Hi, I've started a new website/blog over on word press, which I'll be updating with news on writing and politics. Hope you can join me over on http://zoelambert.org. xx
Sunday 16 November 2014
Monday 10 February 2014
My Next Book
This is a crime against blogging, but it's been a year since my last entry. I started a full time job at Lancaster exactly a year ago... and a few other things went to pot. Like this blog. But other things have gone much better.
After publishing The War Tour, I've been working on a novel, well kind of novel. The War Tour, was, for obvious reasons, rather far from my own experience (though as I have discussed elsewhere, things are more complex than that). But my second book stems much more directly from the experience of illness and disability and the role as carer. In many ways, these issues have shaped my life. And I want issues that have stemmed from this to be at the centre of my next book.
How I go about that has changed over the past year; the way this kind of material is fictionalised, the form, the approach, has gradually morphed with each word I wrote. Things are now coming together. The structure of this book is more cohesive than my first collection. But there is still something fragmentary about it. I'm still attracted to different stories bumping up against each other, but those connections this time are much more novelistic.
After publishing The War Tour, I've been working on a novel, well kind of novel. The War Tour, was, for obvious reasons, rather far from my own experience (though as I have discussed elsewhere, things are more complex than that). But my second book stems much more directly from the experience of illness and disability and the role as carer. In many ways, these issues have shaped my life. And I want issues that have stemmed from this to be at the centre of my next book.
How I go about that has changed over the past year; the way this kind of material is fictionalised, the form, the approach, has gradually morphed with each word I wrote. Things are now coming together. The structure of this book is more cohesive than my first collection. But there is still something fragmentary about it. I'm still attracted to different stories bumping up against each other, but those connections this time are much more novelistic.
Friday 14 December 2012
Notes to Self Prior to a Year of Events
a) the two-glass wine hypothesis will prove to be correct.
b) events are very tiring, especially one hour lunchtime readings where you have to keep talking for exactly ONE HOUR. This is a long period of time. Don't expect any sympathy for this.
c) it's OK if only your parents turn up. Seriously. And remember this doesn't reflect on you; it reflects ON SOCIETY AROUND YOU. Think this as you go over your two-glass wine limit. At lunchtime.
d) you never know what event organisers will do, such as decide to include a random poet in your event, who cries at her own poems. If this happens, don't expect any questions from the audience and don't expect anyone to buy any books.
e) never try to leave a music festival at 7 am on the Sunday morning to go to another festival. You will want to cry. You will cry. You will miss seeing New Order.
f) there are actually mosquitoes in Wales, and they bite through tights.
g) a one person tent is meant for one person.
h) it's perfectly OK to BYO wine to events.
i) if you do too many readings, you will certainly get Event Fatigue. This is similar to Compassion Fatigue. You will certainly never want to open your book again. You may even be cruel to it.
j) Swansea is very far but you can get there and back from Manchester in a day.
h) Throckmortons' Festival has its own butler
i) if you spend a weekend at Throckmortons where you don't even have to pour your own drinks, your nail polish won't chip at all
i) Boris Johnson's dad is a really nice guy
j) you tube recordings of you reading are a bad idea. But there is nothing you can do to stop their proliferation.
k) don't attempt to drive yourself to events. At some point you will actually be driven by a chauffeur. Unfortunately, it won't ever be in a limousine.
l) if anyone takes a photo while you are reading, you are going to look like a goldfish:
(c Paul McVeigh)
Tuesday 11 September 2012
The War Tour on Tour and exactly how much wine to drink before a reading
So, after a lot of study and many years of practice, I have come to the conclusion that the right amount is exactly what the governement health people advise for daily consumption, which is a maximum for 2-3 units, which works out as 1-2 medium glasses. This also depends on the time of day. Two glasses of wine first thing in the morning might be a slippery slope, so it's best to use your judgement there. But a hip flask of whisky can liven up an instant coffee at a library reading. I am not advocating being drunk at readings. This only leads to regret. You know it. I know it. But sometimes we just never learn...
