Fraser Harrison
Fraser Harrison (born 1944) is an English writer. He is married with two adult children and lives in Walsham le Willows, Suffolk.
Harrison was educated at Shrewsbury and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He then worked in publishing in London, and between 1970 and 1975 was the chief editor at Sidgwick and Jackson. In 1975 he became a freelance writer.
Between 1974 and 2000 Harrison wrote eight books, listed below. He also wrote reviews and features for a wide variety of British newspapers and magazines. He was a regular contributor to Country Living, the literary pages of The Independent and the travel section of The Sunday Times.
In 2001 he took an MA in Human Rights at Essex University, and between 2002 and 2006 he practised as a caseworker advising asylum seekers detained at the Oakington Detention Centre near Cambridge.
His second novel, Minotaur in Love, was published in 2007. Like his five previous books, it was illustrated by Harriet Dell.
During the summer of 2013 he spent seven weeks in Yankton, South Dakota, collecting material in order to write a profile of the city.
On Tuesday, 10 December 2013, he gave a talk on Native Americans and human rights to mark Human Rights Day on behalf of the Bury St Edmunds branch of Amnesty. Details on his blog: www.fraserharrison.com.
Harrison's essay on Yankton, 'Portrait of a River City', was published as an entire issue of the South Dakota State Historical Society's quarterly journal in June 2014, and he returned to Yankton to celebrate its publication.
Harrison is the recipient of two Arts Council grants. The most recent, awarded in February 2014, was to assist his research into the immigrant communities living in Thetford, Norfolk, which he is conducting with a view to writing a book about Thetford.
In February 2015 Harrison returned to Yankton, South Dakota, and stayed for five weeks. He is now writing a book about winter and old age.
His essay on Yankton, 'Portrait of a River City' was presented with the Herbert S. Schell Award for the best article in Volume 44 of the quarterly journal, South Dakota History.
Bibliography
- The Yellow Book, Sidgwick and Jackson, London, 1974
- The Dark Angel - Aspects of Victorian Sexuality, Sheldon Press, London, 1977 ISBN 0-85969-094-6
- Strange Land; The Countryside - Myth and Reality, Sidgwick and Jackson, London, 1982
- A Father's Diary, Flamingo, London, 1985
- The Living Landscape, Pluto, London, 1986
- A Winter's Tale, Collins, London, 1987
- Trivial Disputes, Collins, London, 1989
- High on the Hog, Heinemann, London, 1991, ISBN 0-7493-1364-1
- Minotaur in Love, Flambard Press, Hexham, 2007, ISBN 978-1-873226-89-6
- Infinite West: Travels in South Dakota, South Dakota State Historical Society Press, Pierre, SD, 2012, ISBN 978-09846505-8-3
- Portrait of Yankton, South Dakota History, Spring Issue, 2014.
Radio Plays:
- Come the Day! (the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa) Radio 4, 1998
- Voyage of Discovery (based on journals of Lewis and Clark), Radio 3, 2000