Peter Armstrong began to write seriously as a student of Philosophy and English at the University of Sunderland, where he was awarded an Eric Gregory prize in 1984. His collections include The Red Funnelled Boat (Picador 1998), The Capital of Nowhere (Picador 2003) and Madame Noire (Shoestring 2008).
He worked as a psychiatric nurse from 1986 and a cognitive therapist from the early 90s, and helps edit Other Poetry from his home in Tynedale. He is also a member of the Northern Poets’ Workshop.
Issue 2: Two poems
Originally from Massachusetts, Anthony Caleshu lectures in English and creative writing at the University of Plymouth. He is editor of the literary journal Short Fiction, and his own poems, stories and criticism have appeared in publications including Poetry Review, American Literary Review, The Dublin Review, Poetry Ireland Review and the TLS.
The poems featured in this issue of the Review are taken from his second book Of Whales, which will be published this year by Salt.
Issue 2: Two poems
Linda Chase is an American poet living in the UK. She is a tutor at and co-ordinator of the Poetry School Manchester, and founded the poetry and music performance series ‘Poets and Players’ in the city.
Her poetry collections The Wedding Spy (2001) and Extended Family (2006) are published by Carcanet. In 2008 she was commissioned by Manchester Art Gallery and the Manchester Literature Festival to be the Manchester Muse, writing poems in response to artworks in the Modern and Contemporary galleries.
Issue 2: Two poems
Photo by Cleo Broda
Amit Chaudhuri was one of the Observer's 21 Writers for the Millennium, and has been described as “…one of his generation's best writers” by the Guardian. Awards conferred upon his first four novels include the Commonwealth Writers, Betty Trask, Encore and Los Angeles Times prizes.
He has also published acclaimed critical works and collections of stories and poetry, as well as editing two influential collections of Indian writing.
A Professor of Contemporary Literature at the University of East Anglia, Chaudhuri is a Man Booker International Prize judge in 2009. His new novel, The Immortals, will be published by Picador in March, and he regularly performs and records as a vocalist in the Hindustani classical tradition.
Issue 2: Understanding Cats
Helen Dunmore is an award-winning and prolific poet, novelist and children’s writer. She was the first winner of the Orange Prize in 1996 with A Spell of Winter, and has been described by the Telegraph as “…one of this country’s finest literary talents.”
She has written ten novels, nine poetry books and almost 20 books for children and teenagers. Her most recent novel, Counting the Stars, and poetry collection, Glad of These Times, were both published in 2008.
Issue 2: The White Horse
Photo by Jerry Bauer
Poet Gerard Fanning was born and lives in Dublin, and is a graduate of University College. He has published three collections with Dedalus Press: Easter Snow (1992), Working for the Government (1999) and Water & Power (2004).
His work has attracted the Rooney Prize for literature, the Brendan Behan award and bursaries from The Arts Council, Ireland. In 2008 his poems were adapted by the classical composer Ian Wilson, for his orchestral suite Harbouring.
Issue 2: Four poems
Brought up in Leicester and educated at Cambridge, Elaine Feinstein is a prolific poet, novelist, biographer and translator. Her many awards and honours include a Cholmondeley Award for Poetry and a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship at Bellagio.
Her latest novel, The Russian Jerusalem, attracted a major Arts Council award, and she has recently been elected to the Council of the Royal Society of Literature. Her latest book of poems is Talking to the Dead, and her new selected poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, Bride of Ice, comes out in June 2009.
Issue 2: Wires
Tom French was born in Kilkenny in 1966. A graduate of NUI Galway and the University of Limerick, he has worked in Spain, France and the US. In 1999 he received a bursary in literature from An Chomhairle Ealaíon/The Arts Council, Ireland. His work was awarded the inaugural Ted McNulty Prize and was nominated for The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses (2002).
He lives with his family in county Meath where he works in the county library service. Touching the Bones, published by The Gallery Press in 2001, received the Forward Prize for First Collection, 2002. A second collection 'The Fire Step', is in the offing.
