Telling Stories

Jess Lawson

I have been following Jess’s work ever since I heard Bats in the Attic on BBC Shortcuts. Jess so artfully integrates two weaving strands of a story together to create a 7-minute piece which is moving, poetic and challenging. The way Jess deals with grief - with curiosity and even humour - is so powerful. We spoke to Jess about Bats in the Attic and her programme Unchained which explores the impact of short term prison sentences on women's lives. You can listen to the episode here.

RESOURCES

Jess’s Top Picks:

From The Ashes of New Cross - BBC Radio 4

Our Top Picks:

Listen to Bats in full and Unchained.

If you want to think more about the prison system Jess recommends these resources:

https://www.womeninprison.org.uk/campaigns/our-campaigns

https://abolitionistfutures.com/

https://jessielawson.org/2019/09/01/we-are-incredible-producer/

https://www.instagram.com/lady_unchained/

https://twitter.com/paula_harriott

https://twitter.com/AmandaJHailes

TAKEAWAYS

Everyone has a story - but nobody thinks their own is interesting.

Don’t be afraid to make the storytelling process transparent and collaborative.

CHALLENGES

Please send us your challenges to tellingstoriespod@gmail.com so that we can feature them on the site! You heard a lovely piece by Sam Shelton Robinson at the end of this episode. You can listen to more of his work on his website.

Jess challenges you to make a story that has two interwoven strands.