Patrician Press – förlag

This is a selection of short prose from Colchester Writenight, a community writing group, formed in 2011. They write together, share stories and invite along inspiring guests. As well as their regular monthly event, they participate in various literary festivals with live readings and workshops.

This collection with an ‘Open Book’ theme represents the diversity of creative writing they produce. Throughout its existence, it has developed through collective thought, writing, editing and production. It will intrigue and inspire you.

This diverse and varied anthology of short fiction, essays and poems includes contributions by Sam Jordison, Chantal Mouffe, Steven O’Brien, Jules Pretty, Justine Sless, Patrick Wright and poet M W Bewick as well as by writers from the current Patrician Press stable. The contributors confront our present political ‘tempestuous’ times and some of the works have a science-fiction flavour to include dystopian, authoritarian and imagined worlds.

Anthony steps through the frustrations and idiosyncrasies of everyday life with a comic eye and a candid approach to family life. The subject matter leaps from farce to fornication, from his frequent failures to his fierce frivolousness. Mixed in with these irreverent musings are some caustic attacks on homophobia and some beautiful and moving words on the commonality of young male suicide.