Adam Scovell (1989 – present) is an English writer and filmmaker from Merseyside, now residing in London. Scovell’s diverse body of work spans film, journalism, and literature. Scovell's writing has been featured in prestigious publications such as The Times, BFI, Sight & Sound, Little White Lies, and The Quietus. Additionally, he maintains the website Celluloid Wicker Man, where he explores various aspects of cinema and culture. Scovell's film work has garnered attention at numerous festivals and events. Notably, in 2015, he collaborated with Robert Macfarlane on an adaptation of the Sunday Times best-seller Holloway. He has also worked alongside Stanley Donwood, Iain Sinclair, and BAFTA-nominated director Paul Wright (Novel writers: Adam Scovell, 2020). Some of Scovell’s atmospheric short films, which often feature strong landscape elements, can be seen here: https://celluloidwickerman.com/my-own-films/ 
 

Scovell completed his PhD in Music at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2018, adding to his background in that area, which includes a Master's degree in Music (MMus) and a BA (Hons) in Music from the University of Liverpool. His first book, Folk Horror: Hours Dreadful and Things Strange, was published by Auteur in 2017 and later by University of Columbia Press . He has since authored several novels, including Mothlight (2019), How Pale The Winter Has Made Us (2020), and Nettles (2022), all published by Influx Press (Scovell, 2024; Adam Scovell, 2024).

Adam Scovell's novel Nettles (2022) is a captivating exploration of folklore and memory, deeply rooted in the contemporary eerie landscapes of the Wirral, the location of Gawain’s testing. The book begins with a quote from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: ‘In the wilderness of Wirral dwelt there but few / That either God or man with good heart loved’. This opening sets a tone of desolation and mystery, immersing the reader in a world where the boundaries between the past and present blur. Scovell uses the wilderness of the Wirral as a backdrop, but also as a character in its own right—an enigmatic and haunting presence that influences the lives and psyches of those who dwell within it. The novel blends the protagonist's personal history with the protagonists journey, creating a rich, atmospheric story that resonates with the unsettling, timeless quality of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The wilderness of the Wirral, as depicted in both the poem and Scovell's novel, becomes a place of reflection and fear, where the past continually intrudes upon the present, and where the landscape itself seems to harbour secrets and spirits from another time.
Scovell has shared three images of the landscape of the ‘wilderness of the Wirral’ which are included in the book, and which, like the Green Chapel evoke a liminal atmosphere in which a solid sense of self is undermined. 

 

References

Adam Scovell (2024) Granta. Available at: https://granta.com/contributor/adam-scovell/ (Accessed: 24 May 2024). 
The double negative " ‘the Folklore is seriously spooky’Adam Scovell: On nettles (2022) The Double Negative. Available at: https://www.thedoublenegative.co.uk/2022/05/the-folklore-is-seriously-spookyadam-scovell-on-nettles/ (Accessed: 24 May 2024). 

Novel writers: Adam Scovell (2020) Spike Island. Available at: https://www.spikeisland.org.uk/programme/events/novel-writers-adam-scovell/ (Accessed: 24 May 2024). 

Scovell, A. (2023) About, Celluloid Wicker Man. Available at: https://celluloidwickerman.com/about-3/ (Accessed: 24 May 2024).