Writer Tony Parsons has moved into Heathrow Airport to seek inspiration for his latest book.

The novelist has taken up residence at one of the airport’s hotels, where he will stay for seven days to work on his first collection of short stories.

Parsons will spend time chatting to staff and travellers at the airport’s terminals in a bid to glean material for his new book, entitled Departures: Seven Stories from Heathrow. 

The former NME journalist is following in the footsteps of philosopher and previous writer-in-residence Alain de Botton, who based himself at a desk in Terminal 5 to write parts of his book, A Week at the Airport: A Heathrow Diary. 

Parsons, whose most famous works include the best-selling Man and Boy, said he was keen to share the experiences of travellers at Heathrow.

He said: “Airports are places of extreme emotion where people come and go and experiences begin and end.

“Often when we travel we find ourselves in such a hurry to get to our end destination that we fail to appreciate the individual stories and moments happening before us.

“Having grown up reading Arthur Hailey’s novel Airport it feels like an incredible opportunity to live at Heathrow and write about the people whose lives are touched by it.

“I am looking forward to sharing these experiences and to reviving the airport fiction genre with my first short story collection.”

Copyright © Press Association 2011

  • Share/Bookmark