I recently spoke with Bram E Gieben from The Skinny about short stories, dystopias and parenthood. You can read the interview now, over at The Skinny. … [Read more...]
Shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize
Last week, while I was away tutoring at Arvon Lumb Bank with the brilliant Kate Clanchy, I got the news that The Stone Thrower has been shortlisted for the prestigious Edge Hill Short Story Prize, previously won by Colm Tóibín, Claire Keegan, Chris Beckett, Jeremy Dyson, Graham Mort and Sarah Hall. I'm thrilled. Just look whose company I'm in on … [Read more...]
The Stone Thrower playlist
My new book, The Stone Thrower, just came out in North America, published by the brilliant ECW Press, who also published Instruction Manual For Swallowing over there. As part of ECW's BackLit series, this edition has bonus material at the back: my desert island books, an extra story, and a playlist of music to throw stones to. I wanted to share … [Read more...]
Litro podcast
Listen here to me chatting with Litro's Emily Cleaver about The Stone Thrower and the inspiration behind the story collection, PLUS actor Cliff Chapman giving a cracking reading of the title story. … [Read more...]
North American cover design for The Stone Thrower
Check out the cover design for the North American edition of The Stone Thrower from ECW Press. What d'you reckon? I'm thrilled with it. This was my favourite of the three proposed versions they sent over, so I'm glad it ended up as this one. At its core, the collection is about the fragility and vulnerability of children, and the fragile and … [Read more...]
Guardian piece about my son.
My worries for my son became metaphors in my writing … [Read more...]
The London launch at What’s the story?: a photo-caption blog
Last night I launched The Stone Thrower in London at Cathy Galvin's new lit night: What's the story? Chris Paling, David Vann, Zoe Lambert and I read to a sell-out audience of beautiful people at The Society Club in Soho. Here's my picture caption report of the night. Click on any pic to open up the full size gallery. … [Read more...]
My day at the Manchester Literature Festival in bullet points
Had a blast at the Manchester Literature Festival, even if getting there was hell. Here's my report. • Naomi and the boys give me a lift to the train station. • There are men in luminous jackets all over the tracks. • This station is closed today. Eeek. • Naomi and the boys come back, drive me the first 20-min leg of my journey. • Discover … [Read more...]