Photo: Hugh Purser
'What are you working on at the moment?'
'I have a non-fiction book proposal out on the market which I'm quietly excited about. Also more contract story ideas.'
'I'm also working on a part-autobiography, part travel-book, part exploration of identity. I hope to premiere it in 2024. I've also written three and a half books of poetry, still to be published, some of which I have been reading live.'
'I'm also thrilled that PhotoTriggers (see Learning page), the online learning tool I co-invented and co-own with Tony Othen, is up and running again in prisons in the UK after being suspended during lockdown.'
'Education and qualifications give young offenders a better prison record, a better chance of parole and a better chance to get out, stay out and contribute to and benefit from society. PhotoTriggers has government funding for the academic year 2022-23, which means it costs the user institution nothing and may help reduce re-offending, thus saving the taxpayer money.'
'What are you reading at the moment?'
'I go through periods of reading nothing and then reading six books at once. Right now, I'm reading a book my son Miles gave me, 'New and Selected Poems' by Samuel Menashe. He's a New York City poet and I think he's up there with William Blake.'
'What advice would you give to aspiring writers?'
'As the t-shirt says, just do it. Always make contacts and don't be afraid to ask for help. Contacts and help = confidence. Confidence = a better chance of getting yourself and your work out there. I'd give that advice to anyone, at any stage in any career, including myself and mine.'
'What do you think are the biggest obstacles to writers at the moment?'
'One of them is the censorship by Puffin Books of the works of Roald Dahl. It's hypocritical and insults the writer and the reader.'
'Finally, who do you admire at the moment?'
'The late Emily Hoyle (Pearce-Gould), whom I knew since she was a child, and died from the effects of cystic fibrosis aged 38, just before Christmas 2022. A true life force and radiant spirit.'
'Conversely, I hold in contempt all those politicians who perpetuated lockdowns in order to gratify their own power games, egos and personal inadequacies. The reckoning has only just begun.'
AUGUST 2022: Jonathan participated in the Latvia-Cambridge Venture Camp at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, England: '30 young Latvian entrepreneurs plus the valiant Professor Alan Barrell, our friend Hugh Purser and our wunderkind Pembroke College student Sandra Fuhrmann braved a hot day on foot to experience the 'alternative creative history of Cambridge'. Two more full-on days of one-on-one brainstorming sessions followed. What a great and diverse group of people who are the future of their country!'
JULY 2022: Jonathan appeared live at Create 98, Leigh Broadway, Leigh-on-Sea, reading from his new work.
MAY 6-7 2022: Jonathan presented 'A Tale of Two Start Ups' and 'We Haven't the Money So We've Got to Think' live at the University of Latvia, Riga Technical University and Stockholm School of Economics, for participants in the CONNECT Latvia/Latvia-Cambridge Venture Camp in Riga, Latvia. See the Learning page.
'Riga is a beautiful city and Latvia encourages cultural and entrepreneurial cross-border thinking. After the economic and cultural folly of Brexit, it was great to be back in the European Union.'
'THE MICROWAVE DELUSION'
5 STARS ON AMAZON: 'The best book I have read on the subject so far.'
5 STARS ON WATERSTONE'S: 'Totally compelling... Everyone should read this book.'
Jonathan’s latest book ‘The Microwave Delusion’ with Brian Stein CBE chronicles the defective safety practices of the wireless industry worldwide and is available through Amazon, Waterstone's, Blackwell's, W.H Smith, bol.com, Cygnus, Barnes and Noble, Foyles and ebay.com. RRP: £14.99 $22.99
Jonathan's latest theatre play ‘He Thinks in Colours, She Thinks in Numbers’ is a 70-minute two-hander suitable for small amateur and professional venues - for more information, contact Jonathan through this website.