Raynor Winn
{{Short description|British author and long-distance walker (born 1962)}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Raynor Winn 2019.jpg
| caption = Winn at the North Cornwall Book Festival, October 2019
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1962}}
| occupation = Writer, long-distance walker
| notable_works = The Salt Path
}}
Raynor Winn (born 1962) is a British long-distance walker and writer. Her first book, the autobiographical memoir and travel diary titled The Salt Path, was a Sunday Times bestseller in 2018, and a film of the same name was released in 2025.
Biography
Raynor Winn was born in 1962.{{cite web|url=https://www.dumontreise.de/verlagsprogramm-und-updates/wilde-stille.html|website=dumontreise.de|title=Wilde Stille|lang=de|trans-title=Wild Silence|access-date=15 September 2022}}
Winn and her husband Moth, who was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), became homeless after a business deal with a friend went wrong,{{Cite news |date=6 December 2018|first=Sam | last=Wollaston|title='Nature was my safe place': Raynor Winn on homelessness and setting off on a 630-mile walk |url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/dec/06/home-is-a-state-of-mind-you-dont-need-walls |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-cornwall-43546949|work=BBC News|title=How crisis led couple up the coastal path|date=28 March 2018|access-date=15 September 2022}} and decided to walk the {{convert|630|mi|adj=on}} South West Coast Path.{{cite news|url=https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/rural-england-homeless-problem-hidden/|work=The Big Issue|title=In rural England the homeless are a problem to be hidden...|date=17 July 2017|access-date=15 September 2022}}{{cite news|url=https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2018-04-20/homeless-couple-say-walking-south-west-coast-path-was-life-changing|work=ITV News|title=Homeless couple say walking South West Coast path was 'life-changing'|date=20 April 2018|access-date=15 September 2022}}
The couple have two children.{{cite news |last1=Lytton |first1=Charlotte |title=Homeless, sick and facing bankruptcy: What became of The Salt Path couple: When their lives unravelled, Raynor Winn and her husband Moth went on an epic hike; a decade and two bestsellers later, they're still going |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/homeless-sick-facing-bankruptcy-what-became-salt-path-couple/ |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=28 August 2022}}
Writing career
Winn's autobiographical first book, The Salt Path, at once a memoir, a piece of nature writing and a travel book, was shortlisted for the 2018 Wainwright Prize,{{cite book |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/309419/the-salt-path-by-winn-raynor/9781405937184 |publisher=Penguin Books |title=Raynor Winn {{!}} The Salt Path |date=31 January 2019 |access-date=15 September 2022}} and the 2018 Costa Book Awards in the biography category. The judges described it as "An absolutely brilliant story that needs to be told about the human capacity to endure and keep putting one foot in front of another."{{cite web |url=https://www.costa.co.uk/media/513661/full-book-awards.pdf |publisher=Costa Book Awards |title=2018 shortlists for all categories |date=22 November 2018 |access-date=15 September 2022}} In May 2019 the book won the inaugural RSL Christopher Bland Prize.{{cite web |url=https://rsliterature.org/2019/05/rsl-christopher-bland-prize-2019-winner-announced/ |work=Royal Society of Literature |title=RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2019 – winner announced |date=29 May 2019 |access-date=15 September 2022}} In September 2019 it was the bestseller in UK independent bookstores.{{cite news |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/raynor-winns-next-novel-announced-michael-joseph-showcase-1089881 |work=The Bookseller |title=Raynor Winn's next novel revealed at Michael Joseph showcase |first=Heloise |last=Wood |date=27 September 2019 |access-date=15 September 2022}}
