Granta | The Home of New Writing

Explore

Notes on Craft

Greg Jackson

‘It is hard to devote yourself to something that makes you feel constantly like an amateur.’

Greg Jackson on writing and teaching fiction.

Repetition

Vigdis Hjorth

‘The people she longed to be understood by, the ones at whom her anxious hope was pinned, were her parents.’

Fiction by Vigdis Hjorth, translated by Charlotte Barslund.

The Millennial Mind

Anton Jäger

‘Millennials were more than willing to bargain by riot.’

Anton Jäger evaluates the millennial generation.

Isabel

Lillian Fishman

‘Diana saw that Lucy’s appeal was in the nostalgia of her looks: Hers was a teen beauty, at home nowhere more than in a miniskirt.’

Fiction by Lillian Fishman.

Niamey Nights

Rahmane Idrissa

‘The first time I heard of generations, they were likened to the loops of a ribbon.’

Rahmane Idrissa on photography and music in the Sahel.

Five O’Clock Somewhere

Gary Indiana

‘It’s when things fail to return to normal, that finally you get it: this is normal.’

Gary Indiana on growing older.

And That’s How I Became a Woman

Vigdis Hjorth

‘Finn Lykke opened the door wearing jeans and a freshly-ironed, white shirt, he had made an effort.’

Fiction by Vigdis Hjorth, translated by Charlotte Barslund.

Cult

Marcus Ong Kah Ho

‘The parties always had a good mix of men and women, although more often than not there were more good-looking women than men.’

Fiction by Marcus Ong Kah Ho.

From Zanzibar to Marbach

Abdulrazak Gurnah

‘The tragedies inflicted on the people of East Africa as a result of European rivalries are belittled and forgotten.’

Abdulrazak Gurnah on German East Africa.

In the Unlikely Event of a Loss of Cabin Pressure

Juan S. Guse

‘News of the second contact sent the whole camp into turmoil. After long weeks spent searching in vain, a new vitality returned.’

Fiction from Juan S. Guse, translated by Gwen Clayton.

He Cleans

Valeria Gordeev

‘He cleans. Cleans the sink, cleans the plughole, takes out the sink strainer and cleans the underside.’

Fiction by Valeria Gordeev, translated by Imogen Taylor.

The Blind

Ewan Gass

‘People, he thought, swinging his legs, were only who they were in relation to other people.’

Fiction by Ewan Gass.

Haruspex

Rebecca May Johnson

‘How can I accept a trauma or a loss that I cannot define?’

Rebecca May Johnson on pregnancy and divining the future.

We Would Have Told Each Other Everything

Judith Hermann

‘The story distracts the readers from the heart of the matter; it distracts them from me.’

Fiction by Judith Hermann, translated by Katy Derbyshire.