Ravi Thornton

Ravi Thornton
Born	1973 Manchester, United Kingdom
Occupation	Writer, Narrative Designer, Businessperson
Nationality	British
Period	1990's - present day
Website
www.ravithornton.co.uk www.ziggyswish.com

Ravi Thornton (born Jos Bhuiyan, 1973) is a British writer, narrative designer and businessperson. She is known for writing dark fiction, for script writing across multiple media and platforms, and for her interest in the social-impact potential of narrative, psychology and technology. Alongside her solo work, Thornton is a keen advocate of cross-discipline collaboration^[1].

Early life

Thornton’s family is of British and Asian origins. She grew up in the Greater Manchester region of Northern England with her mother and two brothers.

Personal life

Thornton lives with her long-term partner and divides her time between Manchester and Barcelona. She has one child, who is non-binary transmasculine. In 2008 Thornton lost her mother to cancer and younger brother to suicide, events that would go on to significantly impact her work.

Career

Thornton began writing full-time in the late 1990s, publishing a number of short stories over several years including works in Issues 18 and 19 of British urban underground illustration, graffiti, and writing magazine The Illustrated Ape: The Lion & The Mistress illustrated by Yuko Kondo and The Man With His Heart In His **** illustrated by Julie Verhoeven respectively.^[2][3][4]

In 2010 inspired by illustrated prose and in response to anti-terrorism campaigns calling for citizens to be suspicious of neighbours, Thornton wrote her first graphic short story Raven Squad, illustrated by Perry Van Zandt.^[5][6] This was followed in 2012 by her second graphic short story, Day Release illustrated by Leonardo M. Giron. Based on a poem Thornton had written with her brother during his time living with schizophrenia, Day Release was nominated for the Observer/Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize 2012.^[7]

Also in 2010, Thornton co-founded, under the name Jos Carlyle, interactive storytelling company Persian Cat Press Ltd.^[8] The company was shortlisted for the Manchester How Do Awards, that recognise 'the very best digital agencies' in the North.^[9] Persian Cat Press published the CatNav discovery app as well as children's interactive story The Gift which Thornton also wrote.^[10] The app was well received, with Forbes' Alex Knapp describing it as 'a particular favorite of my toddler son.'^[11] The Gift was further noted as being 'being particularly good for any child expecting a new sibling, or having trouble adapting to their arrival'^[12] and paved the way for Thornton's later, more technical exploration of social responsibility in narrative.^[13]

In 2012 Thornton released a full-length graphic novel The Tale of Brin & Bent and Minno Marylebone with publishers Jonathon Cape Random House illustrated by Andy Hixon. The graphic novel was inspired by a real-life assault on Thornton. Reviewers of the book warned about its violent and disturbing content, but praised the quality of the writing and its emotional depth.^[14] It went on to win the Annual Broken Frontier Award for Best Debut Book of 2012^[15] and a nomination for the 2012 Bram Stoker Award for horror writing.^[16]

In 2012 Thornton collaborated with composer/pianist and DJ Othon to develop a soundtrack to the graphic novel, subsequently performed live in London and Bristol.^[17] Cellist Laura Moody featured. The same year Thornton also worked with James Wilton Dance to develop an interactive ballet app of the graphic novel for iPad.^[18] Though the project was choreographed, the app did not go on to completion.

The Tale of Brin & Bent and Minno Marylebone is taught at University of Nottingham as part of its BA English Literature, in relation to William Blake,^[19] inspiring poetic adaptations on the themes loneliness, isolation and surrealism.^[20] The text has also been utilised in University of Salford as part of its BA Music, to explore jazz as interpretation of abuse and trauma.^[21] Scholar David Annwn Jones describes the graphic novel as part of ‘a new interest in the darker resonance of fairytales’ in his Chapter Horror Comics written for the Routledge Companion to Comics 2016^[22], though mistakenly identifies digital techniques for sculpture and photography.

Four years after the deaths of her mother and brother, 2012 saw Thornton move from pure storytelling to focus more on the responsibility of narrative, reflecting of her growing interest in more technical, cross-platform narrative design, as well as narrative’s role in present and future society.

In 2012 Thornton began The HOAX Project, which would go on to be the world’s first proven study of social-recovery impact of multi-faceted narrative.^[23]

In 2013 Thornton won the inaugural London Hub Barry Reckord bursary,^[24] with her linear stage play proposal Treading Air. She went on to develop the script as interactive with multiple endings.

In 2014 Thornton founded Ziggy’s Wish Ltd, to manage The HOAX Project and further explore the socially responsibly application of narrative to large-scale problems. She is currently Managing Director. The company developed Narrative Resilience Technology, a unique combination of narrative, psychology and technology designed to increase engagement and effect positive behaviour change. The name ‘Ziggy’s Wish’ came from Thornton’s ex-racing rescue greyhound Ziggy, after his death.^[25]

In 2017 Thornton was invited to contribute to the Manchester Museum and Royal Exchange Theatre project Come Closer Memories of Partition to mark the 70^th anniversary of the Partition of India. Thornton wrote the interactive script iDent to explore how identities can be projected onto populations for manipulative gain. The piece was directed by Amy Hailwood, performed across Manchester and required audience participation.^[26] The project went on to win The University of Manchester's Making a Difference Awards for Social Responsibility, for an Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.^[27]

The HOAX Project

In 2012 Thornton began working with the poetry of her younger brother who lived with schizophrenia and took his own life in 2008.

For a collaboration with director Benji Reid, composer Minute Taker^[28] and Royal Exchange Theatre, and inspired by a particular poem titled HOAX, Thornton wrote the dark stage musical HOAX My Lonely Heart. It was performed in 2014 in Royal Exchange Theatre^[29], received four-star reviews^[30] and toured across the north of England in 2017.

Wanting to explore other aspects of her brother’s life and death, Thornton wrote graphic novel HOAX Psychosis Blues to pair with the musical,^[31] curating the contributions of ten illustrators: Bryan Talbot, Rian Hughes, Mark Stafford, Hannah Berry, Julian Hanshaw, Leonardo M. Giron, Karrie Fransman, Rhiana Jade, Ian Jones, Rozi Hathaway.^[32] The first edition was published by Ziggy's Wish in 2014, and received significant acclaim including Comics in Education Graphic Novel of the Year 2014 (winner),^[33] Medicine Unboxed Creative Prize 2014 (shortlisted),^[34] British Comic Awards Best Book 2014 (longlisted), and Comica Top Ten British Graphic Novels 2014 (official selection).^[35] A second edition was released in 2017 to coincide with The HOAX Project tour.

In 2015 Thornton, via her company Ziggy's Wish, partnered with Psychosis Research Unit of NHS Mental Health Foundation Trust, in order to build an ambitious project designed to test the social impact of the HOAX cross-media artworks around mental health stigma: The HOAX Project.^[36]

References

External links

• Ravi Thornton website

• Ziggy's Wish website