
Big news: I have written a chapbook of prose poems. It is called My Undoing and will be published in 2023 by the wonderful small press Death of Workers Whilst Building Skyscrapers. I’m so happy about this! Further updates as they become available.
Before that, I have a new essay, ‘On Addressability’, coming out in issue 4 of TOLKA, the Irish journal of experimental nonfiction which is one of my favorite new journals. Issue 4 is published in November and you can order it here at TOLKA HQ.
In the last few weeks I have mostly been in the happy condition of lying around reading George Saunders. I am hosting an in-conversation event with him at Central Library on Sunday 23 October for Manchester Literature Festival, talking about his new collection of short stories, Liberation Day, and maybe also a bit about his delightful book on reading and writing short stories via close reads of the Russian masters, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. I think there are just a few tickets left for this at time of writing, which you can nab here.
Recommended reading: Worms issue 5 (a New Narrative fanzine, be still my heart!) and the inaugural issues of The European Review of Books and Astra… 2022 was a strong one for literary periodicals. And for listening, the Borrow Box app, which allows you to download free new audiobooks to your phone via your library, without having to give any of your money to evil and disgusting multinational corporations.
It’s been a quiet time work-wise as I’ve been ill with long covid for the last 6 months. I’ve taken medical leave from my job while I rest and try to get better. I’ve had cognitive problems along with fatigue and pain. I can read comfortably most days now, which is a big improvement, but writing is slower going than before. Still, it’s happening.