back to blogWhat is Burn Back?
Burn Back is a 60-page hardback, published by Panic Press, bringing together full-colour reproductions of my paintings alongside original poetry by Nick Allen. Nick and I have long shared a deep connection to the moorland landscapes that surround our home, as well as a concern for how these fragile places are managed and protected.
The book is both a celebration of these wild landscapes and a reflection on our relationship with them.
A creative collaboration
Working with Nick has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my creative life. It took a little persuasion to convince him to collaborate—we have very different creative processes—but after more than 25 years together, it felt like the right time to make something side by side.
His poems don't simply describe my paintings; they exist alongside them, giving voice to emotions and ideas that I try to express through paint. Together, we hope we've created a conversation between words and images that captures not only the atmosphere and beauty of the moors, but also invites readers to think about how we value and care for these extraordinary landscapes.
Why Panic Press?
When it came to publishing the book, we decided to create our own imprint: Panic Press. Even if this turned out to be the only book we ever published together, we wanted it to feel considered and beautifully designed from beginning to end.
The name is wonderfully simple—it combines Paula and Nick—and it's one we've used informally for years. But "Panic" also makes us think of one of our wonderfully chaotic cats, and as anyone who knows us will tell you, cats are a huge part of our lives.
To bring the imprint to life, we worked with the brilliant Oonagh at ManaMana. We shared our rather eclectic mix of ideas—moorland, cats, books, our combined names—and trusted them to make sense of it all. They produced a series of thoughtful concepts before creating our logo and icon that now sits proudly on the spine of Burn Back.
The colour palette—rich autumnal moorland tones, Bordeaux, porcelain and charcoal—perfectly reflects both the landscapes that inspire our work and the quiet, understated feel we wanted the book to have. We couldn't be happier with the result.
This 60-page hardback book brings together full-colour reproductions of Paula’s paintings alongside Nick's poetry.
Each copy is signed by both authors.
