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Issues

Here at The Lit, we are a two-tone outfit and we like it like that.

Made up of rich mix of academics and creatives, our collaborative approach reflects our commitment to in-depth but accessible content about writing and publishing culture which shapes how we live today.

A place where the conceptual and commercial interests collide, The Lit offers a quick fix of stories for the time poor and deep dive analysis for associative thinkers.

If you have a feature, interview or illustration in mind that connects with what we’re about, get in touch with us on [email protected]. We’d love to hear your ideas on all things story.

June 2023

Small Town Stories

Are small towns places to be escaped to, or from?

Capturing instants of the everyday, the in-between moments, the parts of life that feel like nothing at all, and yet are the elements that stay with you forever. Small towns stay with you even after you leave; it is that sense of community, intimacy and belonging, or the total opposite, that makes these small town stories compelling. Visit the small towns of snowy Salmon Arm in rural Canada, the homeless community of Santa Rosa in San Francisco, the village rurality of England and sunny Valrèas in France through fiction, photography and personal essay in this issue.

June 2023
Small Town Stories

Issue 4 May 2022

Lines

Lines can be drawn, and lines can be crossed – they possess a lightness and flexibility. As you will see in this issue, our features interpret “lines” literally and metaphorically, creatively and artistically. In this issue of The Lit, we seek to understand the impact of the lines that have been drawn around us, and to illuminate the power of crossing these lines to find new horizons.

From audio walks and activity books to the taboo world of toilet graffiti, we explore how words and story lines have the power to transport us beyond the page.

Issue 4 May 2022
Lines

On Climate Change and Writing | Issue 3 October 2020

How the Light Gets In

How can writers, poets and publishers respond to climate change? More to the point, what might an adequate response look like? Issue 3 of The Lit brings together illuminating voices from across the literary world, from bestselling novelists to aspiring poets, as we seek to shed some light on these difficult questions.

On Climate Change and Writing | Issue 3 October 2020
How the Light Gets In

Issue 2 April 2020

Stories from the Slipstream

Resilience has seldom felt more urgent, as we hunker down for the long-haul. But the need for maverick voices is ever-more pressing. In Issue 2, we bring together a potent mix of voices to trouble assumptions about small publishers working in the slipstream of the mainstream. From upstarts to influencers, industry insiders to unapologetic outliers, The Small Press issue chronicles tales of unerring resistance, reinvention and resilience.

Issue 2 April 2020
Stories from the Slipstream

Issue One November 2019

In Praise of Short Attention Spans

This is the debut drop of The Lit, exploring publishing and storytelling in all its forms. Issue One finds us in praise of short attention spans. Of poems that won’t sit still. Of single clause stories daubed on walls. Of hooks that get you in an instant. We peer through the cracks in our concentration to explore the post-digital landscape. Time is tight. Attention’s expensive. Are you with us?

Issue One November 2019
In Praise of Short Attention Spans