I am a writer and editor based in London. From 2012 - 2022, I was a journalist at the Financial Times. Today, I write for the FT, the Telegraph, the Spectator, the Critic and other publications on art, design, architecture, fashion, music, travel, books, modern life and popular culture. My work includes features, interviews, reviews and opinion pieces.

I like to write long, substantial features that take time and patience to research, such as this long read on London’s invented place names; this story on imperfect house restorations; this reflection on Bob Dylan’s style; this feature on the architects behind Sydney Modern, the biggest art gallery in the southern hemisphere; this story on the future of gastropubs; this feature on how a 1950s protest movement saved Piccadilly Circus; and this story on why true bohemians are an endangered species.

I’m an experienced interviewer of cultural figures with strong opinions, such as Norman Foster, Es Devlin, Billy Childish, Pam Hogg, Laura Leezy, Peter Saville, Haegue Yang and many more.

And I love to write a snappy review: music, theatre, dance and books: for example: Paul Morley’s biography of Tony Wilson; Owen Hatherley’s Modern Buildings in Britain, and Barnabas Calder’s Raw Concrete.

Listen to me talking about Bob Dylan with Kerry Shale and Lucas Hare on the Is It Rolling Bob? podcast here.

My full FT portfolio of stories is here and my Telegraph portfolio is here. Take a look at my selected journalism page to see more of my latest work.

Sounds and Visions, my occasional, free Substack newsletter of cultural notes, is here.

My agent is Eleanor Birne at RCW Literary Agency.

As well as writing and editing, I am a director of London Modern, a charitable company set up in 2021 by a group of design and architecture enthusiasts to bring a new cultural festival to the city.

To commission me, email helen.barrett@gmail.com

Find me on Twitter where my DMs are open.