Adam Marek

Short story writer

‘You’re too old for hobbits’

Adam Marek 5 Comments

When I was about 13 or so, my teachers began an assault on my imagination. My English teacher was the first. During a library session, he told us all to go find a book, read it for a while, and then at the end of the lesson to read out the opening page. I picked The Hobbit. It was something I'd read lots of times before and found … [Read more...]

Do you remember Zembla?

Adam Marek 2 Comments

I was tidying up bookshelves in my attic yesterday and discovered a few old issues of Zembla magazine. It only ran for eight issues between 2003 and 2005, but it was a unique and wonderful literary mag - big and glossy with sexy cover stars – closer to GQ and Vanity Fair than most of the dry literary journals I was aware of at the … [Read more...]

I’ve got writer’s FOMO

Adam Marek 11 Comments

There’s a wonderful sense of freedom that comes at the end of a book project. After being locked into one idea for a year or two or three, you’re free to do whatever you like, experiment, play. But then, at some point (the point I’m at now), you’ve got to decide on THE NEXT PROJECT. Once you’ve settled on it, you know it’s going to be with you … [Read more...]

Pencil case envy

Adam Marek 6 Comments

It’s the last weekend before my kids go back to school. When I was a kid, this was the most dreaded weekend of the year. I loathed school, and that loathing was never more acute than after six weeks of summer holidays. They say you can’t remember pain, but I very clearly remember the fear I felt the day before I started secondary school as a … [Read more...]

The first Story Salon at The Society Club in bullet points

Adam Marek 1 Comment

Here's my report on the first Story Salon at The Society Club in Soho - the new monthly lit-night from Cathy Galvin, creator of the Sunday Times EFG Award. Meet Alison MacLeod at Oxford Circus. She has a new purple coat.  Arrive at the Society Club and meet Carrie Kania, one of the owners. GREAT selection of books here. Carrie says each one … [Read more...]

Autumn launch events

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I’ll be out and about in September and October to launch my new short story collection, The Stone Thrower… Sun 30 Sept – Small Wonder. 6pm. Tickets £9 (£8 Students). Charleston Farm House, Nr Lewes, East Sussex BN8 6LL.Oh I love the Small Wonder short story festival: the only literature festival with its own branded beer, where mooing cows … [Read more...]