James Rebanks

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James Rebanks
Born1974 (age 46–47)
EducationUniversity of Oxford (BA)
Writing career
GenrePastoral
Notable worksThe Shepherd's Life
Websitetwitter.com/herdyshepherd1

James Rebanks (born 1974)[1] is an English sheep farmer and author, from Matterdale in Cumbria.[2] His first book was The Shepherd's Life, published in 2015,[3] and he published English Pastoral in 2020.[4][5] He also published The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd in 2015[6] and The Shepherd's View: Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape in 2016.[7]

Early life and education[]

Rebanks left school at the age of 16 to work on his families farm with two GCSEs in woodworking and religious studies[3] and then did A levels at evening classes in Carlisle before studying at the University of Oxford where he achieved a double first in history.[8] He was a student at Magdalen College, Oxford.[3][9]

Career[]

Following his degree, Rebanks returned to farming, which he continues to do, specialising in Herdwick sheep but moving towards a more mixed farm. He has also run a consultancy based at his farm.[10][11] He was involved in the bid for the Lake District to receive World Heritage status (which was approved by UNESCO in 2017),[12][13] and as of December 2020 had a following of 141,667 on Twitter as "Herdwick Shepherd".[14]

In 2018 he resigned from a government panel set up by Michael Gove and also took a break from Twitter after the composition of the panel was criticised by environmentalists as being biased towards the farming community.[15]

In 2019 he appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. His chosen music included tracks by Rachmaninoff, Nina Simone, and Kirsty MacColl (the choice he would rescue from the waves); his chosen book was The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, and his luxury was pen and paper.[1] He has also appeared on BBC Radio 3's Private Passions[16] and Radio 4's On Your Farm.[17]

In 2021 English Pastoral was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize in the Nature Writing category.[18]

Selected publications[]

  • The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District. London: Allen Lane. 2015. ISBN 978-1846148545.
  • The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd. London: Penguin. 2015. ISBN 9781846148903.
  • The Shepherd's View: Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape. London: Flatiron. 2016. ISBN 978-1250103369.
  • English Pastoral: an inheritance. London: Allen Lane. 2020. ISBN 9780241245729.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Laverne, Lauren (2019). "James Rebanks, Shepherd and Writer: Desert Island Discs". bbc.co.uk. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  2. ^ Moran, Caitlin (4 September 2020). "Caitlin Moran meets James Rebanks, Lake District sheep farmer turned Twitter activist". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rebanks, James (2015). The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 978-1846148545.
  4. ^ Rebanks, James (2020). English Pastoral: an inheritance. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 9780241245729.
  5. ^ Morrison, Blake (3 September 2020). "English Pastoral by James Rebanks review – how to look after the land". theguardian.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  6. ^ Rebanks, James (2015). The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd. London: Penguin. ISBN 9781846148903.
  7. ^ Rebanks, James (2016). The Shepherd's View: Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape. London: Flatiron. ISBN 978-1250103369.
  8. ^ Carter, Helen (2 May 2015). "The farmer and best-selling author of The Shepherd's Life talks about dealing with new-found fame". The Independent. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  9. ^ "James Rebanks: One shepherd and his beloved Herdwick sheep". bbc.co.uk. People think travel broadens the mind, I'm not so sure. I think a focus on, and love of, one place can make people rather sensible, decent, and wise
  10. ^ "Rebanks Consulting". Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  11. ^ Kellaway, Kate (3 May 2015). "Shepherd James Rebanks: 'My ambition is to be a really good nobody'". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  12. ^ Fraser, Harriet (8 March 2014). "The hill farmers fighting for their livelihoods". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  13. ^ Sulcas, Roslyn (5 June 2015). "James Rebanks, Man of Sheep, Man of Letters (Published 2015)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Herdwick Shepherd". Twitter. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Twitter's favourite shepherd quits government review of National Parks after three days due to 'cretinous attacks' from environmentalists". The Telegraph. 24 June 2018. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  16. ^ "BBC Radio 3 - Private Passions, James Rebanks". BBC. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  17. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - On Your Farm, James Rebanks, the Herdy Shepherd". BBC. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Sethi, Winn and Rebanks shortlisted for Wainwright Prize". The Bookseller. 2021-08-21. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
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