Ian Gouge's Blog, page 16

“Liberation Day”

You can see why Booker Prize winner George Saunders is so revered as a short story writer, and why his Substack – where he is incredibly generous in his responses to his subscribers – is so well supported. “Liberation Day” bristles with innovation and good writing. Having said that, its two dystopian stories – set … Continue reading “Liberation Day” →

Last week’s Substack activity

Here are links to last week’s Substack posts. Why not sign-up to my Substack site for free in order to get news of future posts delivered straight to your inbox? This week’s section includes:

Excuse me for breathing…

At the turn of a year many people looked back twelve months and, in doing so, may have chosen to regale us with their 2023 achievements. Often these public declarations are punctuated with numbers of followers/subscribers, numbers of books sold/read, how much money they made compared to the previous year, and so forth. Whilst a … Continue reading Excuse me for breathing… →

“No one belongs here more than you”

Having found Miranda July’s “No one belongs here more than you” in the remainders room of Waterstones, Lincoln, I decided to give it a try. It’s amazing what you can find in a Waterstones’ remainders room! I really liked these short stories – and I’ve no idea why the book was for sale where it … Continue reading “No one belongs here more than you” →

First posts of the New Year

Here are links to some of my first posts of 2024; please take a look. And if you like what you read I would really appreciate you sharing my site with anyone who might be interested – there are free subscriptions available for effective referrals. Thanks!

“The Largesse of the Sea Maiden”

I like Denis Johnson’s work; there seems to often be something slightly off-kilter about it, a ‘slant’ view of the American world he inhabits. Or should I say inhabited. For some reason – presumably thanks to the contemporary edge to his stories – I had always assumed that he was still alive, and it was … Continue reading “The Largesse of the Sea Maiden” →

Some questions to start the New Year

A free – and topical! – post from my Substack site… Hope you have a great 2024!

On-line interview!

I was recently interviewed by Adrian Lopez for his YouTube channel Between Authors Podcast. You can find the interview HERE.

A submission window closes – and some latest posts

This is a gentle reminder that the submission window for New Contexts: 6 closes at the end of tomorrow. You can find details HERE. A big ‘thank you’ to all those who have already submitted. Shortlisting will begin next week. ~ For those of you who may have missed them, here are recent posts on my Substack site.

“Guernica”

What strikes me most about James Attlee’s chronology of Picasso’s “Guernica” is the sense of how the painting seemed to have a life of its own, independent of the artist. And how it was never displayed in Spain – indeed, never in the country – until well after Franco’s death, so four decades after it … Continue reading “Guernica” →