Was it simple coincidence, or had Martin Amis heard that I was in town and in need of some high-semantic stimulation? Either way it was with surprise that I discovered…
Written by Geoff Mills
Geoff Mills, a graduate of the National Academy of Writing, earns a measly crust from freelance writing and the occasional teaching and acting job. He is currently studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at Birmingham University, with research interests in the campus novel and the role and nature of creative writing in the academy. A beefy gentleman in his mid thirties, he confesses to a fetish for fast food, lager and high calorie prose.
Creative Writing Studies: The Rise of a New Discipline
When I became a student of Creative Writing in 2007 the pedagogue within me broke through. I came into contact with good teacher-writers, but as a teacher myself I was…
On Prose Style: Simplicity Versus Sesquipedalianism
I like my prose thick and porridgy. I like to wade through it. I like it to stick to the inside of my brain. Anything too thin and I rapidly…
Two New MAs in Town: Creative Writing at Cambridge, Self-publishing at University of Central Lancashire
I note with interest the arrival of two new MAs in town. The first of these is Cambridge University’s first Master of Studies in Creative Writing, led by the biographer…
Tangles with the Self: What It Takes To Be a Writer (Part 2)
At his book launch in 2008, Will Self responded to a question about managing his time as both writer and media personality. Although his answer was brief, he talked about…
Tangles with the Self: What It Takes To Be a Writer
In 2008, I attended a talk by Will Self at the Edinburgh Festival, a launch event at which, as John Nicholson describes, he ‘ambles onto the stage, loping like a…
Gunpowder, Reason and Plot: Malcolm Bradbury and the Creative Writing Revolution
At the end of the 1960s, at about the same time many English departments were announcing The Death of the Author, Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson, both authors and both…
Exploding Grandmothers and Other First Impressions
Today, in the supermarket, I hit a small girl square in the face. I didn’t, of course, but few would read this and fail to read on. It had, I…
A Fine Frenzy Rolling: Two Parts to the Creative Process
The playwright David Edgar has done much to pioneer the teaching of playwriting in this country, an influence that began even before he established the now famous masters degree in…
Ding Dong The Booker Prize is Dead
It is with great sadness that I must mark the passing of a cherished friend: yes, the Booker Prize as we knew it has ceased to be. Once the reserve…