Once a Dancer
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Mrs S
K Patrick
‘Without waiting for me she removes her white shirt. Each button a piece of my own spine, undone.’
An extract from Mrs S by K Patrick.
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Yara Rodrigues Fowler
‘She rings a tiny cymbal over your body. She says, The experience is finished now.’
A story by Yara Rodrigues Fowler.
Gunk
Saba Sams
‘I followed him onto the dancefloor and he put his hands on my hips as if he’d known me for at least an hour.’
Fiction by Saba Sams.
The Termite Queen
Olivia Sudjic
‘It dawned on her, the fact sliding ice-cold into her body; now that she had crossed the border into her forties, Alma herself was no longer eligible for the scheme.’
An excerpt from Olivia Sudjic’s third novel.
Rostrum
Eley Williams
‘Certainly this kind of thing just happened sometimes – it was a glitch, an unfortunate error, and could happen to anyone.’
Fiction by Eley Williams.
The University of Nigeria
Ike Anya
‘There is a sense of carnival mingled with outrage, especially for us since this is our first demonstration.’
Ike Anya on universities, financial cuts and student protest.
Two Poems
Bob Hicok
‘What’s your policy on fog? When it gets in bed with you, who’s on top?’
Poetry by Bob Hicok.
Podcast | Vanessa Onwuemezi
Vanessa Onwuemezi
‘I think sometimes that when things are really explained to you, you kind of cheat someone from experiencing a deeper feeling.’
Vanessa Onwuemezi talks about her book Dark Neighbourhood.
Interview
Margo Jefferson & Guy Gunaratne
Guy Gunaratne interviewed Margo Jefferson after the winner of the Rathbones Folio Prize was announced, and they discussed her prize-winning book, Constructing a Nervous System.
Two Poems
Raymond Antrobus
‘The crack / and spit of sickness is everywhere, everyone / is tangled in the mess.’
Poetry by Raymond Antrobus.
On Writing ‘Blind Bitter Happiness’
Adam Mars-Jones
‘When I was put on Granta’s first Best of Young British Novelists list in 1983, no novel of mine had been published.’
Podcast | Anthony Anaxagorou
Anthony Anaxagorou
‘How do we perform our politics, our outrage and our grievances when we are among a group?’
Anthony Anaxagorou talks about his collection Heritage Aesthetics.
On Literary Celebrity
Caryl Phillips
Caryl Phillips on being chosen as a Best of Young British Novelists in 1993 and the nascent culture of literary celebrity.
On Judging Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists
A.L. Kennedy
A.L. Kennedy on being chosen for, and judging Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists.
On the Anxieties of Translation
Ned Beauman
Ned Beauman on his translation into Assamese, and where being named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists took him.
The Weeds
Katy Simpson Smith
‘The stone is cold; touching a leaf is like touching skin.’
A botanist’s assistant longs for her lover in this extract from The Weeds.
Listlessness
Christy Edwall
‘The listless mind is one which defers rather than tries to bring about closure. There is always one more tab to open.’
Christy Edwall on listlessness in twenty-first century fiction.
Acid Permanent
Suzie Bovenzi
‘I miss his body, the blank shine of it. I miss the clean blue bib.’
A story by Suzie Bovenzi.
Close to Home
Michael Magee
‘I thought about how I had tricked everyone into thinking I was hard, that I could handle myself, without ever having to throw a punch.’
An extract from Close to Home by Michael Magee.
Podcast | Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
‘Places don’t always remember what they are.’
Ayanna Lloyd Banwo talks about her novel When We Were Birds.
Beyond Deep Throat | Part II
Saskia Vogel
‘Whatever porn is or is not, like dance it is rooted in the body.’
Saskia Vogel on the relationship between dance and pornography.
Sartorial Misdirection
Rosie Findlay
‘In clothes, I met strangeness with strangeness. They dressed me with a kind of distanced power.’
Rosie Findlay on fashion and religion.
Animals After Dark
Avigayl Sharp
‘I was not a strong mayor. I was an email. I was a little bit high.’
A short story by Avigayl Sharp.
In Conversation
Sabrina Orah Mark & Martin Riker
‘I don’t know if you’ve ever held a fairy tale in your hand, but it has this amazing pliability.’
Sabrina Orah Mark and Martin Riker on fairy tales, form and the imaginary realm.
Podcast | Mary Gaitskill
Mary Gaitskill
‘Fiction, even if it’s completely made up, does say something about how you experience reality.’
Mary Gaitskill talks about her book The Devil’s Treasure.
Of Cattle and Men
Ana Paula Maia
‘No one goes unpunished. They’re men of cattle and blood.’
An extract from Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Zoë Perry.
Lucky Punk
Anouchka Grose
‘As evidenced by the Met show, everyone wants to be a bit punk.’
Anouchka Grose on the birth and death and rebirth of punk.
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Christodoulos Makris
‘like us or not don’t be afraid toss us a follow it counts’
Poetry by Christodoulos Makris.
In Conversation
Tom Bullough & Ben Rawlence
‘People may not want realism but it’s still our job to try and supply it in compelling and truthful ways.’
Tom Bullough and Ben Rawlence on writing into the climate crisis.
One Image
Timothy Phillips
‘I was in Sarandë as part of a journey across the entire length of the old Iron Curtain, from Norway to Azerbaijan.’
Timothy Phillips on the legacy of the Iron Curtain in Albania.
Notes on Craft
Dee Peyok
‘I wanted to learn everything there was to know about the singer and his words.’
Dee Peyok on craft and the Cambodian musician: Sinn Sisamouth.
Particulate Matter
Amitava Kumar
‘India, as we know it, is changing. What will it become?’
Memoir by Amitava Kumar.
Beyond Deep Throat | Part I
Saskia Vogel
‘The eye wants to see its fill, the I wants to see how it feels.’
Saskia Vogel on the foundational stories of pornography.