NEWCASTLE - TUE 12 SEP 7pm
Litmus at the Lit and Phil
Sara Maitland, Zoe Lambert and Christine Poulson
"The Lit & Phil plays host to an evening of science and semi-fiction.. Sara Maitland reads and discusses her story about the often overlooked astronomer, Henrietta Swann Leavitt, a woman who despite being un known at the her death changed the face of astronomy with her discovery of the period-luminosity relation – a yard stick for measuring distances in space. Zoe Lambert talks about Lise Meitner – the first scientist to identify nuclear fission (one caricatured by a US journalist as ‘the woman who left Germany with Bomb in her purse.’ Whilst Christine Poulson discusses the moment when American biologist Kary Mullis, driving home late one night, dreamt up a way of revolutionising DNA research."
We will be staying in a hotel afterwards so I hope Sara and Christine like to party.
Lit & Phil Library, 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 1SE.
Festival Number 6 @ Portmeirion
Notes From the Edge
The
Central Piazza
Friday
14th September
4.20pm-5.15pm
"Four writers read from their work and discuss how and where it finds
common ground. Maria Roberts’ best-selling memoir Single Mother on the Verge explores
the trials of living with an eco-warrior. Award-winning novelist
Emma Jane Unsworth’s fiction features characters often drawn to the darker side
of themselves. Shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize, Zoe Lambert’s short story
collection The War Tour gives voice to women in situations of conflict
all over the world, while journalist Alison Taylor’s edgy dating memoir The
Still Single Papers “makes Bridget Jones’ Diary read like a Saga holiday
brochure” (John Niven)."
This is going to be a great event. I am worried I will be late because I'm still trying to put up my brother's high tech mountaineering tent. Or I might just be lost somewhere in Wales. But I hope I get there. The line up for the festival is AMAZING.
ALDERLEY EDGE - SUN 16 SEP
Zoe Lambert at the Alderley Edge Community Book Festival
I'll be reading in a line-up that contains Jackie Kay, Melvin Burgess and Mike Garry.
Organised by Oxfam.
Reading Room, Festival Hall, Talbot Road, Alderley Edge, Cheshire SK9 7HR.
More information here.
2pm.
I will be coming straight from Festival 6 so expect wellies, mud, and messy hair. I hope I will be able to string a sentence together and not lost somewhere in Wales.
CHORLTON - FRI 21 SEP
Kagyu Ling Cultural Programme presents The War Tour by Zoe Lambert.
'The event starts at 7.30pm with a welcome cocktail. Free but donations are welcome on door.
Kagyu Ling Buddhist Centre, 45 Manor Drive, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, M21 7QG.
More information from Jessica Frye on 0161 850 4450 or culture[at]kagyuling.org.uk.'
Yes, it does say a free cocktail.
SUN 23 SEP
Zoe Lambert at Throckmorton Literary Festival.
Throckmorton Literary Festival at Coughton Court, Warwickshire.
More information about the festival here. 9.45am. Georgina Harding, David Starkey and Rachel Seiffert are also reading over the weekend.
I am not sure where this festival is, but it sounds wonderful. It's in a very old hall, with a Jacobean staircase and I am staying over in it because my reading is in the morning. I hope there's a four poster bed.
DIDSBURY ARTS FESTIVAL SAT 29 SEP
BORDER FICTION with Jane Rogers, Zoe Lambert and Michelle Green
'Comma Press presents three exciting authors, whose short story collections cross personal and political borders. Jane Rogers' new collection, Hitting Trees with Sticks, ranges from Uganda to Australia to the West Indies, taking in love, death, and Alan Turing along the way. Zoe Lambert's The War Tour paints a picture of the world’s conflict zones, giving voice to the silenced casualties. Michelle Green's forthcoming Jebel Marra, explores the complexities of the on-going war in Darfur through the eyes of aid workers and the people involved. Didsbury Baptist Church, Beaver Road. Manchester, M20 6SX.'
