Robert Ashton
Non-fiction author fascinated by how we can learn so much about our future, from our past
www.robertashton.co.uk
Books by Robert Ashton
While I will always be a social entrepreneur, I am now writing books that I hope will help others change the world. I graduated in 2020 from the University of East Anglia with a creative writing MA and am currently working on a book about how life is evolving in rural East Suffolk, building on the work of oral historian George Ewart Evans. My research showed that people are starting to return to almost forgotten ways, and rediscovering the sense of community that has been almost lost over the past 50 years.
As well as writing, I founded Leiston Book Festival in 2024, which focused on nature writing and is attended by more than 200 people each September. I also support a creative writing group at my local high school, and particularly like working with year six youngsters as they prepare to transition to secondary education.
Longlisted for a 2024 Wainwright Prize
Shortlisted for the 2025 New Angle Prize
978-180018298
Where are the Fellows who Cut the Hay
Where Are the Fellows Who Cut the Hay? is an ode to rural life, charting traditions of the past, how they were lost and why we need to reconnect.
Exploring the relationship between everyday items and the communities that make them, Robert Ashton provides a snapshot of twenty-first century England. Where are the people who grow barley, milk cows and produce wool? How have their farming methods become less ethical, sustainable and natural over time? And what are we doing today to reverse that change?
Inspired by George Ewart Evans’s Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay, Ashton gives voice to local people and travels rural Suffolk in search for innovation, interweaving his own personal connection to Evans and to the land. Part memoir, part social history, Ashton’s thought-provoking book is a manifesto for why, against all odds, we need to step back in order to progress.
9780955963254
Any Spare Change
Nobody sets out to become homeless or to sleep rough. But circumstances can conspire against you, leaving you vulnerable, frightened, very alone and perhaps even abused.
Norwich Quaker Robert Ashton decided to he wanted to understand what led people to live sleep rough in our cities and spent summer 2019 talking to people in and around the streets of his city.
9780857080608
How to be a Social Entrepreneur
A book for budding social entrepreneurs, written by an experience soxial entrepreneur. This book tells you what you need to know to lead sustainable social change in our world
The Entrepreneur's Book of Checklists
Easy to navigate and simple to read, The Entrepreneur's Book of Checklists is not written to be read froom cover to cover, more to become an invaluable source of reference at every stage of the small business journey. As important as an evangelist's bible, or a car mechanic's workshop, this book will be used, heavily bookmarked and become a much worn friend.
Each checklist is backed up by supporting advice or a real life case study - see how the tips have already helped someone just like you.
9781444795295
Sales for Non-Salespeople
If you know how to sell, you know how to succeed. Selling is the most important, and perhaps the most misunderstood workplace skill. Once you understand how to sell you will become more persuasive, naturally and confidently.
This book has four sections, enabling the reader to focus on their most pressing need:
* Selling basics - a simple, explicit guide to the sales process;
* Selling yourself - and how to get noticed, connected and respected;
* Selling to colleagues - presenting, persuading and getting promoted;
* Selling to customers - winning orders and succeeding in shops & at show
9780273772170
How to Start Your Own Business for Entrepreneurs
Relevant to entrepreneurs of any experience, it covers absolutely every aspect of starting a business from bullet-proof plans to the best way to structure a business for a successful sell-on later. It includes information on brand management, customer service, marketing, financials and staffing, so you are fully prepared to set sail on your business journey.
9780273710219
The Life Plan
Changing your life does not have to be a daunting process. All you need to remember, is that the key to successful life change is lots of small, but positive steps, that together create huge impact. The Life Plan contains 700 of these small steps, leading you step by step through each area of your life.