Anthologies – What are they good for? The answer is, quite a lot

The panel discussion from our Hidden Treasures double-book launch, featuring Clare Bogen and Giselle Leeb, can now be watched in full online.

The discussion gives witness to the process of creating an anthology, as a publisher and editor, and the author’s experience of being published in one. In just half an hour it manages to combine these different points of view while also tackling the need to bring more diverse voices into the publishing industry.

The panel was part of the May 25 launch event for the two latest Fincham Press student anthologies, The Box and All That Glitters. It was moderated by Odhran O’Donoghue, a Roehampton PhD candidate in English and Creative Writing.

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.

You can purchase copies of All That Glitters and The Box separately for £8 each, or get them both in our special Hidden Treasures book deal of two for £12.

Recap: Hidden Treasures Book Launch

Fincham Press capped a series of online events with a panel discussion on May 25, to mark the release of our two latest student anthologies, The Box and All That Glitters.

The panel discussion, focusing on the importance of anthologies for authors and publishers, featured guest speakers Clare Bogen and Giselle Leeb, and was moderated by Odhran O’Donoghue, a research student at Roehampton and part of the book launch team.

‘We’re always happy when we can put a new book out into the world, but especially this year, after all the obstacles,’ said Susan Greenberg, Senior Lecturer at Roehampton and Publisher of Fincham Press, who led the event team.

Clare Bogen is the founding editor of 3 of Cups press, which has released four anthologies of short stories and creative nonfiction and is currently working on a poetry anthology, to be released later this year. Giselle Leeb is an author whose work has appeared in over 40 publications. Her story ‘Scaffolding’ is forthcoming in Mainstream, an anthology of stories from the edges, from Inkandescent.

Clare and Giselle brought their thoughts on how to bring more voices into the publishing industry and the process of writing for an anthology. We also heard an excellent debate about the pros and cons of publishing an anthology, which collects the work of different authors, compared to something written by a single author.

The evening was topped and tailed by readings from the two books. Cleo Thomas began with her creative nonfiction piece ‘W-Oh Men O Pause’ and Lisa Gaultier read her short story ‘La Grosse Flora’. Closing the event, Katie Oliver gave a reading of the title story ‘All That Glitters’ and Wilma Lång the flash fiction ‘The Houseboat’. All four pieces are from All That Glitters. Readings from The Box can be accessed as videos from our Linktree page.

Thanks to all who attended and spoke at the event, and to team members Odhran, Jessie Hedstrom, and Angelos Drakopoulos, who worked hard to put the launch together. Special shout-out to Susan for putting the team together and for all of her efforts to make this launch happen after Covid delayed the initial launch.

You can purchase copies of All That Glitters and The Box separately for £8 each, or get them both in our special Hidden Treasures book deal of two for £12.

Jessica Still reads her poem “A Declaration Of Love For Hips” featured in Fincham Press student anthology “The Box”

In preparation for the upcoming Hidden Treasures book launch of Fincham Press’s two student anthologies, The Box and All That Glitters, students whose work is featured in the anthologies read their work.

Jessica Still reads her poem A Declaration Of Love For Hips from Roehampton University’s sixth creative writing student anthology The Box. 

Jessica is a writer and body-positivity advocate from London. She has previously been published in Roehampton’s Speechless anthology and enjoys writing about hips and tummies, mental health, and her cat, Joey. She believes all bodies are good bodies. You can find her on Instagram at @je.ssicas.

Get your ticket to attend the upcoming free double book launch event of The Box and our newest anthology All That Glitters.

Or order your copy of The Box now.

Katie Oliver reads her short story “All That Glitters” featured in Fincham Press student anthology “All That Glitters”

In preparation for the upcoming Hidden Treasures book launch of Fincham Press’s two student anthologies, The Box and All That Glitters, students whose work is featured in the anthologies read their work.

Katie Oliver reads her short story “All That Glitters” from Roehampton University’s seventh creative writing student anthology, All That Glitters.

Katie studied MA Children’s Literature. She is a short fiction enthusiast and has been shortlisted for the Bridgeport Prize and the Bath Flash Award, with further work published by Funny Pearls and Popshot Quarterly. Her short story, TimeOut, features in the 2019 Fincham Press anthology The Box. She is working on a short story collection and can be found on twitter under @katie_rose_o.

Get your ticket to attend the upcoming free double book launch event of The Box and our newest anthology All That Glitters.

Or order your copy of All That Glitters now.

