Feeling Blue
Very happy to see a book I edited by a first-time author hit the shelves yesterday. Last year, I joined Reedsy.com, a platform which connects people to book publishing professionals…
Read moreYO!
Back in the early Noughties, I was looking to edge out of my sportswriting pigeon hole and noticed that the new men’s magazine, JACK, had a regular business Q&A slot,…
Read moreTwo Willie Thornes
I was very sad to hear about the passing of Willie Thorne. As a young man studying at Loughborough University but dreaming of becoming a snooker player at the…
Read moreReach for your inner sisu
I really enjoyed talking to Dr. Alise Cortez again on her show, Working on Purpose. This time, we were discussing my book, The Nordic Art of Sisu: Find your Resilience…
Read moreHello Monkie Kid!
A brand-new LEGO theme was launched in China yesterday and worldwide today: LEGO Monkie Kid. I wrote all the product texts you’ll see on LEGO.com for this theme and I love…
Read moreThe Biannual Barnes Blog
When I finally got around to building my website a year ago, I asked a few friends and work colleagues to take a look before taking it live. I made a number of…
Read moreAnd it’s all LEGO…
So, the first of my two major seasons of LEGO copywriting is drawing to a close. Over the past three months, I’ve written sales copy for precisely 96 products across…
Read moreHustlin’ with Pagulayan
In the early Noughties, I spent some very enjoyable times travelling around the world reporting on 9-ball pool events. As a former professional snooker player (a highly unsuccessful one, I…
Read moreDirecting Ronaldo
It was and remains the most expensive photo shoot I’ve ever been involved in. It also represented a huge act of faith. Not only because of the money involved…
Read moreGiggs will tear you apart
Ryan Giggs announced his retirement for playing today. I was lucky enough to spend over a decade – from the early Nineties to the early Noughties – working in various roles for…
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