Coastlines

In the context of a post-Brexit England struggling to define itself, along with current anxieties concerning the wellbeing and prosperity of coastal communities, Coastlines sets itself the challenge of reimagining England’s coastline. It takes the occasion of the completion of the King Charles III England Coast Path (ECP) in 2024, to explore how the coastline has been written in the past and how it might be written for the future, mapping a coastal literary canon from medieval to contemporary and using it, along with expert research in coastal geographies and ecologies, to inspire newly commissioned writings.

Coastlines brings together a consortium of coastal universities (Lancaster, Southampton, and Hull) with specialists in place writing under the leadership of The Open University, in partnership with English Heritage, The National Trust and coastal literary festivals. It combines archival research, creative commissions, and experimental collaborative and co-creative methodologies to develop a range of deliverables related to the ECP; from an app audio guide, digital literary map and short films of the ECP, to academic essays describing and reflecting on research findings and reflections and recommendations for policymakers.

The project will bring measurable benefits to local economies and wellbeing in increased festival/visitor revenue and the provision/uptake of new opportunities for creative expression and cultural inclusion, and to academia in the shape of a major contribution to coastal studies.

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Get in touch

Email Gillian Hosier or call on 01908 858285 to discuss this project