Wilma Lång reads her flash fiction “The Houseboat” featured in Fincham Press student anthology “All That Glitters”

In preparation for the upcoming Hidden Treasures book launch of Fincham Press’s two student anthologies, The Box and All That Glitters, students whose work is featured in the anthologies read their work.

Wilma Lång reads her flash fiction “The Houseboat” from Roehampton University’s seventh creative writing student anthology All That Glitters.

Wilma is a Finnish writer, who spent the first nine years of her life in Sheveningen, The Netherlands, and the rest in London. “The Houseboat” is a love letter to home.

Get your ticket to attend the upcoming free double book launch event of The Box and our newest anthology All That Glitters.

Or order your copy of All That Glitters now.

Veslemøy Stavdahl reads her short story “Goodsprings” featured in Fincham Press student anthology “The Box”

In preparation for the upcoming Hidden Treasures book launch of Fincham Press’s two student anthologies, The Box and All That Glitters, students whose work is featured in the anthologies read their work.

Veslemøy Stavdahl reads her short story “Goodsprings” from Roehampton University’s sixth creative writing student anthology The Box. 

Veslemøy loves writing stories that don’t make sense to her until they are finished (sometimes not even then). She is interested in strange behaviour and has a habit of infusing her stories with magical elements. She is twice published by Fincham Press and is honoured to have been chosen for this anthology as well.

Get your ticket to attend the upcoming free double book launch event of The Box and our newest anthology All That Glitters.

Or order your copy of The Box now.

Lilly-Ann A. Newman reads her short story “Hotel Fuori Strada” featured in Fincham Press student anthology “All That Glitters”

In preparation for the upcoming Hidden Treasures book launch of Fincham Press’s two student anthologies, The Box and All That Glitters, students whose work is featured in the anthologies read their work.

Lilly-Ann A. Newman reads her short story “Hotel Fuori Strada” from Roehampton University’s seventh creative writing student anthology All That Glitters.

Lilly-Ann studied Creative Writing and Journalism at the University of Roehampton. She is the founder and former editor of Fresh Media, an online student magazine, and a former intern at Fincham Press. Her literary influences include Margaret Atwood and Octavia Butler. When not writing or battling the dreaded writer’s block, Lilly-Ann is a connoisseur of tea, biscuits, and all things Alice in Wonderland.

Get your ticket to attend the upcoming free double book launch event of The Box and our newest anthology All That Glitters.

Or order your copy of All That Glitters now.

Rebecca Bardsley-Ball reads her poem “You Never Did Anything Wrong featured in Fincham Press student anthology “All That Glitters”

In preparation for the upcoming Hidden Treasures book launch of Fincham Press’s two student anthologies, The Box and All That Glitters, students whose work is featured in the anthologies read their work.

Rebecca Bardsley-Ball reads her poem You Never Did Anything Wrong from Roehampton University’s seventh creative writing student anthology All That Glitters.

Rebecca lives in South London and will forever dislike the people who say she’s from Kent. Despite previously claiming to hate poetry, her first publication, You Never Did Anything Wrong is a poem. She sees the irony. The ending of the poem is supposed to be bittersweet; they’re out of the relationship, but forever affected by it.

Get your ticket to attend the upcoming free double book launch event of The Box and our newest anthology All That Glitters.

Or order your copy of All That Glitters now.

Kate Griffin reads her short story “Ancara” featured in Fincham Press student anthology “All That Glitters”

In preparation for the upcoming Hidden Treasures book launch of Fincham Press’s two student anthologies, The Box and All That Glitters, students whose work is featured in the anthologies read their work.

Kate Griffin reads her short story “Ancara” from Roehampton University’s seventh creative writing student anthology All That Glitters.

Kate is a third-year Creative Writing student. “Ancara” is her first published short story, she hopes this will be the start of many. She can be found on Instagram at @itskategriffin.

Get your ticket to attend the upcoming free double book launch event of The Box and our newest anthology All That Glitters.

Or order your copy of All That Glitters now.

Jacob Bathgate reads his poem “How To Write A Sonnet” featured in Fincham Press student anthology “The Box”

In preparation for the upcoming Hidden Treasures book launch of Fincham Press’s two student anthologies, The Box and All That Glitters, students whose work is featured in the anthologies read their work.

Jacob Bathgate reads his poem How To Write A Sonnet from Roehampton University’s sixth creative writing student anthology The Box. 

Jacob studied Creative Writing at the University of Roehampton. He lives in London and splits his time between cycling, building Lego, procrastinating, writing lists and talking about himself in the third person. He is not to be trusted.

Get your ticket to attend the upcoming free double book launch event of The Box and our newest anthology All That Glitters.

Or order your copy of The Box now.