Books · Plays · Essays

Writing — Books and Plays

Words that refuse to stay put.

Two books, five plays, and a standing suspicion that the interesting thing is always the thing nobody wanted to say first.

Unprepared — The Skills Gap Between Education and Real Life by Zach Falconer-Barfield

Published 1 September 2026

Unprepared.

The Skills Gap Between Education and Real Life.

You have been told the problem is talent. Or effort. Or attitude. It isn't. The problem is that everything you were never taught, how to handle conflict, how to read a room, how to fail forward, is exactly what your career depends on. That is the skills gap. And it is larger than anyone in education is willing to admit.

Paperback and ebook. Published 1 September 2026.

Perfect Gentleman cover — upload later

Previously · Co-authored · Out of print

Becoming the Perfect Gentleman.

PLACEHOLDER — copy to be supplied for Becoming the Perfect Gentleman.

No longer in print.

The plays.

Available for licensing to professional, amateur and educational companies. Read a sample first. Every licence is agreed directly with me.

[PLAY TITLE 1]

[YEAR] · [GENRE] · [CAST SIZE] · [RUNNING TIME]

Available to licence

PLACEHOLDER — two-sentence logline to be supplied. Placeholder text only; no production history implied.

[PLAY TITLE 2]

[YEAR] · [GENRE] · [CAST SIZE] · [RUNNING TIME]

In development

PLACEHOLDER — two-sentence logline to be supplied. Placeholder text only; no production history implied.

[PLAY TITLE 3]

[YEAR] · [GENRE] · [CAST SIZE] · [RUNNING TIME]

Previously produced

PLACEHOLDER — two-sentence logline to be supplied. Placeholder text only; no production history implied.

[PLAY TITLE 4]

[YEAR] · [GENRE] · [CAST SIZE] · [RUNNING TIME]

Available to licence

PLACEHOLDER — two-sentence logline to be supplied. Placeholder text only; no production history implied.

[PLAY TITLE 5]

[YEAR] · [GENRE] · [CAST SIZE] · [RUNNING TIME]

In development

PLACEHOLDER — two-sentence logline to be supplied. Placeholder text only; no production history implied.

Educational and amateur rates differ from professional. Enquire and I will send terms.

Read before you buy

The first chapter, free.

Chapter one of Unprepared, sent straight to your inbox. No obligation to buy anything, and no newsletter you cannot leave.

No algorithms. No noise. Unsubscribe whenever you like.