Exciting new work from the UK's top lesbian authors, such as Jackie Kay, Stella Duffy, Emma Donoghue and Ali Smith and the best stories from Diva magazine, alongside fresh new writing talent from the UK. Edited by Helen Sandler, best known for her erotic best seller, Big Deal.
As editors Toby Litt and Ali Smith explain in their introduction: "newness is quite a venerable category. There`s not much that`s new about it. In the 1930s, when a magazine called New Writing was first published, it had to compete with New Signatures , New Country , New Verse , the New Statesman and Nation and New Theatre , and what with the New Woman of the 1890s and new everything else, even then, new wasn’t the new new... If we’ve achieved diversity, it’s because our submissions were themselves diverse; and the final selection is representative of the proportion of short stories to novel extracts, poems and essays that were submitted. Originality is only proven over time, paradoxically. We are confident that some of the names here you’ve never heard before will become very familiar. They may even disgrace themselves by winning prizes, becoming established, etc. But they’ll be the kinds of writer, like the known names published here, for whom everything they write is a renewal - of language, of place, of the senses and of the contemporary."
A collection of new work by award-winning artists and writers that captures the unique spirit of Brighton.
A collection of short stories around the theme of 'connections'. The Sea of Azov was the birthplace of Chekhov, the master of the short story.
A heartwarming, heartbreaking, laugh-out-loud, grind-your-teeth anthology celebrating the unique world of sisters This heartwarming and heart-wrenching collection of stories, memoirs, and poems celebrates the beautifully complex world of sisters. A relationship like no other, the unbreakable link between sisters can be at once sweet and loving, fierce and cruel. From childhood to old age, rivalry to devotion, hysterical laughter to tears of grief, the inescapable bonds between sisters create a unique journey. Sisters is for anyone who knows sisters, wishes they had a sister, adores her own sister, or would, on occasion, like to trade her in. Contributors include: Joyce Armor, Margaret Atwood, Joan Baez, Claire Bateman, Simone de Beauvoir, Robin Becker, Jane Bowles, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lan Samantha Chang, Marilyn Chin, Catherine Chung, Lucille Clifton, Clare Coss, Edwidge Danticat, Sadie and Bessie Delany, Rita Dove, Delia Ephron, M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Glass, Barbara L. Greenberg, Jane Hirshfield, Cynthia Hogue, Beverly Jensen, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Ana Maria Jomolca, Mary Karr, Marie Luise Kaschnitz, Tsipi Keller, Barbara Kingsolver, Maxine Kumin, Jeanne M. Leiby, Audre Lorde, Grace Paley, Dorothy Parker, Martha Rhodes, Muriel Rukeyser, Myra Shapiro, Ali Smith, Misty Urban, Alice Walker, Wendy Wasserstein and Daisy Zamora.
In 2009, the Glyndebourne Festival of Opera reaches its 75th year. In commemoration of this event, Jeanette Winterson has brought together some of the best loved and most critically acclaimed authors writing today to pen stories inspired by opera. A foreword from Ralph Fiennes and an introduction by Jeanette Winterson are followed by: Alexander McCall Smith on Cosi Fan Tutte; Ali Smith on Fidelio; Andrew Motion on Peter Grimes; Andrew O'Hagan on Eugene Onegin; Ann Enright on Rusalka;; Colm Toibin on Pearl Fishers; Jackie Kay on The Makropulos Case; Joanna Trollope on L'Elisir d'Amore; John Mortimer on Cosi Fan Tutte; Julie Myerson on The Crowning of Poppaea; Kate Atkinson on La Traviata; Kate Mosse on Pelleas et Melisande; Lynne Truss on The Turn of the Screw; Marina Warner on Dido and Aeneas; Posy Simmonds double page of 'Glyndebourne Midsummer Night'; Ruth Rendell on Theodora; Sebastian Barry on Natoma; Toby Litt on Don Giovanni.
Bestselling authors bring together a thought-provoking collection of short stories, each inspired by one of thirty human rights adopted by the United Nations and promoted by Amnesty International. Freedom is a mix of thoughtful, serious, funny, and thrilling stories that harness the power of literature to celebrate—and affirm—our shared humanity. Published in association with Amnesty International, an array of internationally acclaimed & award-winning writers remind us these fundamental freedoms – ratified in 1948 – are just as crucial to protect and uphold today as ever. The United Nations took a moral stand against human rights crimes and adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a proclamation of thirty rights that belong to us all, starting memorably with Article 1: “All human beings are born free and equal.” Amnesty International is one of several international organizations promoting UDHR. It is a world-leading grassroots human rights organization & a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people – no matter who they are or where they are. Authors include: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Kate Atkinson, Ishmael Beah, Paulo Coelho, Nadine Gordimer, Marina Lewycka, Henning Mankell, Yann Martel, Rohinton Minstry, David Mitchell, Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates.
