So last Tuesday evening I had the pleasure of interviewing Australian children's and YA fantasy author Garth Nix for an event at Manchester's Waterstones bookstore. Which, I'll be honest, was a lot of fun. Nix is one of the most celebrated and prolific authors of the last 30 years — he's written over 40 books,… Continue reading A writer’s guide to creative courage
Tag: culture
The inconvenient beauty of being different
Deficit. Disorder. Two words I've grown increasingly uncomfortable with in my thinking around ADHD of late. I don't have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, but over the last several months I have had the opportunity to interview a number of experts on this unexpectedly contentious but endlessly intriguing topic. I've spoken with award-winning authors, psychotherapists, advocates,… Continue reading The inconvenient beauty of being different
An ode to untold stories
So I'll admit there are few things more gratifying than to witness and shape the creativity of another — to watch that gentle unfurling of soul, like a wind-snatched sail, as they place their palm in yours to glide upon the eddies of their chosen art, and in so doing discover layers to their skill… Continue reading An ode to untold stories
Horror, hope and humanity
I was invited, this past month, to reflect upon my writing influences, and in so doing share insights on how horror, as a genre, has shaped elements of my storytelling. And I won't lie, I had a fair bit of fun contemplating this. Horror is a style of storytelling I've always had a love-hate relationship… Continue reading Horror, hope and humanity
What an evening with Yaa Gyasi taught me about inspiration
I first came across the incredible stillness and power of Yaa Gyasi's writing some years ago when reading a short story penned by the Ghanaian-born author in Guernica Magazine. Inscape, narrated from a daughter's perspective, told the tale of a woman and her Ghanaian mother, weaving between themes of religion, culture and mental illness with… Continue reading What an evening with Yaa Gyasi taught me about inspiration
The Black Man’s Burden
It sounds obvious, but it’s worth saying: the world was a very different place back in 1903, pre a couple of World Wars and all their geopolitical ramifications, before meaningful broadcast media, household telephones, petrol-driven cars, CCTV, pop music, space travel, personal computers. And let’s not get started on the internet, smartphones and the cornucopia… Continue reading The Black Man’s Burden
I Thank Whatever Gods There May be
It was the ancient Greeks who first coined the idea, and word, ‘icon’ – or eikenai – meaning ‘to seem’ or ‘to be like’, and in so doing captured the symbolism of the religious practices through which supplicants were drawn onto some higher ideal. Their gods – who were in essence their values abstracted –… Continue reading I Thank Whatever Gods There May be
A Brief History of Africa
Below is an excerpt from Chinua Achebe's 1998 essay, Africa is People. The full article is well worth the read for anyone interested in availing themselves of a fuller understanding of how the continent's many plights came to be. And I'll say the same for Achebe's The Education of a British-Protected Child, an eloquent and… Continue reading A Brief History of Africa
Why Comic Books Are the Future
So... comic books. An oft maligned artform. Juvenile to some. Geekish to others. Often regarded as the crass and tacky little brother to more 'serious' formats for storytelling - films, novels, theatre etc. And so how happy was I to stumble upon the quirky, fun and yet (impressively) illuminating YouTube channel, Comic Book Girl 19,… Continue reading Why Comic Books Are the Future
No School Like the Old School?
"What we’re entering is a world in which we can’t even tell our students what they should know 5 years from now. Because in fact we’re entering a world where the average half-life of a skill is moving from about 30 years to 5 years." This is a quote from a commencement speech delivered at… Continue reading No School Like the Old School?
Micah Yongo 