I am currently reading Pulphead, a collection of essays and magazine journalism from the pen of John Jeremiah Sullivan. I’m about halfway through, and I have already come to an awful realisation: I must never meet Mr Sullivan. If I do, I will probably babble, try and kiss his hands and maybe cry a little. [...]
In the name of the Printing Press, the Commissioning Editor and The Glorious Sub, Please, let someone get pregnant this year. Let someone take a lengthy sabbatical. Let someone decide to retrain as a teacher or hairdresser because it’s what they’ve always wanted to do. Let someone take some time away to finish That Book. [...]
At the risk of sounding like a media wanker, I often get emails from young and/or aspiring journalists asking me for general advice on getting into journalism. Because they have sought my wise words, I get to rant about how things have changed since I was a young ‘un (I still am, I guess, but [...]
“I looked all through my mind for memories of you. Unable to find any, I had to take your word for it that you were my father.” – Sean Hill (via @VeryShortStory), March 2, 2010 I only recently discovered the very cool Twitter feed of Very Short Story (@VeryShortStory), written by Sean Hill, an American writer based in [...]
I can’t be the only woman/writer/blogger/internet user/feminist who read the story of James Chartrand this week and then commenced a lengthy – but ultimately unsatisfying - headdesk session, right? For those still in the dark, James is the owner of Mens with Pens, a successful company founded in 2006, which provides web design and copywriting services, amongst [...]
Happy Friday, everyone! It seems like everyone has a new and exciting Friday Feature – the granddaddy of the microblogs, Twitter – follow me, validate me! – is doing it on a global scale with more than half of its top trending topics on a Friday being established Friday Features. In that vein, I too will [...]
I’m temping near Barbican at the moment, and have to walk through Smithfield to get to my office every morning. For those unaware, Smithfield is one of London’s oldest markets, and death place of Mel Gibson, I mean, William Wallace. Every cut of meat known to man is sold here (I’m reliably told), by fat, [...]
For my birthday last November, my friend K gave me the Mary S. Lovell book, The Mitford Girls. I began reading it right there in the pub. Like many, I was only peripherally familiar with the Mitford family, mostly due to the infamy of Diana, the prettiest middle child, who had an affair with and [...]
I’ve been seeking a new book to read since I completed Middlesex, so I’m really looking forward to the release of a new collection of short stories from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It marks a new direction for her, writing in this form, as she’s more associated with novels. I read her debut, Purple Hibiscus, when [...]
