A believable protagonist
Every series follows one person through a real problem — debt, an exam, a diagnosis, a business — and the decisions it forces.
Vellumwise · Stories with Substance
Stories that explore life’s real questions.
Enter extraordinary fictional conversations, follow ordinary people through consequential choices, and discover ideas that stay with you long after the last page.
Complete series
The first complete series is still in preparation.
Nothing is on sale yet. When a series is finished, checked and published, it will appear here — and readers who asked to be told will get one email.
One life. Many perspectives. A story worth following.
A council that disagrees
Original fictional experts argue in good faith. Consensus, contested ideas and known limits are kept distinct.
Consequences, not lectures
The debate is only the beginning. The real test is what happens after the character goes home.
Every area of life, examined
Vellumwise series cover the subjects that shape ordinary lives. Browse the library by subject or theme.
Money & personal finance Learning & education Work & careers Business & entrepreneurship Health & medicine Fitness & sport Law & your rights Relationships, parenting & family Psychology & mental health Practical life skills Home & housing Migration & life abroad Arts, crafts & creative work Digital life & technology Civic life & public services Environment & sustainability Ageing & later life Science & evidence in everyday life
Or by theme
Hard choices Second chances Money under pressure Ethics & integrity Family duty Ambition Living with uncertainty Belonging Competing advice
New & forthcoming
In development
The Household Ledger
A community debt programme gives Dana a monthly hour with four people who see her money very differently.
Planned
The Price of Everything
Rosa’s budget decisions are told alongside one household on her estate, the Harlows, who live with every consequence.
In development
The Second Attempt
One resit, one year, and a volunteer tutoring scheme whose tutors each believe in a different method.
Planned
Second Language, First Job
Her company will not move her abroad; it simply expects her to work in Spanish by spring.
Planned
The Reading Room
Sam reads easily but never thought about how. As he learns how reading is taught, he must deal with a stretched school, a possible assessment and a daughter who has decided she is “stupid” — and with his own memories of school.
Tell us which story to write first.
Planned series are written in the order readers ask for them. Register interest on any planned series page — confirmed by email, no newsletter — and, if you like, get one email when it is published.