Sixteen Acres

Sixteen Acres, my first book-length work, has recently been acquired by Profile Books for publication in early 2027.

The book has its origins in an essay shortlisted for the Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize in 2025.

Sixteen Acres is an exploration of global change through the story of a small apple farm in north Essex and its orchard-keeper. Originating as a chronicle of a year on the farm - a detailed record of the weather, soil, trees and farming practice, from the perspective of a curious neighbour – these visits lead to an exploration into land, climate and economics; the food we eat and the plants that produce it; and the uncomfortable relationship between ecological conservation, heritage and living culture.

The book moves from microscopic observation of the seasonal cycle on the farm, backwards through the last century of economic disruption, and forward to an unexpected future. It examines how humans and plants adapt, in a mutually dependent tangle, to unpredictable change.