26er Rishi Dastidar writes poems in his spare time. Alongside nine others, he has been shortlisted for Complete Works II, a national development programme for advanced Black and Asian poets culminating in a final anthology published by Bloodaxe. He talks to Elen Lewis about winnowing down his couplets and why he thinks the best collective [...]
News and announcements from this parish, including revisiting our first project: 26 letters, Throwaway Lines the Second, 26 Miles putting on its slippers and Norwich editors chomping at the bit (cf Black Beauty) 26 presents Tessa Ross Join us at The Free Word Centre, Farringdon, London on Wednesday 5 June at 6:15pm to hear [...]
For our latest project, 26 of our members were paired with historic writers from Norwich, England’s only City of Literature, and asked to write something. Jane Chittenden was paired with Mary Mann. Unfamiliar with Mary’s work, Jane set off in search of the author. My author is Mary Mann (1848-1929), described as a ‘rural novelist’. [...]
26er Sarah Farley has been working hard behind the scenes on 26 Miles and 26 Treasures of Childhood. In an interview with Elen Lewis she reveals what she’s learnt from the young storytellers at The Ministry of Stories and her quest to fix the missing apostrophes across London. What’s your day job? I’m a freelance [...]
Inua Ellams is a poet, playwright and performer. He is also a graphic designer and has created work for clients including Coca-Cola, Frantic Assembly and the Southbank Centre. Inua talks to Elen Lewis about how the difference between poetry and spoken word is like working with two masters – the old martial arts sensei and [...]
In this latest Designer Breakfast report, Tim Rich hears branding expert Wally Olins share some characteristically incisive views on the world of branding… Wally Olins wanders into the packed room. The hubbub settles to a hush. Branding’s one-man superbrand is here, wearing his trademark spectacles and bow tie. We are assembled to hear his thoughts [...]
What’s your day job? My day job is allovertheshop. I switch from brand consultancy, to copywriting, to design, to fiction, to teaching, to voluntary work, to project management, to, er… What are your private passions? If I tell you my private passions, they won’t be private any more, no? Shall I tell you my PIN [...]
Rebecca Swift is director and co-founder of The Literary Consultancy, which provides a manuscript assessment service for writers looking for advice, direction and help with preparing their manuscript for publication. In an interview with Elen Lewis, Rebecca talks about finding your feet as a writer, exploring all the options for publication, and stripping back to [...]
Day job Poet and creative consultant. I travel around the world writing poems, performing poems and helping other people to write and perform poems (that also involves a lot of work in educational settings). I also devise and direct projects that allow me to do more of the above, or engage other poets and writers [...]
Day job: I’m a full-time writer. Private passions: They’re rather tame, I’m afraid – I like reading and knitting. What do people get wrong about you? They think I’m an exciting creature who would never sit at home reading or knitting. What do you like best about belonging to 26? There are [...]
Three months, 104 treasures, one extraordinary book. How Sam Gray designed ‘26 Treasures’. Fiona Thompson reports. …more
Jonathan Ruppin is the web editor for Foyles Bookshops and a board member of the publisher And Other Stories. He has worked for two literary agents and a publisher, and has been a judge for a number of literary prizes including the 2010 Costa Novel Award and the Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards. He is a [...]
Charles Boyle is the founder and ‘one-man press’ of CB editions, a small, eclectic imprint that was initially launched to give a home to books that nobody else would publish and has become a well-respected publisher of first-class tastes bringing us David Markson’s ‘This is Not a Novel’ and Gert Hoffman’s ‘Lichtenberg and the Little Flower Girl’. Charles talks to Elen Lewis about the power of individual sentences …more
Grace McCleen is the author of The Land of Decoration, a much anticipated debut novel about a 10-year-old from a Christian sect who creates a miniature world in her bedroom in the Welsh valleys. Here she talks to Elen Lewis about what writing means to her …more
In this month’s profile of a 26 member we talk to bestselling novelist and the maestro behind Wordstock 2012, Sara Sheridan. Here, Sara reveals a love affair with Twitter, the story behind her new novel Brighton Belle and the importance of grabbing people’s imagination …more
John Mitchinson is the co-founder of Unbound, a revolutionary crowdfunding publishing concept. He is also the co-author of QI books and director of research for QI. As 26 Treasures builds support on the Unbound website, John tells Elen Lewis why we all need to make sure the 26 Treasures book sees the light of day. [...]
Alice LaPlante is an author of fiction and non-fiction. She teaches creative writing at Stanford University and recently won the Wellcome trust Book Prize for 2011 for her debut novel Turn of Mind. Here she talks to Elen Lewis about how her business writing informs her fiction and what all first-time novelists should know. …more
In this month’s profile of a 26 member, we talk to Nick Parker, creative director of The Writer and author of The Exploding Boy. Here, Nick reveals how his self published short stories got reviewed by The Guardian.…more
Every month, we’ll be interviewing a writer about their craft and what it means to be working with words. As his latest show, OLD ME opens at the Roundhouse, spoken word artist, Polarbear, talks to Elen Lewis about fixing words and favourite rhymes …more
Every month, we’ll be asking a writer where they draw their inspirations from. Here, Joanna Briscoe, best-selling author of novels including ‘Sleep with Me’ on her favourite book, place, word, film and writer. …more
