S5 Ep50: Nigel Williamson, obituarist

A little detour into death this week – or life, depending on how you look at it. Nigel Williamson, obituary writer for The Times newspaper, joins me to talk about the art of summing up a person one final time, over 1600 words or so, for the permanent record. I met Nigel in March at the News Building in London to talk about researching a biography, interviewing the bereaved, and trying to get the essence of a whole human life into a couple of pages. You can buy the latest Times anthology of obituaries, Lives Less Ordinary , here, including Nigel's pieces on Ken Dodd, Greg Lake, Rod Temperton, Anita Pallenberg, April Ashley, Magic Alex, Christina Smith, Richard Cole, Jan Morris and many more: And here are some more of Nigel's obituaries: Lisa Marie Presley: Jeff Beck: Hilary Alexander: and my 2013 piece on Hilary Alexander, which I loved writing: Join me on 18 April 2023 in London for this live event with the London Writers' Salon: For a 50% discount and a drink at the bar, use the code HATTIEFRIEND when you purchase your ticket. This season of In Writing is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative. Use code INWRITING20 for £20 off one of their four, five, six, or ten-week online writing courses. Visit curtisbrowncreative.co.uk to find out more.

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S5 Ep50: Nigel Williamson, obituarist is an episode from In Writing with Hattie Crisell.

This episode is 49:44 long.

This episode was published on Apr 14, 2023.

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