6.30pm-9pm.
Part of the Didsbury Arts Festival.
I am calling us The Comma Girls.
Friday 12th October: For Books Sake 2nd Birthday Bash!
The Star and Garter
I'll be reading my zombie and caravanning story from Short Stack and dressed to the nines in red and white poker dots.
Also reading will be Emma Jane Unsworth, Clare Robertson and Les Malheureux, and they all know exactly how much wine to drink.
Details here
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LANCASTER - SUN 21 OCT Zoe Lambert and Jo Baker: The Right to Imagine
These two North West writers explore elements of war within their story-telling. This event brings you two readings and a short discussion on the act of creating fiction around events that may not be so close to home.
Lancaster LitFest
The LICA Building
Lancaster University
Visit LitFest.org
4.30pm
WED 24 OCT Zoe Lambert at Chester Literature Festival
Chester Town Hall, Northgate Street, Chester CH1 2HJ .
1-2pm.
More info here.
See how serious my photo looks next to Andrew Motion. Very serious indeed.
LONDON - SAT 27 OCT Zoe Lambert with Adam Marek, David Vann and Chris Paling
The Story Salon 3, at the society club12 Ingestre Place, Soho London, W1F OJF
6pm-8pm.
I am really looking forward to this event. I bet the guys are scared about reading with me.
BLACKPOOL - TUE 13 NOV
Zoe Lambert in Conversation with Eleanor Rees at Wordpool
I'll be reading with Liverpool poet, Eleanor Rees and discussing place and locality in our writing. We tend to talk about vintage dresses a lot, so this may come up too.
more info to follow.
Dylan Thomas Festival (note to self - check date)
reading with Edge Hill Prize shortlisted writers, Rowena Macdonald and AJ Ashworth.
more details to follow.
This is in Wales again. Perhaps I'll still be lost in Wales finding my way to Festival 6. This is not unlikely.
Sunday 15 July 2012
How not to talk on the radio
No one gives you media training if you're a writer, so I thought I'd share the mistakes I made on Women's Hour, BBC radio Manchester, ALL FM and EL FM.
1. Don't expect the actual interview to be anything like the discussion you had with the producer. It won't be. Producers want to find out as much as they can about your work; they will ask nice open questions so you will feel at ease. In an interview, the point is getting an angle so the questions won't be as nearly as nice, especially on radio 4.
2. If the interviewer starts widening her eyes at you, it means 'SHUT UP' so she can ask you another question. Don't under any circumstances pause and then ask 'excuse me?' which I did on Women's Hour.
3. Do copy politicians on the Today programme: go in with a sound bite, and get it in, no matter what they ask. Michelle Green, who was on Women's Hour with me, did that with a quotation, and it was probably the best part of the interview.
4. Make sure you mention the name of your publisher or where the book is available. I completely forgot to do this on BBC radio Manchester.
5. If you are shortlisted for a prize, remember to mention it too, which I forgot to do on EL FM.
6. In general, they will always always ask if the book is about you. If it isn't, they won't understand how it is possible to write anything not about yourself. You will have to think of a reason for not writing a book all about yourself and defend this terrible action. If your book is all about yourself, you are going to have to make a full confession about your life. Remember, interviewers aren't interested in the book; they want the human story.
7. Make sure you know exactly where your book came from. If in doubt, invent an amusing anecdote about when you had your first inspiration. This always goes down well. My long explanations of the origins of The War Tour were dull and probably brought on the 'eye widening' moment.
8. If you have a cold or cough, like I had on WH, don't worry; the adrenelin of being on the radio will make your cough magically disappear. Do sip a hot toddie in the studio. No one will know.
9. If you can bear it, listen to yourself afterwards. I have never done this. If I did I'd probably never get out of bed again. But it might have improved my interviews.
10. If you can organise it, do local or community stations first; the interview will be more relaxed and friendlier. My interviewers on ALL FM and ELFM were warm and supportive and lovely.In fact, community radio, I salute you!