Issue 1: Four poems
Issue 2: Real Estate
Photo by Andrew Bennett
Prize-winning novelist M.J. Hyland joined the Centre for New Writing as a Lecturer in Creative Writing in June 2007, having recently been awarded the Hawthornden prize and the Encore prize for best second novel for Carry Me Down (2006). The book was also short-listed for the Man Booker and the Commonwealth Writers prizes.
Maria is considered one of the leading members of the new generation of British and Irish novelists. Her work has been acclaimed by Ali Smith, Hilary Mantel and J.M. Coetzee, who said, "This is fiction writing of the highest order."
Issue 2: Interview with Colm Toíbín
Prize-winning novelist M.J. Hyland joined the Centre for New Writing as a Lecturer in Creative Writing in June 2007, having recently been awarded the Hawthornden prize and the Encore prize for best second novel for Carry Me Down (2006). The book was also short-listed for the Man Booker and the Commonwealth Writers prizes.
Maria is considered one of the leading members of the new generation of British and Irish novelists. Her work has been acclaimed by Ali Smith, Hilary Mantel and J.M. Coetzee, who said, "This is fiction writing of the highest order."
Issue 2: Interview with Andrew O'Hagan
Photo by Jerry Bauer
Nick Laird was born in County Tyrone in 1975 and studied at Cambridge. He worked as a lawyer for several years before leaving to write full-time, and now lives and teaches in New York.
His first poetry collection, To a Fault, won the Ireland Chair for Poetry award, Jerwood Aldeburgh prize, and the Strong award. His second, On Purpose, won a Somerset Maugham award and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial prize.
His debut novel, Utterly Monkey, won the Betty Trask prize for best first novel and was short-listed for several other prizes. His latest, Glover's Mistake, will be published in April.
Issue 2: Two poems
Sean O’Brien is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the 2007 recipient of the Northern Rock Foundation Writer’s award. His books include the essays on contemporary poetry The Deregulated Muse and the anthology The Firebox: Poetry in Britain and Ireland after 1945 (both 1998), and his 2006 new verse version of Dante’s Inferno.
His selected poems, Cousin Coat: Selected Poems 1976-2001, was published in 2002. His six individual poetry collections have all won awards, most recently The Drowned Book; which won the 2007 Forward and T.S. Eliot Prizes.
Issue 2: Two poems
Issue 7: Two Poems
Photo by Caroline Forbes
Conor O’Callaghan grew up in Dundlak and currently lives in Manchester. He has published three original collections of poetry, with the most recent, Fiction (Gallery, 2005), attracting a PBS recommendation.
His other work includes his prose memoir of Ireland’s involvement in the 2002 soccer World Cup, Red Mist (Bloomsbury, 2004), which was adapted into a documentary for Setanta television. He teaches creative writing at Sheffield Hallam University, and is part-time poet-in-residence at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
Issue 2: Two poems
Novelist Nathan O’Donnell was born in Holles Street, Dublin, and spent most of his childhood in County Tipperary. He has since lived again in Dublin and in Brighton, where he completed an MA in Creative Writing in 2006.
His stories have been published in Whoosh!, an anthology of LGBT writers released last year, and he is currently putting the finishing touches to his first novel. He now lives in Manchester.
Issue 2: The Life that God Desires...
Nicholas Royle was born in Manchester, and has been teaching creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University since 2006. His most recent books are the novel Antwerp (Serpent's Tail), the short story anthology 68: New Stories From Children of the Revolution (Salt Publishing) and two novellas, The Appetite (Gray Friar Press) and The Enigma of Departure (PS Publishing).
He has published around 120 short stories, and 20 of them are collected in Mortality (Serpent's Tail) which was shortlisted for the inaugural Edge Hill Prize. He also writes regularly for Time Out and The Independent.
Issue 2: Creative Writing