Deborah Tomkins Writer - Blog

The Encore Award - shortlisting

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:37:00 +0000

I am so excited to share that my novel The Wilder Path has been shortlisted for The Encore Award, which is for a novelist's second novel. The Award was set up by the Royal Society of Literature in 1990, and is now being administered by the Society of Authors.

This year's judges were Malika Booker, Rachel Aroesti, and Anita Sethi, who selected a "treasure trove" of four novels for the shortlist. It's absolutely amazing that my novel now keeps company with the brilliant books shortlisted in the past, as well as these wonderful contemporary novels.

The judges say, about The Wilder Path:

This immensely atmospheric novel depicts both extreme weather events and the characters' stormy emotions as it tells a potent story of grief for the loss of human life and the detection of the natural world - and how such loss can be channelled into hope and action to strive for a better world.

Huge congratulations to my three fellow shortlisted authors, Claire Adam, Caleb Klaces, and Nydia Hetherington, and I look forward very much to reading their novels.

AI - Artificial Intelligence - and creativity

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:59:00 +0000

Artificial Intelligence is a HUGE topic, one that we are going to be grappling with for a long time. I am still gathering my thoughts on this, but the TL;DR (too long, don't read) version is that all the greatest works on Earth have been created purely from human imagination and the creative impulse (which we ALL possess, I believe, however that creativity is expressed). We don't need machines to help us.

The second thing to say is that ALL work created by Artificial General Intelligence has been stolen from the works of human beings: writing, music, art, photography. AGI is trained on human work, the vast majority of which has been used without permission - uploaded, saved and then deleted within seconds. Artists deserve copyright fees. There have been some lawsuits (ongoing).

You will find that AGI-created work (can we say "created"? - I'm not sure - it is simply "produced", like in a factory) all begins to sound and look the same. AGI has no original creative impulse of its own, however clever and original it may sound at first.

There are other forms of Artificial Intelligence - some are useful, for example in science experiments when a computer compiles results, thus saving researchers a great deal of time. Other uses are dubious - certain models of AI are factually incorrect up to 40% of the time. We shouldn't rely on these for fact-checking, homework etc. Other uses are plain unethical - such as Palantir now using its AI software to choose targets to bomb in Iran. The AI is making decisions that only humans should make.

I could go on! There is a lot more to say. Perhaps another time. I have never used AI of any kind, and don't intend to. Readers can be assured that everything I write and publish, whether words or images, is all my own work.

Meanwhile, on a lighter note, if you would like to read The Wilder Path as an eBook, you can find it on Kobo.

Italian copies of AERTH have arrived!

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 11:47:00 +0000

So exciting to hold these beautiful copies in my hands - and they have flaps! (I am very keen on the French flap or French fold - extra flaps inside the cover). UN'ALTRA TERRA is being published in 2 days' time, on 4th February. The publisher is Zona 42.

Aerth - Un'Altra Terra

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 13:12:00 +0000

My novella AERTH is about to be published in Italy on 4 February 2026, under its new title UN'ALTRA TERRA. It has a stunning new cover, created by Annalisa Antonini, and has been most elegantly translated by Chiara Reali. I am absolutely thrilled!

Molte grazie to Giorgio Raffaelli at Zona42, and to all the team!

Cornwall in the winter

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 11:32:00 +0000

Here is a rather beautiful deserted winter's beach in North Cornwall. I took this photo in late 2020 near St Ives, where we were taking a family holiday between Covid-19 lockdowns.

In my novel The Wilder Path, Roly takes a cliff-top walk on a beautiful New Year's Eve afternoon - I imagined the weather just like this. She certainly doesn't expect to become trapped in a cave with only an injured cormorant for company.

The novel explores Roly's complex reactions to climate change and the threats to nature, and her equally complex relationships with friends and family. She was a challenge to write - not always sympathetic, but always human - and ahead of her time.

David Higham Associates

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 12:48:00 +0000

Just a very quick post to share that I am now represented by Sara Langham of David Higham Associates, a long-established literary agency in London, founded in 1935. As one of the oldest literary agencies in the world they have a wealth of experience to draw upon, with agents working to exploit a writer's work in all fields, not just books.

I am delighted to be represented by Sara and feel very confident that she is the right agent for me! We share an interest in what might be called "the liminal" - often taken to mean the slightly uncanny or spooky. I think "liminal" (from the Latin "limen", meaning threshold) can be stretched to cover any place or circumstance where worlds meet, whether that is a physical place, a culture, a point of view, or - of course - the uncanny.

So Aerth and The Wilder Path can both be seen as liminal, in this bigger and wider sense, where worlds collide, or where people step over a barrier or threshold from one world to another, whether that's physical, psychological, emotional, or something entirely different.

