I have decided to repost my Guardian articles on this blog, simply because I want to keep a record of the full texts as published. I know it’s unlikely that the Grauniad will disappear any time soon, but stranger things happen… Three years on from the original publication of this piece, and more than aContinue reading “REPOST: The new world of New Weird”
Author Archives: Damien Walter
Wordcount – an overrated measure of progress?
As writers it is natural that we look for some measure of our progress, day to day, when it comes to the work of writing. And make no mistake, writing is work. Yes, it’s inspiration also. But in truth, most things worth doing require some element of inspiration. And they also all require work, theContinue reading “Wordcount – an overrated measure of progress?”
Great art is connected with courage and truthfulness
A quote from Iris Murdoch, interviewed in the Paris Review, that I want to remember – To write a good book you have to have certain qualities. Great art is connected with courage and truthfulness. There is a conception of truth, a lack of illusion, an ability to overcome selfish obsessions, which goes with goodContinue reading “Great art is connected with courage and truthfulness”
Places I will be
Looking at my diary yesterday I realised that I’m doing a number of talks and public events over the next few weeks. This is exciting and , of course, a little nerve wracking. Most of us are drawn to writing as a way to spend large amounts of time alone, in our own imaginations, drinkingContinue reading “Places I will be”
This is not a recession, it is the end of an era
UPDATE : WordPress.com won’t let me embed the Prezi, so you’ll just have to make use of your opposable thumbs and click the link. If you haven’t discovered Prezi yet, you really should. It’s one of the most powerful communication tools on the interwebs, and possibly a minor-revolution for the written word. But this isn’tContinue reading “This is not a recession, it is the end of an era”
The SpecFic books I read again and again
John DeNardo challenged a number of writers to think about the speculative fiction they return to again and again. My response is bellow. I would love to see a similar challenge for the nonSF books that Sf writers are influenced by, that would be fascinating. Also, I seem to have declared the death of ScienceContinue reading “The SpecFic books I read again and again”
Some thoughts on teaching creative writing
I get to start this post with some good news which I have been sitting on for a while now. As of later this year I will be taking over as Course Director for the Certificate in Creative Writing at the Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Leicester. I was extremely excited to be offeredContinue reading “Some thoughts on teaching creative writing”
We need a National Library Service
I know the political climate is not good for encouraging large new public initiatives, but the current problems facing our local, community libraries, with an estimated 500 facing closure this year as a result of government spending cuts, needs to be seriously addressed. As today’s National Save Our Libraries day protest demonstrates, libraries are amongContinue reading “We need a National Library Service”
The now of the book
Since I began writing, the book has been dying. No one has time to read any more. In our busy digital lives prose needs to readjust itself to fit in. It needs to be sliced in to ever tinier sections. The blog-post. The status update. The tweet. These things have their purposes, but they doContinue reading “The now of the book”
Is speculative fiction poised to break into the literary canon?
The Booker prize judges have yet to acknowledge the flowering of British SF and fantasy. Will 2011 be a breakthrough year? Speculative fiction has produced many great works of literature. Even a partial list of SF’s canonical works could fill many blogposts. It would be difficult to talk seriously about the last century of literatureContinue reading “Is speculative fiction poised to break into the literary canon?”
My Love Sick Zombie Boy Band
My Love Sick Zombie Boy Band is published in the special double issue of Electric Velocipede #21/22. This story started life as the memory of having my heart pounded to bits when I was a teenager. I really did give the young woman a silver ring, but whether it had any magical properties or not isContinue reading “My Love Sick Zombie Boy Band”
Momentum in StarShipSofa
My short story Momentum is featured in the Hugo award winning audio magazine StarShipSofa this week. This story was originally published in Electric Velocipede #13 and has been reprinted twice since. It’s great to hear it in audio, and the narration by Victoria Kelly is really good. Thanks to Tony and StarShipSofa for producing this,Continue reading “Momentum in StarShipSofa”
Damien Walter 