You can Listen Again to Saturday’s Hannah’s Bookshelf originally broadcast on North Manchester FM.

This week’s guest was the fantastic Olivia Norfolk.

Olivia Norfolk has been an artist, then a scientist and is now an author. In 2006, she completed a Fine Art Foundation Degree at the University of the West of England, Bristol, where she observed the beauty of the environment. She was fascinated by the intricacies of the natural world, so put down her pencil and paintbrush and pursued a degree in Zoology at the University of Nottingham. She learnt how critical our ecosystems are for keeping us alive and realised the urgent need to change our own behaviour and halt the ongoing biodiversity losses. Between 2010 and 2015, Olivia undertook a Masters of Research and a PhD, based in the mountains of South Sinai in Egypt, where she looked at how traditional Bedouin farming practices affected wild flowers, pollinators and birds. Her work showed that sustainable farming is a possibility in these water limited regions.

Now, Olivia is writing about her experiences of working in the mountains of St Katherines. Her work will give a glimpse of mountains and magic, madness and moonlight, leading you through valleys of adventure, peace and love.

I’ll be talking to Olivia about her writing, her research in Sinai, and her experiences generally. And, of course, she’ll be sharing her selections for this week’s Apocalypse Books.