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Former Stamford Mercury editor writes newsroom-based debut novel




A retired editor has delved into colourful memories of busy, bustling newsrooms of the past to write his first novel.

Phil Pledger enjoyed a five-year stint as editor of the Rutland & Stamford Mercury, part of a long press career which began as a reporter on the Rochdale Observer and took him on to newspapers all around the country.

Now living happily in retirement in Cumbria, Phil decided it was time to hit the keyboard once more and wrote I’m Dying to Tell The Truth.

Phil Pledger's debut novel 'I'm Dying to Tell the Truth'
Phil Pledger's debut novel 'I'm Dying to Tell the Truth'

It tells the story of a young reporter at a local paper in the 1970s who ends up working on a scandalous story involving his editor.

While the plot is entirely down to the author’s imagination, Phil’s in-depth knowledge of the industry helped him set the scene with confidence.

“The storyline is obviously fictional, but the background is very legitimate to local newspapers in the 1970s and 80s and how it was,” he explained.

Former Stamford Mercury editor Phil Pledger is now retired and living in the Lake District
Former Stamford Mercury editor Phil Pledger is now retired and living in the Lake District

“There are bits of a couple of people from Stamford in the book, but I’m not going to tell you who they are!”

Yet despite a career working with words, writing his debut novel was no straightforward task.

“It was a bit of a struggle and it took some time,” he recalled.

Phil in the Stamford Post pub in Sheepmarket. The building was the Mercury's former home
Phil in the Stamford Post pub in Sheepmarket. The building was the Mercury's former home

“But oddly enough a couple of months after I’d finished it, I thought ‘what would that look like as a play?’, so I sat down and it just flowed like milk and water.

“Now there are five plays in that series with different stories, but the same background. They're sat on my laptop waiting for me to decide what to do with them.”

Phil was the Mercury’s guiding hand from 1985 to 1990 during which time he helped relaunch the old broadsheet paper as a tabloid and oversaw the move from Broad Street to Sheepmarket.

Phil outside what was once the Stamford Mercury offices in Broad Street
Phil outside what was once the Stamford Mercury offices in Broad Street

He is now embarking on a second book, a non-fictional account of the struggles of young people working in the cotton industry in the north west of England.

It’s a subject close to Phil’s heart, having worked at a cotton mill in his native Rochdale during school holidays.

“I researched it and discovered that a lot of my ancestors from that period also worked in that industry, and struggled,” he said.

I’m Dying to Tell The Truth is on sale as a paperback from Amazon, and is also available as an e-book.



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