LE PORTRAIT MAGAZINE MARCH-SEPTEMBER ISSUE | Page 48

When she was shortlisted for 2014’s Richard and Judy’s Search for a
Bestseller competition, there was a hotly contested auction for The
Widow, won by Transworld’s Bantam Press (which also published The
Girl on the Train). Now based in south-west France, Barton still works
as a media trainer with reporters living in exile. Her second novel will
look at how the online revolution has changed journalism. For all the
phone-hacking scandals and celebrity froth, she still has a touching faith
in the profession. “Yes, there are bad apples, but I do feel journalists do
a good job, often in very difficult circumstances.” LH
The Widow is published on 14 January, Bantam Press, £12.99.
Janet Ellis: ‘Inevitably, because I’ve just turned 60, people are going
to say, what took you so long?’

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