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ABOUT THIS BOOK

PUBLISHER: Canongate Books

ISBN: 9781838857509

RRP: £20.00

PAGES: 384

PUBLICATION DATE:
March 27, 2025

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Overnight: Journeys, Conversations and Stories After Dark

By Dan Richards

There is something special about the night. For many, just the idea of it conjures thoughts of starlit skies, romance, refuge, of being tucked up in bed. For some, the night means fear, vulnerability, danger, sleeplessness. At night things go bump, monsters hide under beds, owls take wing and foxes prowl. For others still, nightfall signals the start of work.

Overnight is a celebration of all things nocturnal, of those who labour while the rest of us sleep: the bakers, health workers, sailors, couriers, broadcasters, drivers, fishers, the emergency services and more. And it is also a hymn to nighttime wildlife, dreams and art. We’ll hang out with bats and look at the stars. We’ll learn what Moomintroll has to teach us. We’ll travel by ship, train, racing car and foot. There will be more than one surprise along the way.

Through a series of personal journeys Dan Richards explores what the night means to a fascinating array of people, taking us from night terrors to the glow of watching the dawn break on the summer solstice. Overnight will change the way you think about the hours after dark.

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Dan Richards

Dan Richards’ first book, Holloway, co-authored with Robert Macfarlane & illustrated by Stanley Donwood, was published by Faber in 2013.

The Beechwood Airship Interviews (HarperCollins, 2015) explored the creative process, head-spaces and workplaces of some of Britain’s most celebrated artists, craftsman and technicians including Bill Drummond, Dame Judi Dench, Jenny Saville, Manic Street Preachers, Jane Bown & Stewart Lee.

Climbing Days (Faber 2016) saw Dan set out on the trail of his pioneering great-great-aunt and uncle, Dorothy Pilley & I.A. Richards. Following in the pair’s foot and hand-holds, he travelled across Europe, using Dorothy’s 1935 mountaineering memoir as a guide. Ending up atop the mighty Dent Blanche in the high Alps of Valais.

Outpost: A Journey to the Wild Ends of the Earth (Canongate, 2019) is an exploration of the appeal and pull of far-flung shelters in mountains, tundra, forests, oceans and deserts; landscapes and which have long inspired adventurers, pilgrims, writers, and artists.

Overnight: Journeys, Conversations and Stories After Dark, a book celebrating the dark hours and exploring the nocturnal operations which sustain, repair and protect the world whilst most of us are asleep, is set to be published by Canongate in March 2025.

Only After Dark, a BBC Radio 4 series with a similar focus to Overnight, was broadcast to acclaim in December 2022.

Dan has written about travel, landscape, and art for various newspapers and magazines including The Guardian, Economist, Esquire, and Monocle.