What We Build Up is out now! Featuring work by University of Roehampton students and alumni and put together by current students on the MA Publishing course, What We Build Up is the next instalment in The Rook creative writing anthology series.
Cultural miscommunications, breakdowns between friends and lovers, the chemical crush of a date rape drug, these are results of build-ups.
But the same is true in reverse. Laughing at the coked-out man with soft hands, feeling the wind on your face at Crescent Lake, and smiling at a constellation of freckles, these are the results of build-ups too.
Relationships are built up from character and choice. Personality traits are gradually stockpiled atop one another to create something meaningful and special. The Rook is the stockpiled results of Creative Writing and Publishing students’ creativity and personal industry. The Rook is what we build up.
So as you read the stories and poems ahead, ask yourself: what are you building up?
Mark your calendars! What We Build Up, Fincham Press’s next creative writing anthology in The Rook series, featuring entirely student work, launches 11 June 2022.
Cultural miscommunications, breakdowns between friends and lovers, the chemical crush of a date rape drug, these are results of build-ups.
But the same is true in reverse. Laughing at the coked-out man with soft hands, feeling the wind on your face at Crescent Lake, and smiling at a constellation of freckles, these are the results of build-ups too.
Relationships are built up from character and choice. Personality traits are gradually stockpiled atop one another to create something meaningful and special. The Rook is the stockpiled results of Creative Writing and Publishing students’ creativity and personal industry. The Rook is what we build up.
So as you read the stories and poems ahead, ask yourself: what are you building up?
Fincham Press is excited to announce the publication of our next creative writing anthology in The Rook series, What We Build Up. This installment exclusively features University of Roehampton student work and was put together by students from the MA Publishing course.
Publication and launch events are scheduled for June 11.
Back in 2011, a teacher in North London came to the realisation that some of her students needed more help and support beyond what their respective schools could provide. Hence, after proposing a pilot project with the local charity ‘Bootstrap Company’, Catriona Maclay founded ‘The Hackney Pirates’, which today is proudly known as the non-profit organization, The Literacy Pirates.
The Literacy Pirates is a teachers’ community who believes every child should be successful in learning which they achieve by providing them extra support to improve their learning abilities. They work with children aged from 9-12 years and provide them guidance on reading and creative writing activities. The children’s written work is then published in books, films as well as audio projects.
After a decade of perseverance, Literacy Pirates, in collaboration with the University of Roehampton’s very own Fincham Press, decided to do an anthology which highlights the hard work of the organisation and its children.
From the MA Publishing programme, Pauline Rolland, Sarah Newman, Teodora Hociung, Zuzanna Majkowska and Isha Gadgil have put their heart and soul into this project and put together the anthology with the kindest help from Izzy Taylor, Communications Manager at the Literacy Pirates and Dr. Susan Greenberg, convener of MA Publishing at the University of Roehampton.
The anthology is called ‘A Ten-Year Voyage’. It is divided into three sections. ‘A Trip Around the World’ is based on the celebration of diversity among these children who love to celebrate various festivals in various countries around the world. ‘A Journey Through Imagination’ is the section that features stories when these young children flexed their creative and imaginary boundaries with fictional stories to tell the world. The last section is named ‘A Virtual Ship’ which focuses on how the Pirates worked when the world was hit by the pandemic storm and the United Kingdom was on lockdown.
The cover design of the anthology is designed by Sarah Newman. The sections were divided among Isha, Pauline and Zuzanna, and the developmental editing has been worked on by Teodora. All the five members of the team have worked hard on this project, and they have put together the anthology to cherish the brilliant work put up by the Literacy Pirates and their children.
An interview with Aidan Chambers about his 2020 Fincham Press book The Age Between can now be watched in full online
On 4 November 2020, Aidan Chambers’ most recent critical work The Age Between: Personal Reflections on Youth Fiction (Fincham Press, 2020) was launched online at the inaugural YA Studies Association (YASA) conference. At the event – which was co-organised by Fincham Press, YASA, and the National Centre for Research in Children’s Literature (NCRCL) at the University of Roehampton – Chambers was in conversation with his editor, Dr Alison Waller (Reader, NCRCL). This discussion, which covered everything from the theory of ‘youth fiction’ that Chambers elaborates in The Age Between to his long, illustrious career as a widely acclaimed novelist and theorist, can now be watched in full below, or on Vimeo.