Winn's subject matter includes nature, homelessness and wild camping.{{cite web |url=https://www.pzlitfest.co.uk/speaker/raynor-winn/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705201954/https://www.pzlitfest.co.uk/speaker/raynor-winn/ |work=Penzance Literary Festival |title=Raynor Winn |archive-date=5 July 2019}} Her second book, The Wild Silence, was published by Michael Joseph in September 2020.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/aug/30/the-wild-silence-by-raynor-winn-review-in-search-of-healing-and-home |work=The Observer |title=The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn review – in search of healing and home |first=Adrian |last=Tempany |date=30 August 2020 |access-date=15 September 2022}} It was shortlisted for the 2021 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.{{cite news |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/sethi-winn-and-rebanks-shortlisted-wainwright-prize-1274286 |work=The Bookseller |title=Sethi, Winn and Rebanks shortlisted for Wainwright Prize |first=Ruth |last=Comerford |date=4 August 2021 |access-date=15 September 2022}}
Winn's third book, Landlines (2022), describes a {{convert |1000 |mile |adj=on}} journey with her husband along the {{convert |200 |mile |adj=on}} Cape Wrath Trail in north-west Scotland, described as "the toughest and wildest Britain has to offer", and southwards through Scotland and England to the South West Coast Path.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/15/landlines-by-raynor-winn-review-back-on-the-trail |work=The Guardian |title=Landlines by Raynor Winn review – back on the trail |first=Amy-Jane |last=Beer |date=15 September 2022 |access-date=24 September 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320470/landlines-by-winn-raynor/9780241484562 |work=Penguin Books |title=Landlines |access-date=24 September 2022}}
In April 2024 the couple set out to walk the Thames Path to raise awareness and funds for CBD.{{cite news |title=Thames Path walk for couple raising awareness of rare condition |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-68725597 |access-date=16 June 2024 |work=BBC News |date=4 April 2024}} Winn then took part in the 2024 London Marathon, completing in a time of 7hr 52min 7sec.{{cite web |title=TCS London Marathon 2024: Raynor Winn |url=https://results.tcslondonmarathon.com/2024/?content=detail&fpid=search&pid=search&idp=9TG2O3HQ43BCD2&lang=EN_CAP&event=MAS&search%5Bname%5D=Winn&search_event=MAS |website=Mika timing |access-date=16 June 2024}}
Adaptations
In 2023, a film adaptation also titled The Salt Path began filming, with Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs in the lead roles.{{cite news|last=Barnes |first=Dan |title=Gillian Anderson, Jason Isaacs filming Salt Path in Chepstow |url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/23604960.gillian-anderson-jason-isaacs-filming-salt-path-chepstow/ |work=South Wales Argus |accessdate=30 June 2023 |date=21 June 2023}} It premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2024.{{cite web |title=TIFF Adds 20 More Movies To Lineup With 'Saturday Night', Jacob Elordi & Daisy Edgar-Jones' 'On Swift Horses', Max Minghella's 'Shell', 'Megalopolis' & More |website=Deadline Hollywood |first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro |date=13 August 2024 |access-date=13 August 2024 |url=https://deadline.com/2024/08/toronto-film-festival-lineup-additions-2024-1236038779/}}{{cite web|last=Schoettle|first=Jane|date=2024|title=The Salt Path|url=https://tiff.net/events/the-salt-path|work=Toronto International Film Festival|access-date=13 February 2025}} The UK release date was 30 May 2025.{{cite web|website=UK Cinema Release Dates | title=The Salt Path |url=https://m.filmdates.co.uk/films/1011046-the-salt-path/?cookiesAlert=close |access-date=23 January 2025}}
Selected publications
- {{cite book |title=The Salt Path |publisher=Michael Joseph |first=Raynor |last=Winn |date=22 March 2018 |isbn=978-0-2413-4964-9 |ref=none| display-authors=0}}
- {{cite book |title=The Wild Silence |publisher=Michael Joseph |first=Raynor |last=Winn |date=3 September 2020 |isbn=978-0-2414-0146-0 |ref=none| display-authors=0}}
- {{cite book |title=Landlines |publisher=Michael Joseph |first=Raynor |last=Winn |date=15 September 2022 |isbn=978-0-2414-8456-2 |ref=none| display-authors=0}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://bbc.in/2HE2gfA Raynor Winn interviewed on the BBC's Woman's Hour radio programme] (34:43–42:00, 28 Jan 2019)
- [https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/media-gallery/item/raynor-winn-with-sally-magnusson-nature-and-mortality Raynor Winn interviewed by Sally Magnusson] at the 2021 Edinburgh Book Festival
- [https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/media-gallery/item/raynor-winn-a-walk-on-the-wild-side Raynor Winn interviewed by Claire Urquhart] at the 2023 Edinburgh Book Festival
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Category:21st-century British writers