# Horatio Clare

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Horatio_Clare
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Horatio_Clare.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Clare
> Source revision: 1352640832
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Welsh author

Horatio Clare Born London, England Occupation Author Nationality British Genre Memoir, travel writing, children's books, fiction, essays

**Horatio Clare** is a Welsh author of travel, memoir, nature and children's books, travel and feature essays, and writing and broadcasting on mental health and psychiatry. A former BBC producer on *[Front Row](/source/Front_Row_(radio_programme))* ([BBC Radio 4](/source/BBC_Radio_4)), *[Night Waves](/source/Free_Thinking)* ([BBC Radio 3](/source/BBC_Radio_3)) and *The Verb* ([BBC Radio 3](/source/BBC_Radio_3)), he presents the *Sound Walks* series on BBC Radio 3, and is also the writer and co-presenter of the Radio 4 series *Is Psychiatry Working?* He is a senior lecturer in creative non-fiction at the University of Manchester.

## Background

Born in London, Clare grew up on a hill farm in the [Black Mountains](/source/Black_Mountains%2C_Wales) of South Wales. He later attended [Malvern College](/source/Malvern_College) and the [United World College of the Atlantic](/source/United_World_College_of_the_Atlantic) before reading English at the [University of York](/source/University_of_York). He taught at the International School of Verona, the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores, and currently the University of Manchester.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Literary career

Clare's first book, *Running for the Hills* (2006), was a memoir, described by [John Carey](/source/John_Carey_(critic)) in *The Sunday Times* as: 'the equivalent of a collection of poems by [Ted Hughes](/source/Ted_Hughes) – or even [Wordsworth](/source/William_Wordsworth)'.[1] It won the [Somerset Maugham Award](/source/Somerset_Maugham_Award) and saw Clare shortlisted for *Sunday Times* Young Writer of the Year 2007.

His second novel, *Truant: Notes from the Slippery Slope*, is a contribution to the debate about cannabis, and led Carlo Gebler in *The Irish Times* to advise 'Get your stoner friend a copy. It might just save their life.'[2]

It was followed by several works of [travel](/source/Travel_literature) and [nature writing](/source/Nature_writing). *A Single Swallow* (2009) traces the migration of barn swallows from South Africa to South Wales. Annabel Goldie in *The Herald* called it: 'An extraordinary and mesmerising odyssey'[3]

In 2012 and 2013 Clare travelled with Maersk Lines as a writer in residence on container ships. His account of the ships, oceans and crews he encountered on voyages from Felixstowe to Los Angeles, and from Antwerp to Montreal, *Down to the Sea in Ships* (2014), was described by *The Independent as:* 'a lyrical, heartfelt and eye-opening chronicle'.[4] The book won the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year.

Two children's books, *Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot* and a sequel, *Aubrey and the Terrible Ladybirds*, were published in 2015 and 2017. Both Aubrey books were longlisted for the [Carnegie Medal](/source/Carnegie_Medal_(literary_award)). *Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot* won the Branford Boase Award for Best Debut Children's Book, the judges commenting: 'Horatio Clare writes about nature as well as [T.H. White](/source/T._H._White).' [5]

In 2015 Clare won the Royal Geographical Society / Neville Shulman Challenge Award, for *Orison for a Curlew*, a combination of travel and nature writing, concentrating on the conservationists who tried to save the bird. *The Times Literary Supplement* commented: 'Busy and vigorous humanity is the subject to which Clare is best suited; he has a sharp ear for it, and thanks to Clare's generosity toward his subjects, the wealth of backstory and anecdote in his Orison practically hums with it.' [6]

In 2017 Chatto & Windus published *Icebreaker – A Voyage Far North*, the record of a journey around the [Bothnian Bay](/source/Bothnian_Bay) with the Finnish government's [icebreaker](/source/Icebreaker) [*Otso*](/source/Otso_(icebreaker)). It was the *New Statesman'*s Book of the Year, and *The Economist* commented: 'Light fills his writing... Mr Clare is a great enjoyer – of people, landscape, and above all of language.'[7] *Icebreaker* was shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year Award 2017.

