LAST YEAR THE STATION MASTER WON ADVENTURES IN FICTION'S SPOTLIGHT COMPETITION FOR DEBUT NOVELISTS
The prize? a full manuscript appraisal & a profile of book and author on the Adventures in Fiction website
THE STATION MASTER explores our responses to the refugee crisis. Set in contemporary Bulgaria, it traces the personal journey of railwayman Nikolay Georgiev and his encounters with migrants heading for Western Europe.
See below for an account of our trip to Bulgaria in spring 2016 - almost two years ago now! Since then I've met Dimiter Georgiev of Neophron BIrd Tours who promises me an excellent autumn visit this year for the migration of raptors and other big birds, and also Chris Bailey, whose extensive knowledge of Bulgaria in general and its railways in particular is proving invaluable.
In March 2019 the novel was shortlisted for the Caledonia Award.
Not surprisingly perhaps I've had to put The Station Master on hold for the time being whilst
The Tango Effect begins its journey to publication but I hope to pick up the threads again soon.
See below for an account of our trip to Bulgaria in spring 2016 - almost two years ago now! Since then I've met Dimiter Georgiev of Neophron BIrd Tours who promises me an excellent autumn visit this year for the migration of raptors and other big birds, and also Chris Bailey, whose extensive knowledge of Bulgaria in general and its railways in particular is proving invaluable.
In March 2019 the novel was shortlisted for the Caledonia Award.
Not surprisingly perhaps I've had to put The Station Master on hold for the time being whilst
The Tango Effect begins its journey to publication but I hope to pick up the threads again soon.
THE REFUGEE CRISIS: AN UPDATE
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Calais violence leaves four teenage refugees in critical state as smuggling gangs 'exploit growing desperation'
Sixteen-year-old boy among three others in intensive care after being shot in back of neck during clashes - as people smugglers 'pit groups against each other' amid rising tensions.
Sixteen-year-old boy among three others in intensive care after being shot in back of neck during clashes - as people smugglers 'pit groups against each other' amid rising tensions.
- May Bulman Social Affairs Correspondent Friday 2 February 2018 15:38 GMT
- Four teenage refugees are in critical condition and more than a dozen others injured after violence broke out in Calais amid an increasingly desperate situation that has seen smuggling gangs, according to one charity, “pitting communities against each other”.
A word on context and location:

A year on, and the refugee crisis shows no sign of diminishing. The situation is Syria is worsening. Air strikes by the Syrian government on a rebel-held enclave have continued despite a ceasefire resolution passed by the UN Security Council on Saturday. Hundreds of people have died in a week of bombardment of the Eastern Ghouta enclave near the capital, Damascus.
Asylum seekers in the UK are vulnerable to abuse and the fate of unaccompanied children remains a cause for particular concern.
The setting for THE STATION MASTER is chosen for its strategic position. Linked to an old Silk Road, Bulgaria has emerged more recently as one of the land routes which migrants from Africa and the Middle East have followed as they head for Western Europe. This ‘Via Balcanica’ is also a major migration route for soaring birds and raptors, the apparent effortlessness of their flight providing a striking contrast to the travails of their earthbound counterparts. Bulgaria’s years under the yoke of Soviet domination and its reputation for repression of Turkish and Roma minorities provide a historical context for its present-day attitudes to refugees whilst the rise and fall in the fortunes of its railway industry act as a mirror of the success and failure, hope and despair inherent in the human condition.
Asylum seekers in the UK are vulnerable to abuse and the fate of unaccompanied children remains a cause for particular concern.
The setting for THE STATION MASTER is chosen for its strategic position. Linked to an old Silk Road, Bulgaria has emerged more recently as one of the land routes which migrants from Africa and the Middle East have followed as they head for Western Europe. This ‘Via Balcanica’ is also a major migration route for soaring birds and raptors, the apparent effortlessness of their flight providing a striking contrast to the travails of their earthbound counterparts. Bulgaria’s years under the yoke of Soviet domination and its reputation for repression of Turkish and Roma minorities provide a historical context for its present-day attitudes to refugees whilst the rise and fall in the fortunes of its railway industry act as a mirror of the success and failure, hope and despair inherent in the human condition.