Ox-Tales is a set of four compelling and collectible books, each themed on one of the elements. Fire features stories by Mark Haddon, Geoff Dyer, Victoria Hislop, Sebastian Faulks, John le Carré, Xiaoulu Guo, William Sutcliffe, Ali Smith, Lionel Shriver and Jeanette Winterson, and a poem by Vikram Seth. The idea behind Ox-Tales is to raise money for Oxfam and along the way to highlight the charity’s work in project areas: agriculture in Earth , water projects in Water , conflict aid in Fire , and climate change in Air .
Powerful essays by such luminaries and literary giants as Daniel Day-Lewis and Martin Amis offer a compassionate look at the crises that most affect our world today. An important book for anyone interested in global issues, Writing on the Edge features twelve essays that take the reader to countries in crisis. Award-winning writer Martin Amis experienced firsthand the problems of gang violence in Colombia, South America; New York Times bestselling author Tracy Chevalier focuses on the abuse of women in Burundi, East Africa; Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis writes of meeting children raised in war-torn Palestine; Booker Prize–winning author DBC Pierre addresses the unusually high incidence of mental health issues in Armenia. Award-winning photographer Tom Craig was commissioned by the humanitarian charity Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders to document the writers in these places in trouble. His striking photographs amplify the sense of compassion required while also demonstrating that beautiful humanity is the victim of tragedy.
Here is about the elsewhere at home Here moves between countries and continents, through families and unlikely encounters to find hope and reconciliation. Features Gill Arbuthnott, Theresa Breslin, Karen Campbell, Anne Fine, Vivian French, Debi Gliori, Alasdair Gray, A. L. Kennedy, Yiyun Li, William McIlvanney, Ali Smith, Miguel Syjuco, and Alan Warner.
In this collection of essays, ten leading writers from different countries consider the conflicts that have informed their own literary lives. 1914-Goodbye to All That borrows its title from Robert Graves's "bitter leave-taking of England" in which he writes not only of the First World War but the questions it raised: how to live, how to live with each other, and how to write. Interpreting this title as broadly and ambiguously as Graves intended, these essays mark the War's centenary by reinvigorating these questions. The book includes Elif Shafak on an inheritance of silence in Turkey, Ali Smith on lost voices in Scotland, Xiaolu Guo on the 100,000 Chinese sent to the Front, Daniel Kehlmann on hypnotism in Berlin, Colm Toibin on Lady Gregory losing her son fighting for Britain as she fought for an independent Ireland, Kamila Shamsie on reimagining Karachi, Erwin Mortier on occupied Belgium's legacy of shame, NoViolet Bulawayo on Zimbabwe and clarity, Ales Steger on resisting history in Slovenia, and Jeanette Winterson on what art is for. Contributors include: Ali Smith - Scotland Ales Steger - Slovenia Jeanette Winterson - England Elif Shafak - Turkey NoViolet Bulawayo - Zimbabwe Colm Toíbín - Ireland Xiaolu Guo - China Erwin Mortier - Belgium Kamila Shamsie - Pakistan Daniel Kehlmann - Germany
A collection of flash- and micro-fictions gathered together by National Flash-Fiction Day 2012. Includes stories from Ian Rankin, Vanessa Gebbie, Jenn Ashworth, Tania Hershman, David Gaffney, Trevor Byrne, Jen Campbell, Jonathan Pinnock, Calum Kerr, Valerie O'Riordan and many more. 62 tales spanning different genres, styles and themes, but all beautifully crafted in just a few well-chosen words.
Described by Philip Pullman as 'the most important British writer of fantasy since Tolkein', Alan Garner has been enrapturing readers with works like The Weirdstone of Brisingamen , The Owl Service , Red Shift and The Stone Book Quartet for more than half a century. Now, a group of the writers and artists he has inspired over the years have come together to celebrate his life and work in First Light . This anthology includes original contributions from David Almond, Margaret Atwood, John Burnside, Susan Cooper, Helen Dunmore, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Garner, Paul Kingsnorth, Katherine Langrish, Helen Macdonald, Robert Macfarlane, Gregory Maguire, Neel Mukherjee, Philip Pullman, Ali Smith, Elizabeth Wein, Michael Wood and many, many more. Whether a literary essay, a personal response to Garner's writing or a story about the man himself, each piece is a tribute to his remarkable impact. Edited by the acclaimed journalist and novelist Erica Wagner, First Light will touch the heart of anyone who grew up reading Alan Garner.