Clare's 2019 book *The Light in the Dark: A Winter Journal* is an exploration of the highs and lows of the British winter, acclaimed by critics for its emotional power. 'As travel writer, nature writer, memory retriever and... prose-poet of mesmerising lyricism, Horatio Clare is a celebrant and observer of what is lovely, less lovely and sometimes, thankfully, absurd in the world,' wrote Juliet Nicolson in *The Spectator*.[8]

*Heavy Light: A Journey Through Madness, Mania and Healing* appeared in 2021, published by Chatto & Windus. The work describes Clare's own breakdown, sectioning, psychiatric treatment, and recovery. *The Daily Telegraph* judged it 'game changing'[9] for its insights into the causes, course and treatment of breakdown. 'What a gift,' wrote Megan Andrew in *The Sunday Times*, 'having such an articulate agent, reporting back from the far edges of the mind.'[10]

In 2024 Penguin Life published *Your Journey Your Way – The Recovery Guide to Mental Health*, a study of new treatments and approaches to mental health recovery. *The Observer* judged it 'a generous and deeply researched guide to navigating mental health care'.[11] It was a *Sunday Times* Best Self-help Book of 2024.[12]

*We Came By Sea - stories of a greater Britain* was published in 2025 by Little Toller Books, telling the unreported story of the small boats crisis. 'This is bold, exhilarating thinking' commented the Times Literary Supplement [13]. 'Powerful...' said *The Spectator*, 'at grassroots level he finds British people filled with compassion, generosity and courage'.[14] The book was shortlisted for the Nero Book Awards 2025.[15]

## Awards and honours

- 2007 [Somerset Maugham Award](/source/Somerset_Maugham_Award) winner for *Running for the Hills*[16]

- 2007 [*Sunday Times* Young Writer of the Year Award](/source/Sunday_Times_Young_Writer_of_the_Year_Award) shortlist for *Running for the Hills*[17]

- 2010 [Dolman Best Travel Book Award](/source/Edward_Stanford_Travel_Writing_Awards#Stanford_Travel_Book_of_the_Year) shortlisted for *A Single Swallow*[18]

- 2015 [Wales Book of the Year](/source/Wales_Book_of_the_Year) Shortlisted for *Down to the Sea in Ships*

- 2015 [Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year](/source/Edward_Stanford_Travel_Writing_Awards#Stanford_Travel_Book_of_the_Year) winner for *Down to the Sea in Ships*[19]

- 2016 [Branford Boase Award](/source/Branford_Boase_Award) Winner, Debut Children's Book of the Year, *Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot*.

- 2016 [Carnegie Medal](/source/Carnegie_Medal_(literary_award)), Longlist, for *Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot*

- 2017 [Carnegie Medal](/source/Carnegie_Medal_(literary_award)), Longlist for *Aubrey and the Terrible Ladybirds*

- 2018 [Wales Book of the Year](/source/Wales_Book_of_the_Year), Shortlisted for *Icebreaker – A Voyage Far North*

- 2018 Grand Prix des Lecteurs Le Journal de Mickey, Shortlisted for *Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot*

- 2025 Nero Book Awards, shortlisted for *We Came By Sea - stories of a greater Britain* [20]

## Publications

- —— (2003). *Marrakech the Red City: The City through Writers' Eyes*. Sickle Moon / Eland.

- —— (2005). *Meetings with Remarkable Muslims*. Eland.

- —— (2006). *Sicily: Through Writers' Eyes*. Eland.

- —— (2006). *Running for the Hills*. John Murray.

- —— (2007). *Truant: Notes from a Slippery Slope*. John Murray.

- —— (2009). *A Single Swallow*. Chatto & Windus (UK) and Nieuw Amsterdam (Netherlands).

- —— (2011). *The Prince's Pen*. Seren Books.

- —— (2014). *Down to the Sea in Ships*. Chatto & Windus.

- —— (2015). *The Paratrooper's Princess*. Accent Press / Quickreads.

- —— (2015). *Orison for a Curlew*. Little Toller Books.

- —— (2015). *Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot*. Firefly.

- —— (2017). *Aubrey and the Terrible Ladybirds*. Firefly.

- —— (2017). *Myths and Legends of the Brecon Beacons*. Graffeg.

- —— (2017). *Icebreaker – A Voyage Far North*. Chatto & Windus.

- —— (2018). *Something of His Art: Walking to Lübeck with J. S. Bach*. Little Toller.

- —— (2019). *The Light in the Dark: A Winter Journal*. Elliott & Thompson Limited.

- —— (2021). *Heavy Light: A Journey Through Madness, Mania and Healing*. Chatto & Windus.

- —— (2024). *Your Journey Your Way: how to make the mental health system work for you*. Penguin Life.

