New anthology highlights talented graduates from the Centre for New Writing
A new anthology is set to be published in September, celebrating the wealth of literary talent produced by Swag直播鈥檚 Centre for New Writing.
The Swag直播 Anthology, Volume Fourteen highlights the work of twenty-one writers who have recently completed their Creative Writing MA, offering them a platform to share their voices and kickstart their careers. It will include short stories, poetry, non-fiction and novel extracts.
Each year, the MA students are given a budget and have creative control over everything from editing submissions to the design of the cover, gaining valuable insight into the particulars of book production. This year鈥檚 cohort collaborated with artist Georgia Harmey and designer David Webb to develop a distinctive look and feel for the anthology. Each element of Georgia鈥檚 cover art draws on themes and characters from across the twenty-one pieces, while David took a classic approach with his design.
The anthology will be launched on the evening of October 21st at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, a centre devoted to the legacy of the renowned Swag直播-born writer. The event will feature live readings from the contributors and presentation of the PFD Prize, as well as opportunities to connect with peers, editors and literary agents.
Students who contributed to previous volumes have gone on to become successful writers. Beth Underdown鈥檚 debut novel, The Witchfinder鈥檚 Sister, was a Richard and Judy bestseller; Alys Conran was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize for her debut novel, Pigeon; Nat Ogle, author of In The Seeing Hands of Others, was shortlisted for The White Review Poet's Prize; Joe Carrick-Varty鈥檚 collection, More Sky, was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize; Thomas D. Lee鈥檚 novel, Perilous Times, was a Sunday Times bestseller; and Jessica Moor was named one of the ten best debut novelists of 2020 by Observer New Review, and was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize.
The MA in Creative Writing at Swag直播 has always been home to an array of writers whose imagination is both local to their own stories but with aspirations for larger, twenty-first century resonances, and this 2024 graduating class is no exception: from a university drama rehearsal space and a school run to a ruined Kyankyer village, corporate India's creative industries, West Ryedale Council chamber and other even more fantastical worlds: these writers situate crisis, recognition and discovery, finding a way to make sense of what poet Taira Deshpande calls life, and death, this 'great big swirling confusing thing.
Everyone who attends the launch event will have the opportunity to buy a physical copy of the anthology, which will also be made available in Blackwell鈥檚 Swag直播 bookshop and online as a PDF.
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