A final Substack essay for 2025 from me. Read The Golden World: Do Politics and Fiction Mix? for free here

I chose Yann Chateigné Tytelman's terrific book, Blackout (tr. Clem Clement), for Review 31's Books of the Year 2025. Read the full line-up here

A late-November Substack from me: I wrote about creative inspiration in music and writing. Read Catch a Fire: That Michelangelo Moment for free here

Delighted to announce that MALC'S BOY by Shaun Wilson will be Conduit Books' first title! Coming April 2026. Read the Bookseller piece here

 I reviewed Andrew Gallix's mordantly witty debut novel, Loren Ipsum, in the Guardian

Delighted to have a new short story published by Fictive Dream. Read A Donky's Take (or How the Two Renés Quarrelled) - my take on Gogol's How the Two Ivans Quarrelled - here

An October Substack from me: an essay on writing about places you've never visited. Read Into the Blue Again: Writing America here