Globetrotting vet Jonathan Cranston will be appearing at next month’s Cheltenham Literature Festival where he will be discussing his debut book which goes on sale on the first day of November.

‘The Travelling Vet’ tells the story of Jonathan’s career in veterinary surgery where he has performed life-saving operations on a broad range of animals, from domestic cats and dogs to more exotic creatures such as rhinos and giraffes.

Jonathan, who works at Dragon Vets in Cheltenham, will be appearing at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on Monday 8th October. As well as reading extracts from his book he will also be talking about his career as a vet and the process of documenting his many adventures which form the backbone of his new book.

Jonathan said: “I’m so excited to appearing at such a prestigious literary festival. I’ll be reading a short extract from the book then I’ll open the floor to questions from the audience.

“The book contains 20 chapters, with each chapter focused on a different animal I’ve worked with and treated. One of my favourite chapters tells the story of me treating a billy goat, it’s one of the funniest chapters in the book. On a more sombre note the central chapter concerns a rhino poaching incident which was one of my main inspirations for writing the book.

“The book goes on sale on 1st November but there will be copies for sale at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.”

Jonathan is very much a man in demand as he’s also been booked to appear at several other literary festivals.

He continued: “I’ll be appearing at the Harrogate Literature Festival on Saturday 20th October and The Dorchester Literary Festival the following day. I’ve also just agreed to appear at the Oxford Literary Festival in the spring of next year which is exciting.

“Writing a book has been an ambition of mine for a very long time so I do feel a great sense of accomplishment that I’ve been able to do it. I’ve got more stories to tell and would happily write more books if there’s an interest.

“Now the book is complete I’ve a weird mix of emotions really. I’m excited to see how it performs but with that comes a few nerves as well. The first books have just been printed so I should be getting a few copies in the next couple of days, it will be the first time I’ve seen everything put together so that’s exciting.”

Jonathan, who was Veterinary Advisor to ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’, says he would be keen to carry out further work in the film industry.

He added: “I received a very nice thank you message from J A Bayona who directed the film. That meant a lot. I really enjoyed being part of the filming process, I’d certainly be keen to do more work like that in the future.

“I’m getting married in December so the next couple of months will be spent focusing on that. As far as 2019 is looking I’m sure there will be more trips out to Africa.”