I explore this sense of the edge of things in short stories too, as in my very short fiction "me and the foxes battle it out along the railway line". Thresholds are, after all, where the most interesting things may happen...

https://davidhigham.co.uk/authors-dh/deborah-tomkins/

Geneva Writers... and news about Aerth

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:59:00 +0000

I have just come back from the 14th Geneva Writers Conference, where I was teaching "Ways into Climate Writing", and I had a wonderful time. It was so interesting and stimulating being with writers of all genres, with so many interesting writerly conversations and brilliant workshops. The weekend had an international flavour, with people coming from all over Europe, so I overheard conversations in several languages. I enjoyed brushing up my French too.

While I was there, a friend sent me a screenshot of my novella Aerth... mentioned as one of the best books of 2025 in the Daily Telegraph Christmas Books supplement. This is tremendously exciting! I must say I found it difficult to sleep that night. Aerth is one of just 21 novels mentioned in that part of the list. Online, it links to the stunning review by the Telegraph's critic Luke Kennard, which was published in January, just before the book came out.

All in all, a very exciting weekend. I travelled to Geneva and back via public transport, a total of: 8 trains, 2 overnight ferries, one bus, one taxi, 2 Paris metro trains, and my own two feet! It was a very interesting journey, and not as tiring as people might expect. More on this, perhaps, in another post.

The Daily Telegraph, 15th November 2025.

Bristol Climate Writers

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 13:38:00 +0000

Bristol Climate Writers is relaunching online on Monday 24th November at 7.15pm. We have been fairly quiet over the past couple years, due to LIFE! - but we hope to reach and inspire the people in the Bristol, Bath and Beyond area to read and perhaps write about climate change and the challenges to nature.

Reading can help us think things through, as well as inform and entertain us. Writing can help the author work out what they really think, and how to say it. Reading and writing are important.

We have poets, fiction writers, and non-fiction writers of all kinds in our network, both published, unpublished and just starting out. On 24th November we will be introducing ourselves and our work, there will be readings, and hopefully, if we have time, discussion.

Do come along! This event is free, and open to all. Please use the sign-up form so we can send you the Zoom link.

Going forward, we expect to alternate events between online and in-person events.

BristolCon 2025

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 17:41:00 +0000

I spent yesterday at BristolCon, a highlight of my year. This year it was a two-day event, both Saturday and Sunday.

BrtistolCon is extraordinary. Run entirely by volunteers, it manages everything on a shoestring - excellent talks, panel discussions and workshops, booksellers and artists - thus keeping the event low-cost for all participants, and is just 10 minutes' walk from the central railway station at Bristol Temple Meads. Many people stay at the hotel; others, like me, are local.

As usual there were so many fascinating talks, panels, and small group discussions. I spotted Adrian Tchaikovsky among the attendees, but didn't get to hear him speak. Last year's guest of honour was Joanne Harris (who wrote Chocolat, among many other excellent novels); and this year's guests of honour were John Higgins, JE Hannaford and Ben Jeapes. Something that everyone mentions is how friendly and accessible the event is. The programme gives you an idea of the breadth and depth of the convention.

If you are interested in this event, check it out! I heartily recommend it.

They say:

BristolCon is a science fiction and fantasy convention organized by the BristolCon Committee. The primary aim of the event is to support the Science Fiction and Fantasy community within the South West of the United Kingdom, and to promote the works of Science Fiction and Fantasy authors, artists, businesses, and performers within the United Kingdom and further afield. The convention was created in 2009 by members of the Bristol Fantasy & SF Society, and has since become renowned as a fun, friendly, and informative addition to the UK’s convention calendar.

Each year we feature panel discussions and lectures, an art show, and small group sessions including table talks and workshops. Books, comics and merchandise are available in the dealers’ room and authors will be available for book signings.

Resonate: Deeper, Wilder, Stronger

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 18:32:00 +0000

My next event is with Resonate, a monthly meeting of arts and faith held at St Stephen's church in central Bristol. It's on Tuesday 7 October at 8pm. Come along if you are in the area and interested.

Deeper, Wilder, Stronger...

A lifelong lover of nature, prize-winning eco-novelist Deborah Tomkins will explore how her Christian faith has informed not only her environmental and climate activism, but also her writing. Her novella Aerth (Weatherglass Books, 2025) and her novel The Wilder Path (Aurora Metro Books, 2025) both explore the human response to climate and environmental breakdown, from very different perspectives. Deborah has been involved in the national charity Green Christian for over 30 years, and recently stepped back after being Co-Chair for 5 years.

Update:

This was a very enjoyable evening with warm and welcoming hosts and a very engaged audience, who asked really great questions. There were also far more people than I expected - the room was very full! Thank you again to the organisers for inviting me.