In the thoughtful set of essays that comprise The Age Between, acclaimed author and critic Aidan Chambers presents his manifesto for youth fiction, weaving together insights from literary history, stylistics, narrative theory, and other fields. Chambers brings a freshness to the analysis of classic texts such as J D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Anne Frank’s Diary, and Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War, and thinks aloud about the shape, purpose, and future of youth fiction in a lively interview with Deborah Cogan Thacker.
Copies of The Age Between are available for purchase directly from Fincham Press or on Amazon UK.
After a pause last year, Fincham Press is releasing its two latest student writing anthologies together this May. Readers can hear from the authors in a series of online public readings from May 10, leading up to a live online panel event on Tuesday May 25.
The two collections, All That Glittersand The Box, were held up by the pandemic shut-downs of the last year, but they are now going ahead, with the joint theme of Hidden Treasures. The final event on May 25 will take place via Zoom from 18.30h to 20h, when our special guests Clare Bogan and Giselle Leeb will explore the delights of the anthology as a format.
Clare Bogen is the founding editor of 3 of Cups press, which started in 2017 in the hopes of creating a more equal literary landscape. 3 of Cups have released four anthologies of short stories and creative non-fiction, and are currently working on a poetry anthology to be released later this year. Clare is also the publicity director at Fitzcarraldo Editions.
Giselle Leeb grew up in South Africa and lives in Nottingham. Her short stories have appeared in over forty publications, including Best British Short Stories 2017 (Salt), Ambit, Mslexia, The Lonely Crowd, Litro, and Black Static. She has been placed or shortlisted in competitions including the Ambit, Bridport and Mslexia prizes. She is an assistant editor at Reckoning Journal and a Word Factory Apprentice Award winner 2019, and was recently chosen to attend the David Higham Associates New Writers’ open week. Her story, ‘Scaffolding’, is forthcoming in MAINSTREAM, an anthology of stories from the edges, from Inkandescent.
It is a special delight to bring these two books into the world and reward the patience of their student contributors.
‘I’m thrilled to hear that All That Glitters is finally being published, and my poem, ‘The Last Time’ will be included,’ says Annabel Black, who is studying creative writing and drama, theatre & performance studies.
You can order the two books here. Meanwhile we invite you to follow Fincham Press on social media (see links below) for the latest updates about the Hidden Treasure book launch.
It is with both pride and sadness that we say farewell to Leone Ross, who has been editor of the Fincham Press student writing anthologies since they first appeared seven years ago.
Leone, formerly Senior Lecturer on the Creative Writing Programme, left the University of Roehampton ahead of the April 19 launch of her novel, This One Sky Day. It follows two previous novels, All The Blood Is Red and Orange Laughter, as well as a collection of short stories, Come Let us Sing Anyway.
In an interview with photographer, writer, and podcaster Naomi Woddis, Leone talks about what compels her to write. ‘There’s always private stories going on underneath the surface of people … I write about that, that’s what I’m most intrigued about.’
Her latest work emphasises these layers. The story takes place during one day on the island of Popisho, where everyone is born with magical gift – but one that may not be as helpful as it seems. Xavier, a chef, and Anise, a healer, bring the reader into this world and promise that you won’t leave it the same as when you arrived.
‘As long-time colleagues, Leone and I had the kind of mutual trust that makes collaborations a joy, and brings out the best in the students’ work,’ says Susan Greenberg, publisher of Fincham Press, Senior Lecturer on the Creative Writing Programme and Convener of the MA Publishing. ‘We aim to continue with the same high standards.’
Leone’s last two Fincham Press anthologies – All That Glitters and The Box – are being launched this May and news of the double-book launch will be posted here soon. Meanwhile, you can go ahead and order copies from the the university e-store,: either singly (see Glitters and The Box) or as a launch package.
We’re delighted to be publishing Aidan Chambers’ new book, The Age Between: Personal Reflections on Youth Fiction.
This series of essays explores the history and form of classic texts such as J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Anne Frank’s Diary, and Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War. Chambers also examines his own fascinating experiences of reading and writing youth fiction, weaving these together with fresh insights from narrative theory, anthropology and neurology. The book includes a lively discussion between the author and Dr Deborah Cogan Thacker. Chambers is well known for his young adult fiction and critical writings on the craft of fiction, publishing, and young people reading.
We are holding an official online launch for The Age Between on Wednesday 4 November, 18.30-19.30 GMT. Check back for more details and follow Fincham Press on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram .
