The Gentleman Jack effect, how a Leeds academic went from prison to Nobel Prize nominee and more - Five long reads from The Yorkshire Post features team this week

Writing about life on the inside

Neil Samworth spent 11 years working at Strangeways prison. Nearing four years ago he published a memoir, his own account of life is like in the jail.

Now he’s got to know some of those behind bars and has written a follow-up, giving voice to the prisoners.

Here's what he has to say: Strangeways Unlocked: Former prison officer from Yorkshire shares stories of inmates behind bars at notorious Manchester jail

From prison to Nobel Prize nominee

IT has been a lifetime’s journey from the remote foothills of the Himalayas to international pre-eminence as an authority on human rights for Surya Subedi.

Along the way, the Leeds academic has been imprisoned for championing democracy, helped to rebuild a country torn apart by mass murder, advised the Foreign Office on promoting freedom and been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Here's his remarkable story, which he has now published in a memoir: From remote Himalayas to Nobel Prize Nominee, meet the Leeds academic who is one of the world's leading experts on human rights

Dogs changing lives of boys with autism

Sheffield charity Support Dogs is celebrating its 30th anniversary and has been helping adults and children with autism, epilepsy and a number of serious medical conditions since 1992, supporting them to lead safer and more independent lives.

Its autism assistance dogs have transformed life for countless families including two boys from South Yorkshire - Jacob Brailsford and Stanley Nutton.

Here, their mums speak about the impact the Labradors have had: How two Labradors from Sheffield charity Support Dogs are changing the lives of two boys with autism

Yorkshire actor on the big screen

Huddersfield actor Danny Kirrane is appearing in cinemas in the National Theatre production of Shakespeare’s Henry V.

He read physics and astrophysics at Leeds University before beginning his acting career and has featured in Trollied and Game of Thrones.

He chats to The Yorkshire Post here: Meet Huddersfield actor Danny Kirrane who has had roles in Game of Thrones and Trollied and is now in National Theatre production of Shakespeare's Henry V in cinemas

The Gentleman Jack effect

Four words have come to encompass the powerful impact of Sally Wainwright’s TV drama about the historic Halifax landowner Anne Lister – the Gentleman Jack effect.

The phrase embodies the show’s influence in its all its forms, pointing as much to how sharing diarist Lister’s story as ‘the first modern lesbian’ has emboldened LGBTQ+ communities, as it does to how Calderdale and the wider West Yorkshire region is reaping the benefits of increased visitor numbers and a focus on TV and film production.

As the show airs for a second series, here's a look at the impact it is having: The Gentleman Jack effect - The impact TV show and Anne Lister's story is having on Calderdale and West Yorkshire