In 2017, Simon Moreton’s father fell suddenly ill and died, an event which sent Simon back to his childhood home in rural Shropshire. He wrote a memoir about the experience called WHERE? (published by Little Toller Books in 2021) which combines prose, illustration, photos, archival texts, and more. It weaves a gentle story that slips and slides in time and geography, creating connections across geographies, histories, families, times, and circumstance all to answer the question – ‘where are you from?’

In this lunchtime talk, Simon will reflect on the book and the processes of grief and reflection that helped him tackle questions of belonging and home, as well as thinking critically about how we imagine and represent the countryside.

Simon is an artist and writer. He is the author of Now is the Time to Know Everything (2023) a book about the bewildering excitement of pregnancy and the heartbreak of miscarriage, written in the form of a love letter to a person who never quite came to be. His experimental memoir WHERE? (Little Toller, 2021) documents the unexpected links between landscape, grief, and childhood that appeared in the aftermath of his father’s death in 2017. He is the producer of numerous zines of prose, poetry and pictures, including his regular series of writing and pictures documenting his life, Minor Leagues. He is a Pervasive Media Studio resident and Associate Professor of Creative Economies at UWE Bristol.

Join us online on YouTube Live, or in the building on Friday, the 4th of July 2025 at 1pm for the talk and to take part in the Q and A discussion afterwards. 

The Pervasive Media Studio is a partnership between the Watershed, University of the West of England and University of Bristol. The lunchtime talks are partly supported by MyWorld, a project led by the University of Bristol to support creative industries in the region. Watershed is supported by Arts Council England.

Address:

Watershed, 1 Canon's Rd, Bristol BS1 5TX

Directions:

The Lunchtime talks take place in the Pervasive Media Studio Event Space. To access the Studio, please go to the Main Watershed Box Office entrance and go upstairs to the Café Bar. Walk across the cafe bar, turn right and walk towards the double doors. Go through into the corridor and walk all the way down until you reach the Studio. A member of staff will sign you in, and check your ticket, if you have booked.

The Studio is wheelchair accessible, and the events space has a hearing loop. The last talk of every month is BSL interpreted. 

For more information on accessing the studio take a look here.

*Please note this is a hybrid event and will be live streamed so please be aware you will be in the live broadcast and recording when watching in the Studio.