Our Authors
Independent writers publishing on their own terms. No agents. No gatekeepers. Just their work.
Meet The Authors
Tales From A Harrogate Caravan is home to independent authors who retain full ownership and creative control of their work. Read their stories before they reach print.
Karl Swainston
Karl Swainston is a writer and storyteller whose work is forged from a life lived across the North of England and far beyond. Growing up on a Leeds council estate in the 1960s, Karl's journey was anything but linear. By the age of thirty, he had already lived a dozen lives: from the rigors of grammar school to a degree in Latin, a stint as a fishmonger, a period of discovery living in Marseille, and a return to the hustle of London. Whether working as a postman, a builder, or competing as a county-level chess player, he was, above all, an avid reader—constantly documenting the world around him. This restless spirit continued into his professional life. Karl later taught in Bradford, where he ran a specialist unit for 244 of the most excluded students from across the region—young people whom even the local Pupil Referral Units could not accommodate. Working alongside his old friend Malcolm, Karl spent his days navigating the volatility of Bradford's most aggressive and dysfunctional teenagers. Throughout his life, Karl has been an avid runner and has always shared his home with a rotating cast of beloved dogs and cats—companions who have been constant witnesses to his work. As a writer, Karl's range is as expansive as his history. He works across a wide breadth of genres, including fiction and short stories, autobiography and memoir, biography, non-fiction, and metaphysical writing, as well as providing sharp commentary, opinion, analysis, and essays. Whether writing about his years managing the Harrogate Arms or offering insights from his current adopted home in South East India, where he lives in a simple village with his dog, Bambi, Karl's voice reflects the full, untidy, and deeply human breadth of life. He continues to draw on the rich, decades-long tapestry of his experiences to tell stories that matter, proving that no matter where you live, the human story remains the same.
Manny Wheelman
Manny Wheelman is a character who needs no introduction to anyone who has spent time in the chess clubs and backstreets of Belle Isle, Leeds. Equal parts philosopher and provocateur, Manny has a habit of defeating people who underestimate him — on the chessboard and off it. A writer of essays, academic works, and sharp social commentary, his writing carries the same dry intelligence and quiet menace that has unsettled better-credentialed men for decades. Belle Isle's finest export.
Bernard Hare
Bernard Hare is a freelance writer from Leeds, best known for his 2004 memoir Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew — a true account of his experiences with a gang of runaway children living in a garden shed in Leeds in the 1990s. The book reached the UK bestsellers list and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. It has since been adapted for the big screen as I Am Urban, starring Richard Armitage, Anna Friel, and Charlie Heaton. Between books, Bernard has written for the Guardian and presented short stories for BBC Radio 4. His second book, Patzers, is a love letter to chess and the culture surrounding it across six decades.
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