Editor of the online arts journal One Hand Clapping. Novelist, poet, teacher and father but not necessarily in that order. You can find my writing here: alanhummswriting.com
If you're thinking of coming to the launch this Saturday then could you possibly DM me? It means I can make sure that you're on the guest list. It's in the George on Wardour Street and it's from 7 til 10.30. Fran Lock will be reading too and Ian Montague and Linda Moylan will be providing the music.
I am genuinely delighted to announce that Fran Lock will be reading at the launch of my new poetry book on 11th October in The George on Wardour Street. She's one of my favourite poets and she reads up a storm. So absolutely no pressure then.
The link is very meat and potatoes but suffice to say that I'll be speaking at the Dickens Fellowship about my novel, The Sparkler, on Tuesday 30th September.
Here are advanced reader copies of my new book of poetry, My Father is Calling the Neighbours Names. The idea is that those who feel inclined can review it. I'd be grateful for any reviews, to be honest.
My new book of poems is called My Father is Calling the Neighbours Names and it's out on September 16th. I've nicked and adapted a Wallace Stevens title for a sequence called Thirteen Ways of Looking at David Bowie. Here's one of the poems.
I have a question for all of my friends who are also writers. Goodreads? BookBub? I understand that they can prove beneficial when it comes to selling books but I've never felt like I've learned how to use them properly. Any tips would be much appreciated.
I'd like to reacquaint you with some of the best writing (and other stuff) from One Hand Clapping. Here, in the first issue, is a terrific poem by Fran lock.
We're warming up for another One Hand Clapping event. Something bigger this time; a festival. In the meantime, I'd like to repost the work of some of our contributors.
I used to get submissions all the time. They still trickle in occasionally. If, for argument’s sake, I knew of the existence of a fantastic unpublished literary novel - it’s a saga; historical fiction - where should I advise the person to send it? Agents? Publishers? All advice gratefully received.
"Ur-Fascism can come back under the most innocent of disguises. Our duty is to uncover it and to point our finger at any of its new instances — every day, in every part of the world." Umberto Eco
When I was an impoverished young man I used to walk into newsagents, pick up Time Out and search for anything that Nick Coleman might have written. Only when I'd read everything by him would I then scarper.
In other words, when it comes to Substack, these are a cut above. Do check him out.