Bringing together the finest and best known names in contemporary writing discussing the importance of woodlands to the health of our planet. Authors include: Ali Smith, Simon Leatherdale, Alan Garner, Alec Finlay, Simon Armitage, David Nash, Fiona Stafford, Sara Maitland, George Peterken, Helen Dunmore, Jen Hadfield, Philip Marsden, Nina Lyon, Paul Kingsnorth, Paul Evans, Richard Skelton, Tobias Hill, Germaine Greer, Fiona Reynolds, Jay Griffiths, Richard Mabey, Peter Marren, Philip Hoare, Deborah Wilenski, Jim Crumley, Robb Penn, Piers Taylor, Madelein Bunting, Kathleen Jamie, William Boyd, Gabriel Hemmery, Tim Dee, Evie Wyld, Will Ashon, Sean Lysaght, and Robin Walter.
The journey of collage has witnessed material and technological shifts from scissors and glue to image appropriation, rephotography, arrangements of pictures and digital image renderings. But the logic of collage has endured since its inception. The Ends of Collage anthologizes texts on collage ranging from the early 20th century to the present. The theoretical motivations that precipitated the emergence of collage are placed in conversation with those that expanded the medium beyond its traditional limits in the late 1970s, with the rise of digital culture. The 19 essays gathered here are written by acclaimed artists, theorists and historians such as Yuval Etgar, Herta Wescher, Christine Poggi, Clement Greenberg, Elza Adamowicz, Louis Aragon, Max Ernst, Jean Arp, Hannah Höch, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Brandon Taylor, John Stezaker, Groupe ?, Craig Owens, Douglas Crimp, Richard Prince, Sherrie Levine, Martha Rosler and Ali Smith.
Scottish Stories is a treasury of great writing from a richly literary land, where the short story has flourished for over two centuries. Here are chilling supernatural stories from Robert Louis Stevenson, Eric Linklater and Dorothy K. Haynes; side-splittingly funny stories from Alasdair Gray and Irvine Welsh; a stylish offering from urban realist William McIlvanney. Iain Crichton Smith evokes the Gaelic-speaking highlands, George Mackay-Brown the Orkney islands, Andrew O'Hagan working-class Glasgow; while Leila Aboulela, originally from Sudan, ponders the relations between colonizers and colonized from her home in Aberdeen. Though there is no one 'Scottishness' that binds the authors together, writes editor Gerard Carruthers, each has a Scottish footprint or accent. And perhaps more importantly, all are masters of their form.
A fun and fearless anthology of feminist tales, by sixteen bestselling, award-winning writers. 'Wonderful . . . all killer, no filler' Red Magazine 'Dazzling stories, as inventive as they are inspiring' Daily Mirror 'Where power and feminist rage meet' Stylist BANSHEE. DRAGON. TYGRESS. SHE-DEVIL. HUSSY. SIREN. WENCH. HARRIDAN. MUCKRAKER. SPITFIRE. VITUPERATOR. CHURAIL. TERMAGANT. FURY. WARRIOR. VIRAGO. For centuries past, and all across the world, there are words that have defined and decried us. Words that raise our hackles, fire up our blood; words that tell a story. In this blazing cauldron of a book, sixteen bestselling, award-winning writers have taken up their pens and reclaimed these words, creating an entertaining and irresistible collection of feminist tales for our time. STORIES BY: Margaret Atwood, Susie Boyt, Eleanor Crewes, Emma Donoghue, Stella Duffy, Linda Grant, Annie Hodson, Claire Kohda, CN Lester, Kirsty Logan, Caroline O'Donoghue, Chibundu Onuzo, Helen Oyeyemi, Rachel Seiffert, Kamila Shamsie, Ali Smith, with an Introduction by Sandi Toksvig
A collection of brand-new short stories written by prize-winning, bestselling writers and inspired by Kafka - published to commemorate the centenary of his death *Chosen as a 2024 highlight in the Guardian, the Financial Times , the Daily Mail , New Statesman , Esquire and the New European * Franz Kafka is widely regarded as one of the great geniuses of twentieth-century literature. What happens when some of the most original literary minds of today take an idea, a mood or a line from his work and use it to spark something new? From a future society who ask their AI servants to construct a giant tower to reach God; to a flat hunt that descends into a comically absurd bureaucratic nightmare; to a population experiencing a wave of unbearable, contagious panic attacks, these ten specially commissioned stories are by turns mind-bending, funny, unsettling and haunting. Inspired by the visionary imagination of a writer working one hundred years ago, they speak powerfully to the strangeness of being alive today.