The following is an extract from Nicolas Padamsee’s debut novel England is Mine published by Serpent’s Tail in April 2024. I David THE PRE-SHOW MUSIC STOPS. Darkness. A plastic cup whizzes over David, showering him with beer. He laughs and runs a hand through his hair. Brixton Academy, Karl Williams, a gig he’s looked […]
fiction
England is Mine by Nicolas Padamsee
England is Mine is the debut novel by UEA alumnus Nicolas Padamsee and is published by Serpent’s Tail this week. Nicolas graduated from the MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) in 2014, and the Creative and Critical PhD in 2022 with a CHASE studentship. He is the editor of artsagainstextremism.org, which promotes art as a means of […]
Lesley In Therapy
The following is a story from Naomi Wood’s collection This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things published by Phoenix in April 2024. Though their babies were very different ages, Lesley and Irina had returned from maternity leave at the same time: Irina had taken all of her allowance, plus holiday, but Lesley […]
The Red Hollow
The following is an extract from Natalie Marlow’s novel The Red Hollow, published by Baskerville in March 2024. Chapter One Thursday, 1 February 1934 William stood near the office window, tea tray in hand, and stared out onto Needless Alley. It was not quite eight o’clock, and Birmingham was bathed in a mucky morning […]
Practice
The following is an excerpt from Rosalind’s debut novel Practice published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and reproduced with permission. Oxford, 2009 The alarm goes off. A small spider, sitting in a corner of the dark room, would see her stir in bed, and her hand slow and uncomplaining reach over to the clock. […]
Rail-Song
The noise has hounded Zoë for so long that she’s forgotten what silence feels like. To her, quiet is just the momentary lull between the roars of the freight trains, which run parallel to the flat on both sides. ‘The way you bolt upright like that, it’s enough to give me a heart attack,’ Percy […]
Remember, Mr Sharma
An extract from A. P. Firdaus’s debut novel, Remember, Mr Sharma, published by Sceptre in July 2023. Punjab, 1947 She is alone on the terrace and the light is bleeding out of the sky. She stands with her back to the setting sun, holding a pile of clothes in her arms, and […]
The 392
An extract from Ashley Hickson-Lovence’s debut novel, The 392, published by OWN IT! on 25 April 2019 NATALIE Hackney born and raised, I grew up on the street, the block, the bits, the estate, the hood, the ghetto, the ends, the manor. Whatever you wanna call it, it’s up to you innit, but […]