Gorgeous photos courtesy of Gilson Pereira, a classy venue, and classy interviewing by Will Wiles for last week’s launch of the Guy Ware’s new novel, Our Island Story.   ..read more

Author photo of Alison Moore © Paul McVeigh The Good Son by Paul McVeigh I first met Paul McVeigh at a Word Factory event at the Society Club in Soho in 2013, over a good number of G&Ts. Paul is great company – he’s good to be around, a lot of fun, and unfailingly supportive of his fellow writers. A couple of years later, I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of his debut novel, The Good Son, which is set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. One of the novel’s many strengths is its child protagonist, Mickey Donnelly, who, as it happens, is great company. I wrote in support of ..read more

I remember I was at a writers’ retreat in Inverness, and Nicholas Royle was enthusing about a writer from Manchester, Trevor Mark Thomas, who’d written their first novel, The Bothy. I’ve got to tell you that when Mr. Royle enthuses about a writer, that’s a Very Good Sign, and he said it was brilliant, also it was to be published by Salt Publishing, so... This must have been 2018, and I had to wait almost a year to get my hands on a copy. I didn’t read it quickly – I’m not a quick reader, particularly, but that’s not the reason – because I wanted to savour it, this strange and actually quite p ..read more

Seven years ago, the Northern Fiction Alliance burst onto the British literary scene, founded by Manchester’s Comma Press. The group featured Leeds’s Peepal Tree Press, Liverpool’s Dead Ink Books, and Sheffield’s And Other Stories – the quartet set out to show the radical diversity of publishing in the north of England and, in doing so, challenged an over-centralised book trade to recognise that something new was happening far from south of England. Clearly British publishing did not mean simply London. The alliance rapidly expanded, with over twenty members joining and soon its publishers we ..read more

Salt will be taking part in the events – hope to see you there. Are you a writer hoping to have your work published? Would you like the opportunity to meet agents and commissioning editors - to learn how the industry works from its experts and sharpen the skills needed to enter it? Comma Press invites you to attend the annual National Creative Writing Industry Day, in partnership with The Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University. Key Information Date: Saturday 4th November 2023 | Time: 9.30-17:15PM (registration open from 08:45am) Location: Manchester Writing ..read more

Martyn Crucefix reads ‘you are not in search of’ and discusses the poem with Mark McGuinness Mark: Martyn, where did this poem come from? Martyn: It’s very interesting reflecting on where poems come from. Some poems have a very simple sort of origin. Rilke talks about a particular tree on a particular hillside, or an overheard conversation. Something of that sort. This poem has a more mixed background to it, I think, partly because it is a poem which occurs late. It’s the penultimate poem in an almost book-length sequence of poems in my new book, called Works and Days. So looking back, I mana ..read more

“Chimera is above all interested in what makes humanity human, in the face of madness, loss, betrayal and the cold silence of outer space.” Lily Herd, of the Times Literary Supplement Lily Herd is an assistant editor at the TLS, a leading magazine for culture and new ideas that publishes expert reviews and essays by the best writers from around the world, and we are thrilled to share Herd’s thoughts on Alice Thompson’s latest release. Chimera by Alice Thompson is a gripping, deep space novel that sees scientist and dream investigator Artemis travelling to the distant moon of Oneiros. Her sh ..read more

Three groundbreaking novels that each explore very different realities Introducing Sean Ashton, Chris Parker and Tony Williams 27th September 2023 6pm – Book now SEAN ASHTON — The Way to Work Have you ever boarded your morning commute and wished you’d never arrive at your destination? That is what happens to the protagonist of The Way to Work. Having boarded what he assumes to be his usual 8:08 service, he soon discovers that all is not as it first seemed. CHRIS PARKER — Nameless Lake Nameless Lake is about the unspoken pressures of gender and desire, told through the shifting dynamics o ..read more

Tuesday 24th October Join Elisabeth Sennitt-Clough, Mary Crucifix and Becky Varley-Winter at The Betsey Trotwood, 56 Farringdon Rd, London EC1R 3BL.  About the books Elisabeth Sennitt Clough’s twisty fen-Gothic narratives are filled with macabre imagery and sexual violence. imagine a monstrous fair that has arrived in deepest Cambridgshire, only to discover that the inhabitants are far more frightening than the carnival. Rich in symbolism and mythology, it’s a thrilling read that will leave your mind as black as peat. Martyn Crucefix’s new collection of poems trace two landscapes ..read more

Clare Fisher, David Frankel and David Gaffney Join Blackwell’s for an evening with three of the latest authors on Salt Publishing’s new MODERN STORIES imprint - Clare Fisher, David Frankel and David Gaffney. Clare, David and David will be reading from their work and discussing the place of the short story in modern culture with host Nicholas Royle, editor of Best British Short Stories and director of Nightjar publishing. About the books: Clare Fisher's THE MOON IS TRENDING explores of feelings of failure around gender, sexuality, and work, that arise in a success-obsessed capitalist cult ..read more