Ed Wood is the author of three books that go together to form a memoir in three parts: who he is, what he does, and what he believes. ‘From Acorns’ (2017) tells the story of his life, ‘Lift Off!’ (2021) is an essential handbook of all he has learnt from 50 years supporting businesses, and ‘Plague of Madness’ (2021) records his beliefs and ideas about the world through the framework of the Covid pandemic.
He is currently working on ‘A Year in Andalucia’, an entertaining story of his move to Spain in 2021, alongside a series of thrillers.
Borne out of his passion for self-publishing, Ed set up Runway Publishing in 2020 to help other authors write their books and send them out into the world.
You can read more about Ed and his approach to writing in our interview here:
www.runwaypublishing.co.uk/the-hub/interview-with-ed-wood-author-and-runway-founder
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LIFT OFF! - Getting Business off the Ground
Publication date: 2nd May 2021
Life is hard for entrepreneurs. With the odds stacked against them, even the most successful of businesses have difficult periods and there are always areas in which they could do with some help and support. After over forty years of succeeding—and failing—in his own businesses and helping countless more get off the ground and overcome obstacles, Ed Wood presents all the ideas, methods and approaches that every entrepreneur needs to thrive. Bringing in plenty of candid stories and useful examples from his own experience, as well as drawing on the wisdom of others, Lift Off! Is an essential, easy-to-read guide, to every aspect of the entrepreneur's journey—from starting out on the runway to taking to the skies.
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PLAGUE OF MADNESS
Publication date: 30th May 2021
When COVID-19 arrives in the UK, Ed Wood starts a diary. Collected here, these daily entries provide a compelling, real-time chronology of Britain’s handling of the pandemic, charting social, political and economic developments alongside haircuts, trampolining, Orwell, Dad’s Army, poetry, music (and futuristic pizza ordering). As the death rate soars, Wood's faith in the government plummets, and he watches the country he loves swing precariously between ‘common sense and common madness’. In a tone that moves from fortitude to despair, patriotism to disillusionment, ‘A Plague of Madness’ presents one individual’s bid to navigate the tumult and make sense of the overwhelmingly nonsensical. From the reassurance of the opening - ‘We need to be reasonable and stay calm’ – to the heaviness of one of the final lines – ‘Too many tears have fallen to have any left to shed’ – it is one man’s lament for the country, government and values he once prized.
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FROM ACORNS (Second Edition)
Publication date: 27th June 2021
Ed Wood is not a household name. He isn't a war hero, an eminent politician or an aristocratic socialite with a sprawling estate. He has received no great honours and that's exactly what he wants. Growing up in a family of characters that were all those things and more, Ed gained plenty of stories, some fascinating insights and a sense of maverick rebellion to be the first Edward Wood to be completely ordinary. He followed his curiosity where others before him had followed tradition, taking him all over the world and between a variety of careers.
The book takes us from the Victorian values of the English gentry—complete with Churchill, Eton, an eccentric governess and despotic matron—to the decisions and pressures of the real world including divorce, the credit crunch and Brexit. Wood reflects on the little things that have moved him forwards (and sometimes backwards) on his adventures and shares what he has learnt along the way.
We see the evolution of the male identity over three generations, from his grandfather, Lord Halifax, to his father, Richard Wood MP (later Lord Holderness) to Ed now, in a household of four daughters and two granddaughters. It explores how the worlds of business, politics and family have changed over half a century—and how we should change to keep up with them. A compelling account of an extraordinarily ordinary life.
