lorewright

A writer who gathers, researches and sets down the history, traditions and stories of a place or people, especially local history drawn from records, memories and folklore, so that it is preserved and passed on.

“Glynn May, a Sheffield historian and lorewright, spent months in the city's archives piecing together the story of the resurrection men who robbed its graveyards.”

Formed from lore (Old English lār, “teaching, learning, knowledge handed down”) and wright (Old English wyrhta, “worker, maker”). It follows the pattern of older words such as playwright, shipwright and wheelwright.

A wright is someone who builds something by craft, and a lorewright builds history from its raw materials: newspapers, registers, letters, gravestones and the memories of the living.

Historian suggests academic study, and storyteller suggests invention. Neither describes the person who does both jobs at once: tracking down the facts in the archive, then shaping them into a story that ordinary readers will want to read. The word lorewright covers both the research and the craft of telling.

I first used it in my author biography for Body Snatching in Sheffield (2026), and submitted it to the Collins Dictionary new-word scheme on 21 October 2026.

If you write about the history of your own town or family, you are a lorewright too. Feel free to use the word.

— Glynn May, Sheffield