Press, a very small publishing house with a big heart. Founded by photographer and writer Jamie Grant the aim of this micro business is to publish beautiful books with an environmental focus.

In the coming weeks we will promoting the first title by Wolfdog Press. 'This Ragged Edge' is the story of three friends (Jamie Grant, Marcus Gladstone Noble and James Richardson) coastal journey along the South Devon coastal path and into the wildest storm in living memory.

Blending writing, poetry and stunning images taken on an old medium format camera, this book captures the wild edge of a much loved landscape. This Ragged Edge is being launched in the Ashburton Arts Centre in Devon on the 1st of October and copies will be available online from www.wolfdogpress.co.uk from this date.