Dear Friends and Associates,

Apologies for the radio silence, but I’m back on air at 6pm tonight with Lias Saoudi from Fat White Family, Rob Doyle and Jenni Fagan, and wanted to share this broadcasting moment in history with you. See below.

But first, shooting the breeze, just something I’ve been dreaming of since I realised books were written by authors, my debut novel is coming. Everything has been about this.

It’s called Psychomachia, and is about a girl in the 90s who’s so wasted she doesn’t know if she’s killed the arch patriarch of rock n roll, and kinda should have. It wakes up all Jean Genet, and twists through the arc of Acid House to BritPop to Heroin Chic.

There’s an extensive interview with me here talking with the publisher, Wrecking Ball, on my process, darlings, and as if you needed any more clickbait, you can find out my real age by clicking through.

It started pink…

and now it’s black…

THAT LINK AGAIN: https://sh1.sendinblue.com/vj9m165pxt7e.html?t=1622203166

There’s also an interview in the new Mu magazine, where I’ve also reviewed a tonne of books, from ‘glitch Didion’ Roisin Kiberd, to Shola von Rheinhold, Salena Godden, Eliza Class, Mat Osman, with a focus on Stewart Home, and far more. https://mu-magazine.com/

Psychomachia is from a Latin poem I found in the British Library, about the war of the soul, or the battle between virtue and vice. My original translation is at the back, and I sure ain’t a Latin scholar, and was thrown out of Latin for inventing the stories rather than translating them, but after working on a few Baudelaire pieces, I’ve improved. And it’s a magical thing in itself, beyond the actual book I’ve been carving for nearly 15 years.

The first edition hardback, beautifully designed by Stephen Barrett (whom I’ve been working with at Ambit), with artwork by Siena Barnes can be yours for £15 as a pre-order now - either direct with Wrecking Ball, which means they make more money which is great, or with Waterstones, Foyles, Book Depository (where I believe there’s a sneaky 10% discount), or your fave bookshop. I haven’t looked on Amazon. I don’t care where you get it, but I’d love you to have time to read it and enjoy it - it’s written to be read, and I will be developing it here over the next few months.

Subscribe now

I will happily be sending my dear paying subscribers of this mighty platform signed editions as gifts, because I know I have barely been delivering a crumb here.

It’s never too late to become part of my Substack journey as a paid up lover!

Join Lias Saoudi tonight to hear more on his stellar job curating his own Ambit in the tradition of Stories, Poetry, Art, with the crew of Rob Doyle, Jenni Fagan, Benjamin Myers, Adelle Stripe, Jeremy Reed, Zaffar Kunial, Connor Seed, Nina Power, Vida Adamczewski, Niall Griffiths - with art from Marco Livingstone, Steven Allan, Anna McDowell, Wayne Horse, and Neal Fox (Le Gun) have created something quite exceptional, and it’s £10 or £30 for a print subscription for a year.

My sincere thanks to poet and Editor since 2013 Briony Bax, who formed Ambit into being a charity, and has been grooming my ungroomableness into some semblance of managing the venerable publication with the brilliant designer Stephen Barrett.

Set those alarm clocks! And if you should have other plans, of course I will archive it infinitely on the new Ambit site, where you can find out more. https://ambitmagazine.co.uk/

x

Kirsty

From the desk of Kirsty Allison

Lias Saoudi on the radio, and my book