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.
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.
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.
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.
It is the start of a new decade. New Year resolutions for another ‘productive’ beginning have been tried, tested and dismissed. University classrooms vibrate with inspiration – and stress-inducing deadlines. But there is at least one event coming up at Roehampton which provides a chance to shake this year into shape.
That event is the Soirée on March 25, hosted by the Creative Writing programme and Fincham Press. Every year, a new group of students submits work to a writing competition, for the chance to be included in the next annual anthology. This year, the Soirée is combined with a launch of the anthology The Box, showcasing last year’s work. The keynote address is by Sara Collins, the 2019 Costa Competition First Novel winner.
A team of staff, students and alumni have been working hard to create an event that will delight and surprise. One member of the team, Steph Elliot Vickers, graduated from the BA Creative Writing with a first in 2018. A five-times anthology author, she won the Editor’s Choice Award for best submission at the 2011 Soirée, and has attended the event every year since then. Steph delights in seeing nervous student writers find their feet on the stage when they perform their work, and in striking up working relationships with industry guests.
The opportunities provided by the annual writing competition, and the support of Fincham Press, have kickstarted her career as a published writer, says Steph. The event provides ‘a unique chance for students, staff, alumni and industry professionals to come together and celebrate Roehampton’s next generation of talented writers’.
Another alumnus who couldn’t stay away is Joseph Shafique. He graduated in 2019 with a BA in Journalism and Creative Writing, and has stayed at Roehampton to pursue a MA in Publishing. In the meantime, along with some fellow students he has set up Cottage House Films, and is now writing and producing two upcoming films for the company.
Joseph says the team is ‘hoping this year exceeds the high standards set by previous soirées’, which for him include the highlights of ‘mingling with industry guests and enjoying the entertainment’.
One of the newest additions to the team is Lilly-Ann Newman, a third-year undergraduate student of Creative Writing and Journalism and founder-editor of Fresh Media, an online magazine created with Roehampton’s Student Union.
The talent and dedication of her peers makes her proud to be a part of the team, she says: ‘I have enjoyed every soiree over the past three years and jumped at the chance to be a part of the team who create them. We have been working very hard to provide another amazing evening. These events are a brilliant opportunity to hear the work of peers and talk to industry professionals, who were once in the same position I am, and to learn from their experiences.’
Working as a volunteer, the third year Creative Writing and Film undergraduate Lisa Gaultier expresses optimism about the upcoming event: ‘I hope it will make everyone attending even more passionate about their craft. The soirées are inspiring events. Seeing people who are students, just like me, read out their work makes me feel confident in my position as a writer. And it’s a great time to meet people, both from the university and the industry.’
The official launch, originally scheduled for November 26, has been postponed until the new year, as it fell in the period of planned strike action. But a new date will be confirmed and announced here, before too long.
I must categorically deny the vicious rumours suggesting that The Rook is the consequence of John Doyle’s midlife crisis and my own. John has a loving family to keep him sane and honest, and I have wine and a Cineworld Unlimited card. And besides, we are not middle-aged. Yeah, right.
The Rook is the result of other kinds of despair: despair over the state of the world; despair over the nightmare that is Brexit; despair over the crisis of journalism. The anthology was conceived in 2016, as Donald Trump was tweeting his way into the White House and Brexit-means-Brexit Theresa May was shepherding Britain out of Europe. The Rook was our cry in the dark, a bloody ¡No pasarán! – our chant of defiance against nationalism, misguided patriotism, crude, blatant or I-am-just-worried-about-uncontrolled-immigration racism; and of course, also, against read-and-forget, it-takes-a-second, one-millimetre-deep journalism. We did not expect to defeat those beastly enemies at the first battle. But we have now crossed swords and drawn blood.
This does not mean that the brilliant young men and women who wrote most of the stories in The Rook share our ideas. While we adopted for this edition May’s insult to Remainers, ‘Citizens of Nowhere’, as our theme and a personal badge of honour, we did not impose on our contributors any political or professional manifesto. We just asked for their permission to include in this anthology some of the magnificent articles they had written while studying Journalism at Roehampton.
Isobel Rafferty’s ‘Lost on a Stranded Land’ and Vilde Haugen’s ‘Dreamland Beach’ – exquisite reminiscences of their trips to Northern Cyprus and Bali – and Josh Downe’s vivid ‘Bulls and Blood’ were all class assignments. Ellis King’s ‘Mallorca, Martina and Me’ was also an assignment, even though it reads, I told him, like the early script of a great romantic movie. Barbara Palovcikova’s ‘The Sounds of Camden Town’, which made me reconsider my dislike of the famous London market, was submitted for a module called Travel Journalism. And there is ‘Going Country, Going Undetected’, a shocking investigative piece about children used as drug mules by London gangs, written by Rafferty and her classmates Federica Infantino and Stephanie Badaru, three young women who have the courage and intelligence many career journalists have never shown.
We also commissioned three of the contributions: Isabelle Kern’s delicate-as-a-ballet-dancer ‘My Russian Friends’, Aleksandra Antonova’s fiercely honest, sad and stubbornly optimistic ‘A July Morning in Bulgaria’ and Conor Young’s ‘North of the Heart of Babylon’, a piece that both of us would have liked to have written, and which represents the kind of journalism we believe in: truthful in a way run-of-the-mill journalism never is, slow to read but hugely rewarding, intellectually and emotionally alive, candid, daring and beautiful. Beautiful. The one thing that will impress the readers of The Rook the most is how beautifully these current or former Journalism students write.
John added to The Rook his own formidable piece, ‘Citizens of the Sea: a Reawakening’, about the rise, fall and glorious resurgence of Liverpool, and I – cheekily – translated a piece (‘The European’) that I had written for a Cuban magazine on the week of the 2016 European referendum. But the stars and heroes of The Rook are not its middle-aged editors but these young authors, who give us hope that all is not lost for Britain, Europe or even journalism; that there is life, energy, talent, ambition, and raw, pure, untainted goodness in the generation that older people, incorrectly, associate with the Kardashians and Love Island. Being associated in any way with these writers, being published with them in The Rook, being their teachers and, hopefully, their friends, is a huge honour.
Fincham Press and its indefatigable publisher, Susan Greenberg, who made The Rook possible, have done a great service to our university and its Journalism programme, for which we will be always grateful. I hope that their reward will come in the future, when The Rook appears as the first in a long list of published work by some of these authors.
By then, who knows where Britain will be, in or out; whether there will finally be a woman in the White House or someone even more Trumpian than Trump; and whether there will still be something resembling journalism, newspapers, literature. But John and I will surely still be shouting and protesting and telling our students they should do better than clickbait and nonsense journalism. And we’ll tell them, Look at the kids of The Rook. Read The Rook. That’s the way. Try.
