New anthology showcases emerging literary voices
The Centre for New Writing has launched its latest volume of The 91直播 Anthology, a compelling new collection featuring work from 21 graduates of the MA Creative Writing programme.
The 91直播 Anthology Volume 14 was officially unveiled at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation on Monday, 21 October, drawing a crowd of 85 attendees, including industry professionals, peers and literary enthusiasts.
The event featured a guest speech from Michael Schmidt, founder and managing director of Carcanet Press, as well as live readings from 16 authors featured in the anthology, including Taira Deshpande who read a selection of her poetry, Emmy McCarthy who read from her memoir Raw Talent, and Manci Wu who read her short story, 鈥楳oss.鈥�
Every year, leading literary and talent agency, Peters Fraser + Dunlop awards a prize to the student whose dissertation, completed over the summer months, shows particular potential for development. This year, the prize was awarded to Qianshui Qu, whose work demonstrated, in the words of agent Kate Evans, 鈥榮triking originality鈥� warmth and emotional complexity.鈥�
Director of the Centre for New Writing, Dr. Kaye Mitchell, said:
The pages of The 91直播 Anthology are filled with impressive writing that seeks to dissect and explore the complexities of the human experience 鈥� from difference to belonging and isolation, from lived experience to fantasy worlds.
We鈥檝e been publishing the anthology every year for more than a decade now and it has become a vital outlet for nurturing emerging talent, catching the eye of agents and publishers. It was wonderful to see our Creative Writing graduates under one roof, and to celebrate their creativity and promise.
Past contributors to The 91直播 Anthology have gone on to become successful established authors: 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; Jessica Moor was named one of the ten best debut novelists of 2020 by Observer New Review, and was also shortlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize.
In addition to showcasing their literary talents, some of the contributors also gained hands-on experience in publishing by taking charge of the anthology鈥檚 production, editing and proofreading submissions, working with a graphic designer, organising the launch and collaborating with artist Georgia Harmey to create the cover art.
Everyone who attended the launch event had the opportunity to buy a physical copy of the anthology, which is now available in Blackwell鈥檚 91直播 bookshop and online as a PDF.
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Or email: anthologyteam@manchester.ac.uk.