11. Don't worry too much if your tights have a massive hole in them, like mine had for EL FM. It's the radio.
12. Make sure you ask reliable friends who are good at lying to listen in and tell you how amazing it was. Don't not tell anyone and then go home feeling sorry for yourself (yes I did this).
1. Don't expect the actual interview to be anything like the discussion you had with the producer. It won't be. Producers want to find out as much as they can about your work; they will ask nice open questions so you will feel at ease. In an interview, the point is getting an angle so the questions won't be as nearly as nice, especially on radio 4.
2. If the interviewer starts widening her eyes at you, it means 'SHUT UP' so she can ask you another question. Don't under any circumstances pause and then ask 'excuse me?' which I did on Women's Hour.
3. Do copy politicians on the Today programme: go in with a sound bite, and get it in, no matter what they ask. Michelle Green, who was on Women's Hour with me, did that with a quotation, and it was probably the best part of the interview.
4. Make sure you mention the name of your publisher or where the book is available. I completely forgot to do this on BBC radio Manchester.
5. If you are shortlisted for a prize, remember to mention it too, which I forgot to do on EL FM.
6. In general, they will always always ask if the book is about you. If it isn't, they won't understand how it is possible to write anything not about yourself. You will have to think of a reason for not writing a book all about yourself and defend this terrible action. If your book is all about yourself, you are going to have to make a full confession about your life. Remember, interviewers aren't interested in the book; they want the human story.
7. Make sure you know exactly where your book came from. If in doubt, invent an amusing anecdote about when you had your first inspiration. This always goes down well. My long explanations of the origins of The War Tour were dull and probably brought on the 'eye widening' moment.
8. If you have a cold or cough, like I had on WH, don't worry; the adrenelin of being on the radio will make your cough magically disappear. Do sip a hot toddie in the studio. No one will know.
9. If you can bear it, listen to yourself afterwards. I have never done this. If I did I'd probably never get out of bed again. But it might have improved my interviews.
10. If you can organise it, do local or community stations first; the interview will be more relaxed and friendlier. My interviewers on ALL FM and ELFM were warm and supportive and lovely.In fact, community radio, I salute you!
11. Don't worry too much if your tights have a massive hole in them, like mine had for EL FM. It's the radio.
12. Make sure you ask reliable friends who are good at lying to listen in and tell you how amazing it was. Don't not tell anyone and then go home feeling sorry for yourself (yes I did this).
Wednesday 4 July 2012
The Edge Hill Prize and Other Stories
Well I'm very excited to be shortlisted for the 2012 Edge Hill Prize for the short story. The awards do is tomorrow at the Free Word Centre in London (if you follow Free Word on twitter they DM you a word!). I'm all ready to go. Booked my train. I have, till it rains, extremely smooth hair. I'm looking forward to meeting AJ Ashworth, Sarah Hall, Rowena Macdonald and Tessa Hadley and drinking lots of wine with them. There's more about the shortlist here.
'A startling good collection of stories by a confident writer. Reading it is like taking a masterclass in how to do it well.' Mslexia (buy issue 54 here)
It isn't online but here are some reviews that are:
'Lambert's collection presents a carefully balanced picture of the world's combat zones... The writing is disarmingly plain and to-the-point... a kind of narrative ambush... I'd recommend that you read these.'The Guardian
'Reading 'The War Tour' is like wandering through a labyrinth of the unexpected, full of marvellous things... Lambert gazes into the abyss and does not flinch.' - 3:AM Magazine.