- —— (2025). *We Came by Sea*. Little Toller.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Another country"](https://www.thetimes.com/article/another-country-9g3nv6jwj56). 5 March 2006.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["A life gone up in smoke"](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/a-life-gone-up-in-smoke-1.954554). *[The Irish Times](/source/The_Irish_Times)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [*A Single Swallow*](https://www.booktopia.com.au/a-single-swallow-horatio-clare/book/9780099526315.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqR-qmbgIRhUpqDBzqsr58FpNvIwAtiU4w6r50ebjKRCjI7hbKq).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/down-to-the-sea-in-ships-by-horatio-clare-book-review-excellent-look-at-oceanbound-trade-and-exploitation-9035074.html](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/down-to-the-sea-in-ships-by-horatio-clare-book-review-excellent-look-at-oceanbound-trade-and-exploitation-9035074.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Drabble, Emily (7 July 2016). ["Horatio Clare and Penny Thomas win the Branford Boase award"](https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/jul/07/horatio-clare-branford-boase-penny-thomas-aubrey-and-the-terrible-yoot). *The Guardian*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Schrödinger's curlew"](https://www.the-tls.co.uk/science-technology/natural-history/schrodingers-curlew).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["A British travel writer evokes the magic of the Baltic Sea"](https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2017/11/16/a-british-travel-writer-evokes-the-magic-of-the-baltic-sea). *The Economist*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Beyond SAD"](https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/beyond-sad/). November 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Brown, Helen (13 March 2021). ["What psychosis is really like: 'MI6 wanted me to marry Kylie Minogue'"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/psychosis-really-likemi6-wanted-marry-kylie-minogue/). *The Telegraph*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Heavy Light by Horatio Clare, review — dispatches from the edge of sanity"](https://www.thetimes.com/article/heavy-light-by-horatio-clare-review-gnj0xlb60). 7 March 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Jeffries, Stuart (6 October 2024). ["Your Journey, Your Way by Horatio Clare review – the Martin Lewis of mental health"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/oct/06/your-journey-your-way-by-horatio-clare-review-inspiring-self-help-manual-for-everybody-mental-health). *The Observer*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["The 8 best self-help books of 2024"](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/best-self-help-books-2024-nr376hjfg). 29 November 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [https://www.the-tls.com/regular-features/in-brief/we-came-by-sea-horatio-clare-book-review-samantha-ellis](https://www.the-tls.com/regular-features/in-brief/we-came-by-sea-horatio-clare-book-review-samantha-ellis)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/its-trust-in-english-kindness-that-keeps-the-migrants-coming/](https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/its-trust-in-english-kindness-that-keeps-the-migrants-coming/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** [https://nerobookawards.com/we-came-by-sea-horatio-clare/](https://nerobookawards.com/we-came-by-sea-horatio-clare/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Somerset Maugham Award past winners"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160626045958/http://www.societyofauthors.org/somerset-maugham-past-winners). Society of Authors. Archived from [the original](http://www.societyofauthors.org/somerset-maugham-past-winners) on 26 June 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** McLaren, Elsa (26 March 2007). ["Alderman wins young writer award in unanimous decision"](https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/alderman-wins-young-writer-award-in-unanimous-decision-gf8mkj30cn6). *[The Sunday Times](/source/The_Sunday_Times)*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0140-0460](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0140-0460).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Ian Thomson wins 2010 Dolman Travel Book of the Year"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120309000502/http://dolmanprize.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/ian-thomson-wins-2010-dolman-travel-book-of-the-year/). *dolmanprize.wordpress.com*. 7 July 2010. Archived from [the original](https://dolmanprize.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/ian-thomson-wins-2010-dolman-travel-book-of-the-year/) on 9 March 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Michael Kerr (28 September 2015). ["Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year award 2015 winner announced"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/artsandculture/travelbooks/11897363/Stanford-Dolman-Travel-Book-of-the-Year-award-2015-winner-announced.html). *[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)*. London. Retrieved 30 November 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** [https://nerobookawards.com/we-came-by-sea-horatio-clare/](https://nerobookawards.com/we-came-by-sea-horatio-clare/)

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.horatioclarewriter.com)

- [Horatio Clare's thoughtful memoir, Running for the Hills, is an account of his childhood on a Welsh sheep farm](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/mar/25/featuresreviews.guardianreview3). Daniel Butler. *The Guardian*. Saturday 25 March 2006. Retrieved 8 July 2010.

- [Running for the Hills by Horatio Clare](https://web.archive.org/web/20080516222146/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/books_group/article1647646.ece). Alyson Rudd. *The Times*. 28 April 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2010.

- [Bach Walks](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09l9xhp/episodes/guide), BBC Radio 3, broadcast December 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2020.

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Netherlands Israel Other IdRef Yale LUX

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Horatio Clare](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Clare) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Clare?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.