Jenn Ashworth at Blackwells

Jenn Ashworth is back at Blackwells bookshop for the Manchester launch of her latest work, reading extracts and chatting to Helen Mort about how The Parallel Path came about.

The Parallel Path is Jenn Ashworth’s account of walking the Wainwright Coast to Coast route from St Bees Head in West Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in the North East in the stifling summer of 2022. But it’s not just the story of a long walk across the North, it’s also a conversation conducted by letters with her friend Clive Parkinson as he makes plans for future art projects, and a memoir that explores how artistic and creative friendships can help us encounter illness and grief.

Here’s what Blackwells says about the book:

Burnt out and longing for an escape, Jenn Ashworth emerged from lockdown with a compulsive need to walk – and to walk away. Armed with little more than the knowledge imparted by a two-day orienteering course and a set of maps, she embarked on the most epic of English walks: Wainwright’s Coast to Coast.

Guided not just by Wainwright’s writing but also by daily letters from her friend Clive – facing an epic journey of his own – Jenn’s pilgrimage soon becomes more than just walking: a chance to reconnect and excavate, to re-engage with the act of caring for others and for oneself.

But the walk’s tricky terrain is not the only thing standing in Jenn’s way. As days go by, her balance begins to fail her and the act of putting one foot in front the other becomes a new exercise in caution. When a vicious heatwave forces her to pause her expedition and gives her an opportunity to investigate the new limitations of her body, Jenn is confronted with a life-altering diagnosis – and a new path of self-discovery.

Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime) says: “Reading The Parallel Path feels like going on a long walk with an old friend: Jenn Ashworth is exceptionally good company. I loved it.”

Professor of Writing at Lancaster University, Jenn Ashworth was born in Preston and studied at Cambridge and Manchester. Her novels include A Kind of Intimacy, The Friday Gospels and Fell. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018. In 2019 she published Notes Made While Falling, a memoir told in a series of essays, followed by the novel Ghosted: A Love Story, which was shortlisted for the Portico Prize in 2022.

Doors are at 6.30pm, with the reading starting at 6.45pm. The usual format is a 45-minute discussion between the author and interviewer, followed by a chance for audience members to ask questions, so come prepared! Tickets are £4, or free when purchasing a copy the book – there will be the opportunity to get your book signed/dedicated after the event.