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Jennifer Barclay

 
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About the Author

Jennifer Barclay was born in 1968 and grew up with one younger brother in a village on the edge of Saddleworth Moor in the north of England. The family travelled to Europe every summer in search of sunshine. Her father is a football journalist while her mother has worked variously in catering, care for handicapped kids, and as information officer for an automobile company.

After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, and gaining some journalism experience with The Independent and student magazines like the Oxford Author, she ended up teaching English in Greece. Following a roller-coaster year and a summer job in a hotel overlooking a volcano, she had caught the travel bug and saved up to follow a friend to Guyana, to learn the thrill of jungles, rivers and wild savannahs. Eventually a career beckoned. She found herself in Toronto, working for a large literary agency, and in a few years became an agent, representing Canadian authors.

Though being an agent was exciting, she wanted to do something about her love of travel and her creative itch. At 32, she left and headed to Korea and China. Returning, she set up as an editor and writer, published travel articles and book reviews in the Globe and Mail, and researched the idea of a travel magazine. Then she met Amy, and AWOL: Tales for Travel-Inspired Minds was born.

She enjoyed living in Canada, but after a decade felt drawn to Europe again. She and her partner currently live in Montpellier, a lively and historic university town in southwest France. Email allows her to continue assessing and editing manuscripts in English from Canada, the U.K. and elsewhere. The country and sea are easy to reach. “It’s great to be in love with where you live.”

Books by Jennifer Barclay

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