Thursday 24th September 2009 will see the launch of the sixth issue of the critically acclaimed literary magazine The Mechanics’ Institute Review (MIR).
Either brand new or previously unpublished in the UK, the short stories by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Russell Celyn Jones, Peter Ho Davies and Richard Milward will leave readers longing for more. Alongside these fantastic contributors are 22 edited stories by some of the most talented writers on the Creative Writing programme at Birkbeck, University of London, and a preface commissioned specifically for MIR6 from Jean McNeil.
This stunning collection continues to confirm The Mechanics’ Institute Review as an important source of emerging writers. Around every corner are fresh, new voices; writers taking their imagination in fascinating directions.
In these tales, moments of birth, death and redemption are dissected and stark revelations extracted. A cabbie’s philosophy about love, releasing a mother’s ashes, the shadowy legacy of war and the search for that elusive blue Smartie all feature in this vibrant anthology. From breakfast in the Bisti Badlands to night-fishing for girls in Split, each story reveals a different view of human frailty and its consequences.
This issue also features a range of beautifully typeset quotations about the art of writing.
The launch, on Thursday 24th September 2009, will be supported by readings from both established authors and Birkbeck’s emerging voices, as well as further publicity events at literary venues across London.
For interviews with Birkbeck’s emerging authors and further information about MIR6, please contact the MA in Creative Writing Course Administrator, Anne-Marie Taylor, on a.taylor@english.bbk.ac.uk or visit www.bbk.ac.uk/mir.
Advance praise for MIR6
'MIR6 is a window into the future of fiction. Here, you can glimpse writers that your friends will be recommending to you in six or seven years’ time. Here, you can discover their energetic but controlled, reckless but accomplished beginnings. This is the most rewarding kind of reading you can do.'
Toby Litt
'Once again, MIR proves itself as a hotbed of fresh and original talent, laden with intriguing voices that urge you to turn the page. An annual treat for short-story lovers.'
Courttia Newland
'Smart, original, and surprising writing . . . a wonderfully unpredictable journey of the imagination.'
Sarah Salway
MIR6 is available from Amazon, the MIR website www.bbk.ac.uk/mir, local independent bookshops throughout the London area and selected branches of Waterstone’s.
ISBN: 978-0-9547933-6-4
Price: £7.99
The Mechanics’ Institute Review is an annual literary magazine of new writing, edited and produced by students on the MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London. The magazine, now in its sixth year, is produced under the direction of author and Birkbeck tutor Julia Bell. Previous issues have been reviewed by the Guardian, Times Literary Supplement, Times Education Supplement, Independent and Time Out.
The MA Creative Writing is run by the Birkbeck Writing Programme. Its director is Professor Russell Celyn Jones. The Birkbeck Writing Programme has a large and diverse range of Creative Writing courses, including a new BA in Creative Writing.
The first Mechanics’ Institute in London was founded in 1823 by George Birkbeck. ‘Mechanics’ then meant skilled artisans, and the purpose of the Institute was to instruct them in the principles behind their craft. The Institute became Birkbeck College, part of London University, in 1920 but still maintains one foot in the academy and one in the outside world.
For further information on the MA Creative Writing at Birkbeck, please contact the MA in Creative Writing Course Administrator, Anne-Marie Taylor, on a.taylor@english.bbk.ac.uk or visit www.bbk.ac.uk/mir.
