Panic as Man Burns Crumpets by Roger Lytollis, Hardcover, 9781472145796 | Buy online at The Nile
Departments
 Free Returns*

Panic as Man Burns Crumpets

The Vanishing World of the Local Journalist

Author: Roger Lytollis  

Panic as Man Burns Crumpets
Hardcover

A funny, poignant and revealing memoir which gives the inside story of UK newspaper journalism over the past twenty-five years, based on the author's career in Cumbria and Edinburgh.

Read more
New
$47.84
Or pay later with
Free 30 day returns       Secure transaction
Check delivery options
Hardcover

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Summary

A funny, poignant and revealing memoir which gives the inside story of UK newspaper journalism over the past twenty-five years, based on the author's career in Cumbria and Edinburgh.

Read more

Description

WINNER OF THE LAKELAND BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2022

You dreamed of being a journalist and the dream has come true. You love working for your local paper . . . although not everything is as you imagined.

You embarrass yourself with a range of celebrities, from John Hurt to Jordan. Your best story is 'The Man With the Pigeon Tattoo'.

A former colleague interviews President Trump. You urinate in the president of the Mothers' Union's garden.

Your appearance as a hard-hitting columnist on a BBC talk show does not go well. And being photographed naked is only the second most humiliating thing to happen one infamous afternoon.

There are serious stories, such as a mass shooting, a devastating flood, and the search for Madeleine McCann.

Meanwhile local papers are dying. Your building is crumbling and your readership is dwindling. Your carefully crafted features are read by fewer people than a story about fancy dress for dogs.

Panic as Man Burns Crumpets is the inside story of local newspapers during the past twenty-five years, told in a way that's funny, poignant and revealing.

'For those who know about provincial newspapers, this will be a classic and a gem. Those who don't know will envy what they have missed'

MELVYN BRAGG

'Brisk and entertaining. A very readable love letter to a disappearing world, told with verve and tenderness'

STUART MACONIE, author of Pies and Prejudice

'Gut-bustingly funny, poignant and packed with astonishing insider information'

M. W. CRAVEN, author of the award-winning The Puppet Show

'Local journalism has never seemed more exotic than in this part-memoir, part-ode to that disappearing art, which is as funny as it is endearing . . . Told with a tender fondness, the bonkers, baffling but vital world of local press is paraded with the style that it deserves'

JONATHAN WHITELAW, Sun

'Refreshingly honest, engagingly self-deprecating, tremendously funny and more than a little heartbreaking. By far my favourite read of the year so far'

MIKE WARD, TV critic, Daily Express/Daily Star

'Local publishers . . . need to hold on to thoughtful, dedicated writers such as Roger Lytollis, or his book will be an epitaph to a centuries-old industry'

IAN BURRELL, i paper

'Anyone who has ever worked at a local newspaper, or wondered what it is like, should read this book. Equally hilarious and heartbreaking'

DOMINIC PONSFORD, media editor at New Statesman Media Group/editor-in-chief at Press Gazette

'[Lytollis] writes with clarity, comically self-effacing honesty and surprising poignancy . . . [this i

Read more

Critic Reviews

“Very funny, very witty, very moving . . . packed with incidents, insights and a real feeling for provincial life at its best . . . For those who know about provincial newspapers, this will be a classic and a gem. Those who don't know will envy what they have missed . . . It really is a terrific piece of work.Brisk and entertaining. A very readable love letter to a disappearing world, told with verve and tenderness.This was the only book I read in one sitting this year and if you're lucky enough to get your hands on a copy, you'll soon understand why. It's gut-bustingly funny, poignant and packed with astonishing insider information.”

Very funny, very witty, very moving . . . packed with incidents, insights and a real feeling for provincial life at its best . . . For those who know about provincial newspapers, this will be a classic and a gem. Those who don't know will envy what they have missed . . . It really is a terrific piece of work. -- Melvyn Bragg

The best book I've read this year, by some margin. Brilliantly written, frequently laugh-out-loud funny, but also reflective, candid, poignant and passionate about the importance of journalism. Superb.

-- Chris Mason, BBC political correspondent/presenter of Radio 4’s Any Questions</i)
Deserves its place in the pantheon of great books about newspapers, and the newspaper industry. A funny/sad/extraordinary tale, extremely well-told. -- Sam Wallace Daily/Sunday Telegraph
Brisk and entertaining. A very readable love letter to a disappearing world, told with verve and tenderness. -- STUART MACONIE, author of Pies and Prejudice and BBC Radio 6 Music presenter
This was the only book I read in one sitting this year and if you're lucky enough to get your hands on a copy, you'll soon understand why. It's gut-bustingly funny, poignant and packed with astonishing insider information. -- M. W. Craven, author of the award-winning The Puppet Show

Many books written by journalists have come across my desk over the course of my time as publisher of Hold the Front Page, but I would say without any hesitation that this one is the best. Not only is it the funniest, and the best-written, it is also the most honest in terms of what it reveals about its author, and more importantly about our craft.

