When Your Book Leaves Home

When your book is published is it similar to when your child leaves home? You're left with mixed feelings. Not sure what to do with yourself. Off the book goes, out into the world in its brand new cover, without a backward glance. You are left to worry and fret about how your book will fare. Everybody says, you must be so excited, but mostly you're just scared. You think, did you bring the book up correctly? Is it strong enough to survive? You tell people what a great book it is. How proud you are. Sometimes you wish the book handn't left home. You want to care for it and edit it forever. Some parents kick their book out when they are too young; they abandon their book when it needs them most (to quote Claire Keegan). Others are that pushy kind of parent, who force their book to compete. As a book-parent, I have to say, I'm now feeling like a spare part, hoping my book will pop home so I can do its washing. I don't know what to do with myself. Perhaps evening classes? Try to enjoy my new-found freedom? But the only solution is to have another book, and hope this one calls me once in a while.

The War Tour is finally, finally out and in book form. Just in time for the launch at the Manchester Literature Festival event on 15th October. I read with Michelle Green, and I'm eagerly awaiting her forthcoming collection from Comma next year. I coughed through most of the event, or tried not to, with cough suppressant and vocal zone on the table. The disastrously timed cough magically disappeared for the nine minutes Michelle and I spent on Women's Hour the previous day. An absolutely terrifying experience at the studios on Oxford Road - the guests' waiting room was not unlike a dentists. It was the first time I'd had to say why I'd written a book about war. The big why, when I have not experienced a war personally (and why this question misses the point) will be discussed here very soon.

I'm going to chat tomorrow (Friday 4th November) to Heather Stott on BBC Radio Manchester. I almost wish I still had the cough. It's good to have something to focus your nerves on.

on not writing your blog

I'm not sure how other writers keep up a blog while trying to finish a book. It takes all my energy to just write the book, never mind write about writing it.But then I'm not sure how a lot of people manage to do a lot of things. Like opening beer bottles with a lighter. Or going through doors. Have problems with doors. Opening them, and then there's door etiquette. Who lets who go through. Always tricky. Anyway, back to writing about not writing. I'm in the final edits...well almost final edits, and I have an ace cover, which you could use to get through passport control. What you want in a book is usefulness, I say.

It was an absolute pleasure to read at the 'Between War and Wishful Thinking' event with Larissa Boehning at the Bluecoats a couple of weeks ago. You can read about it here, and some of the stuff we said here.

All Things Short Story

Utterly delighted to hear the David Constantine has won the BBC National Short Story Prize, with his story 'Tea at The Midland'. A truly great writer, who has published two collections of stories with Comma Press. You can buy Under The Dam and The Shieling, as well as the anthology of the National Short Story Prize shortlist here.

There's lots of great things with short stories at the moments. We are building up to the shortest day in the year and National Short Story Day on 21st December, which is a UK wide celebration of the short story form. It includes the participation of a number of independent presses with live and online events on the 21st. See more about the day here. Reading in Manchester is Sarah Holman, Michelle Green and Dave Gaffney. Can't wait!

Hidden Gem and The Resurgence in Independent Publishing

It seems to be a vibrant time for independent publishing in the North West, and the UK in general. I'm not sure whether it's because of or despite the recession and the cuts to the Arts. IN any case we don't seem to be suffering from the winter blues where the prospects of publishing are concerned. In fact there seems to be a feeling of Spring and renewal; a resurgence in independent publishing.

This feeling was certainly felt at the launch of Manchester's newest independent artisan publisher, The Hidden Gem, which Claire Massey and I were honoured to read at last Thursday in support of Emma Jane Unsworth. Her novel Hungry, The Stars and Everything is to be published by The Hidden Gem in June.

It was a wonderful event; there was a celebratory atmosphere and the audience was left wanting more of Hungry. Read more about Emma Unsworth at her blog here. And check out The Hidden Gem here for more details about the press and a few pics of the launch.

The Land Between Us

There is an amazing exhibition at the moment at The Whitworth Art Gallery called The Land Between Us. It takes a radical look at landscape art by placing traditional or older artwork next to contemporary pieces. With the exhibition is a booklet containing responses to the artwork. I was asked to respond to one of Donovan Wylie's photographs of the British Watchtowers in South Armagh, which was hung next to a watercolour by Turner of Conway Castle. Two striking images of British imperealism from two different centuries. Before I wrote the piece I went to The Whitworth and the curator Mary Griffiths took my down into the vault where they store the artwork. The Wylie photo had not yet arrived, so I had a private viewing of Turner's watercolour. This was very exciting. I would have liked to have written something about the Turner painting, but I was drawn to the more contemporary setting of Wylie's work.

My response, called 'My Sangar' was written from the viewpoint of a woman under surveillance. It begins: 'It was a while ago now, when it was anchored on the hilltop; that green-plated scaffold. I tell you, it hurts my eyes.'

For more on the exhibition go to: http://thelandbetweenus.wordpress.com/

Nearly There...and in the meantime some events

Three months since my last post? Please award me the laziest blogger award. I'm working on the last few stories and Comma Press are being very patient with me. More about the stories later, but in between frowning at my little netbook (how I write on it I don't know) and stressing about the letters on my netbook's screen, I've been involved in a few literary events and things. Tomorrow I'm reading at wordsoup in Preston. I unfortunately couldn't read there last December, when it was run by Jenn Ashworth because I slipped on the ice (I fall over a lot) and twisted my ankle. So hopefully I will make it there tomorrow without any mishaps.

I read my story 'Beautiful Results', which will appear in The War Tour and in Comma's new anthology Bio-Fiction at the Manchester Literature Festival alongside Stella Duffy. That was last month I think, so it's a bit late to blog about it. Anyway, it was a great event at the Godlee Observatory. Unfortunately, there were too many people to fit into the observatory, so we had to reconvene in a seminar room down the corridor. Stella Duffy's story was amazing, but I read out the part with all the equations in it. The following week Annie Clarkson and Emma Unsworth read their stories about Pavlov's dogs and the periodic table. Both powerful and vivid depictions of these scientific moments in history.