Kirsty Allison’s debut novel Psychomachia (Wrecking Ball Press) hit the shelves at the same time as her Vagrant Lovers recordings on Das Wasteland in Berlin and Blang! Records in the UK. Also serving as the final editor-in-chief of the legendary and iconic literary magazine, Ambit, where she doubled readership and inspired record-submissions. Originally established by Dr Martin Bax in 1959-2023, past editors include Eduardo Paolozzi, JG Ballard, and the better half of British culture passing through the pages. She is a widely published author, poet and journalist.
Psychomachia achieves cult status by word-of-mouth, with firm fans in the music and fashion worlds:
"exhilarating, brazen, devastating and brilliant” i-D
Currently, she writes here on Substack, retreating from London’s Peckham to an Andalusian retreat and elsewhere, away from the boundaries she pushes in literature and performance, to restore her faith and balance.
Kirsty Allison is described by Irvine Welsh as "the greatest cultural beacon on the planet." She began on Loaded magazine and many magazines in the 90s, DJing around the world, later scoring awards for BBC radio documentary, fashion copywriting, and independent film. She presents and reports and performs in the media, writing many publications for Red Gallery in Shoreditch, 2012-2015, consulting and teaching internationally in various degrees of healing for herself, and ideally, inspiring others to be as free and empowered as she finds the stage. Performances span from New York to Berlin, Rough Trade East, to opening Andrew Weatherall’s last Convenanza Festival in the south of France, to Beirut (supported by the British Council). Her poetry-films played in the Tate shows curated by Tracey Moberley, who is slated to direct a screenplay she has penned for one of the greatest situationists and artist/musicians of our times, Bill Drummond.
Kirsty founded Cold Lips Press, an indie platform known for publishing zines (with different designers inc. AC Saure, Kedge, Personality Crisis), books, and hosting international creative events from 2015 whilst working as the Off The Floor editor at DJMag. This came from the cocoon of the Sylvia Plath Fan Club nights in Shoreditch, exploring poetry and lyric, with a host of friends and associates.
Her debut collection of poetry sold out: Now is Now, which followed DIY publications of Unedited (art by Luke McLean) and Unedited II (with photos by Carl Fox) sewing books by hand on the same machine she used to craft costumes for Boy George.
If you wish to get in contact, please email studio@coldlips.co.uk