-- Paul Linford Hold the Front Page
Local publishers . . . need to hold on to thoughtful, dedicated writers such as Roger Lytollis, or his book will be an epitaph to a centuries-old industry. -- Ian Burrell i paper
Anyone who has ever worked at a local newspaper, or wondered what it is like, should read this book. Equally hilarious and heartbreaking. -- Dominic Ponsford, media editor at New Statesman Media Group/editor-in-chief at Press Gazette
[Lytollis] writes with clarity, comically self-effacing honesty and surprising poignancy . . . But this book is not really about him. It is simply the story of what it is like to love what you do, and be great at it, and to watch it collapse around you in slow motion. It is about the regressive form of 'progress' that the news industry has been subjected to for the last 25 years, and what it does to the people who are part of that system and the communities that can no longer rely on it. -- Robyn Vinter Guardian
Refreshingly honest, engagingly self-deprecating, tremendously funny and more than a little heartbreaking. By far my favourite read of the year so far. -- Mike Ward, TV critic, Daily Express/Daily Star
Local journalism has never seemed more exotic than in this part-memoir, part-ode to that disappearing art, which is as funny as it is endearing . . . Told with a tender fondness, the bonkers, baffling but vital world of local press is paraded with the style that it deserves. -- Jonathan Whitelaw Sun
Panic as Man Burns Crumpets gives a powerful, if not to say dismaying, overview of an industry in terminal decline. -- Nat Segnit Times Literary Supplement
For anyone wondering where their local press went, this is as clear an account of how it was pickpocketed, drained of blood, and left to die as you'll find. -- Ed Needham Strong Words magazine
A love letter to the trade, though written with a touch of the poison pen. -- Colin Freeman Telegraph

A searingly honest, funny, poignant and personal account of working in the regional press . . . Hundreds of journalists could have written this book, but only Lytollis has. I doubt anyone could have done it better

Tim Lezard, The Journalist magazine

Read more

About the Author

ROGER LYTOLLIS is the author of Panic as Man Burns Crumpets: The Vanishing World of the Local Journalist and On a Pedestal: A Trip Around Britain's Statues. Since 1995 Roger has been a feature writer and columnist for some of the UK's best local newspapers. He's a three-time winner at the Regional Press Awards. And a twelve-time loser at the North West Media Awards. He isn't bitter about that at all. Roger lives in Cumbria. Twitter: @rogerlytollis

Read more

More on this Book

WINNER OF THE LAKELAND BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2022 You dreamed of being a journalist and the dream has come true. You love working for your local paper . . . although not everything is as you imagined.You embarrass yourself with a range of celebrities, from John Hurt to Jordan. Your best story is 'The Man With the Pigeon Tattoo'.A former colleague interviews President Trump. You urinate in the president of the Mothers' Union's garden.Your appearance as a hard-hitting columnist on a BBC talk show does not go well. And being photographed naked is only the second most humiliating thing to happen one infamous afternoon. There are serious stories, such as a mass shooting, a devastating flood, and the search for Madeleine McCann.Meanwhile local papers are dying. Your building is crumbling and your readership is dwindling. Your carefully crafted features are read by fewer people than a story about fancy dress for dogs. Panic as Man Burns Crumpets is the inside story of local newspapers during the past twenty-five years, told in a way that's funny, poignant and revealing. 'For those who know about provincial newspapers, this will be a classic and a gem. Those who don't know will envy what they have missed' MELVYN BRAGG 'Brisk and entertaining. A very readable love letter to a disappearing world, told with verve and tenderness' STUART MACONIE, author of Pies and Prejudice 'Gut-bustingly funny, poignant and packed with astonishing insider information' M. W. CRAVEN, author of the award-winning The Puppet Show 'Local journalism has never seemed more exotic than in this part-memoir, part-ode to that disappearing art, which is as funny as it is endearing . . . Told with a tender fondness, the bonkers, baffling but vital world of local press is paraded with the style that it deserves' JONATHAN WHITELAW, Sun 'Refreshingly honest, engagingly self-deprecating, tremendously funny and more than a little heartbreaking. By far my favourite read of the year so far' MIKE WARD, TV critic, Daily Express / Daily Star 'Local publishers . . . need to hold on to thoughtful, dedicated writers such as Roger Lytollis, or his book will be an epitaph to a centuries-old industry' IAN BURRELL, i paper 'Anyone who has ever worked at a local newspaper, or wondered what it is like, should read this book. Equally hilarious and heartbreaking' DOMINIC PONSFORD, media editor at New Statesman Media Group/editor-in-chief at Press Gazette '[Lytollis] writes with clarity, comically self-effacing honesty and surprising poignancy . . . [this i

Read more

Product Details

Publisher
Little, Brown Book Group | Robinson
Published
1st July 2021
Pages
272
ISBN
9781472145796

Returns

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.

New
$47.84
Or pay later with
Free 30 day returns       Secure transaction
Check delivery options
Browse by category
YOUR PAYMENT IS SECURE

We use 100% PCI DSS compliant payment services. That means your payment information is always protected, and never gets seen by anyone.
30-DAY FREE RETURN POLICY

Return nearly all items within 30 days of delivery. Unused or faulty items are acceptable as free returns. *Exceptions apply, see our returns policy.

The Nile
Follow Us
Help & Support
Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 The Nile Group.

Zip

 AfterPay

PayPal

Credit Card
Buy Baby at The Nile
 
 
 
Buy Toys at The Nile
Buy Books at The Nile
Buy Movies & TV at The Nile
Our Top Brands