Hyperkinetic (Fiction / Anthology project)

Wednesday, 29 April 2009 13:30

So we've finally fixed on a working title for our anthology of 'urban themed' fiction (first announced here). It is - deep breath - Hyperkinetic: High Velocity Tales From The Inner City. It may change again before the book finally drops but that's the best we've come up with so far.

The simple idea for the project was/is to cajole a few fiction-friendly folk from the music world into writing a short story. There was no specific brief other than creating something suitable for an urban audience, since the publisher, Phoenix Publishing, is also responsible for cult drum & bass/underground music magazine Knowledge.

We now have around 20 confirmed contributors. In alphabetical order they are:

Will Ashon, Sarah Bentley, Adam Butler, Cat Conway, Jason Draper, JJ Dunning, Harriet Giibsone, Pat W Hendersen, Claire Hughes, Martin James, Jake Kennedy, Lindsey Kent, Lara Kilner, Tim Lay, Joel McIver, Ben Myers, Minna Salami. Zoe Street Howe, Kenn Taylor, Wyndham Wallace - plus of course myself and co-editor Joe Shooman.

Incredibly, given we're sourcing from an industry famed for its deadline-dodging and Play-station slackery, we've already received a few tales ahead of the official cut-off point, and the standard so far is every bit as excellent as we had hoped for. They're varied too, touching on themes like dysfunctional families, global warming and transexualism. (Don't worry, there's drugs, sex and music also).

Needless to say we're very excited about receiving the rest of the stories and getting them into the public realm asap. In the meantime we've also set up a dedicated blog so people can keep track of the project as it develops, get info on contributors, read excerpts etc. See ya there, yeah?