'Poignantly portraying the everyday loves, losses, strengths and sacrifices of those living with war, The War Tour depicts trauma, horror and confusion alongside defiance, duty and survival, all in quiet, compelling language that resonates long beyond the final page.' - For Books' Sake.
what makes this book special is the warmth and care that is shown to the real people in the stories and her determination not to judge or take sides. War is not something that happens a long way away or a long time ago, it happens to the people you meet every day in Manchester and Salford or any other City. Lancashire Writing Hub
'it is the level of research, the desire to bring to light hidden, forgotten or sidelined stories of war, and the willingness to showcase her writerly concerns that form the basis of Lambert’s personal hallmark. The effect can be polemic.' Real Time Short Stories
'The War Tour begins and ends with a flourish... surprising and very well written.'Keeper of the Snails blog
Well I'm very excited to be shortlisted for the 2012 Edge Hill Prize for the short story. The awards do is tomorrow at the Free Word Centre in London (if you follow Free Word on twitter they DM you a word!). I'm all ready to go. Booked my train. I have, till it rains, extremely smooth hair. I'm looking forward to meeting AJ Ashworth, Sarah Hall, Rowena Macdonald and Tessa Hadley and drinking lots of wine with them. There's more about the shortlist here.
'A startling good collection of stories by a confident writer. Reading it is like taking a masterclass in how to do it well.' Mslexia (buy issue 54 here)
It isn't online but here are some reviews that are:
'Lambert's collection presents a carefully balanced picture of the world's combat zones... The writing is disarmingly plain and to-the-point... a kind of narrative ambush... I'd recommend that you read these.'The Guardian
'Reading 'The War Tour' is like wandering through a labyrinth of the unexpected, full of marvellous things... Lambert gazes into the abyss and does not flinch.' - 3:AM Magazine.
'Poignantly portraying the everyday loves, losses, strengths and sacrifices of those living with war, The War Tour depicts trauma, horror and confusion alongside defiance, duty and survival, all in quiet, compelling language that resonates long beyond the final page.' - For Books' Sake.
what makes this book special is the warmth and care that is shown to the real people in the stories and her determination not to judge or take sides. War is not something that happens a long way away or a long time ago, it happens to the people you meet every day in Manchester and Salford or any other City. Lancashire Writing Hub
'it is the level of research, the desire to bring to light hidden, forgotten or sidelined stories of war, and the willingness to showcase her writerly concerns that form the basis of Lambert’s personal hallmark. The effect can be polemic.' Real Time Short Stories
'The War Tour begins and ends with a flourish... surprising and very well written.'Keeper of the Snails blog
Friday 17 February 2012
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW!
Despite a furious bidding war between The Daily Mail, The Sun and The Mirror, as well as several journalists camping outside her home, short story writer Zoe Lambert has given an exclusive interview to Tom Vowler at Short FICTION journal. One of the few remaining Sun journalists said: 'I'm gutted not to get the interview. I thought all short story writers were dead, like Chekhov, but it turns out some are alive. In the good old days I would have got the latest on her writing process by attaching a microphone to her cat, but now my hands are tied.'
Short FICTION have also managed to steal her short story 'The New Girl' from under the tabloids' noses. This previously unpublished story is to be exclusively featured in Issue 6. The same Sun journalist said: 'We were hoping the publication of Zoe Lambert's interview and short story as centre spread of the Sun would bring new readers to our beleaguered paper and reveal our literary and feminist side. We wanted to reassure our female readership that we value women for their brains, and not just their cup size. We were't even going to photograph the author in a low-cut top, but had ideas for a shoot of her in combats and leaning on a tank or truck while looking at her book in a thoughtful but sultry manner. Sadly for her career prospects, she declined.'
Visit the Short FICTION website for this exclusive interview.
Short FICTION have also managed to steal her short story 'The New Girl' from under the tabloids' noses. This previously unpublished story is to be exclusively featured in Issue 6. The same Sun journalist said: 'We were hoping the publication of Zoe Lambert's interview and short story as centre spread of the Sun would bring new readers to our beleaguered paper and reveal our literary and feminist side. We wanted to reassure our female readership that we value women for their brains, and not just their cup size. We were't even going to photograph the author in a low-cut top, but had ideas for a shoot of her in combats and leaning on a tank or truck while looking at her book in a thoughtful but sultry manner. Sadly for her career prospects, she declined.'
Visit the Short FICTION website for this exclusive interview.
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