Writing for Change

Icon Books (UK) has just released its third edition of 50 Facts That Should Change the World, the best-selling book by NZ journalist Jessica Williams. 50 Facts aims to shock readers into social and political action by drawing their attention to some of the more alarming characteristics of modern-day life. Williams devotes a chapter to each of her hard-hitting facts, which include the number of slaves in the world today (27 million) and the proportion of British children who think they’ll find fame through reality TV (one in six). “One of the things I wanted to say in the book is that even if you do something small, if everybody does it, it actually makes a really big difference,” said Williams in an interview with NZ’s Sunday Star-Times. Williams, 37, was born in Wanganui and is currently based in London, where she produces the BBC‘s influential Hard Talk program.