4th Estate and William Collins writers open up about LGBTQ+ identities
In celebration of Pride in the UK, we have put together a selection of writing by 4th Estate and William Collins authors who have used their craft to represent the lives of those in the LGBTQ community. Whether writing non-fiction, fiction, or something in the middle, these writers have significantly contributed to the demonstration that love is love, by writing complex depictions of individuals outside the heteronormative spectrum (this list is non-exhaustive).
In the latest instalment of 4th Estate’s regular video series RE4DINGS, we wanted to celebrate the paperback release of Stevan Alcock’s incredible debut novel Blood Relatives.
RE4DINGS looks to introduce viewers to the enthralling personalities behind the books we publish, and this edition is no different. Stevan’s rendition of the opening section of his novel captures perfectly the mix of nostalgia and stark, gruesome violence that permeates his writing. And he delivers it all with that unique voice: a Yorkshire lilt, as refreshing as a can of Corona cream soda. Read more…
‘Write Here’ takes us into our authors’ writing spaces across the globe, where they tell us about how they go about their craft. We mark each location on the map at the bottom of each post. In today’s edition we visit the Montage Café in Forest Hill, London, where Stevan Alcock wrote his scintillating debut novel ‘Blood Relatives’…
Name: Stevan Alcock
Occupation: Writer, editor and translator
Book: Blood Relatives
What’s it about: Leeds, late 1975 and a body has been found on Prince Philip Playing Fields. Ricky, teenage delivery van boy for Corona pop, will be late for The Matterhorn Man. In the years that follow until his capture, the Yorkshire Ripper and Rick’s own life draw ever closer with unforeseen consequences. Set in a time in England’s history of upheaval and change – both personal and social – this is a story told in an unforgettable voice.
Why we’re excited: Not only is Blood Relatives written in a startlingly unique and transfixing dialect, the setting offers a completely separate, parallel account of the Yorkshire Ripper murders. The resulting tension that supports an already astonishing narrative is surely the reason why Alexander Masters, proponent of the uncanny within the real, called Blood Relatives ‘Thrilling, poignant and fresh’. Read more…
Blood Relatives starts in 1975 in Leeds, which for me was the nadir of the decade. The country was all but broke. The fashion was for clunky square cars, wide shirt collars and trousers with flares that always got sodden in the rain. Girls in tent dresses with fluted collars and knee length boots.
By ‘75 glam had descended into the nursery rhyme farce of Gary Glitter and Mud, prog rock was coked out and washed up; disco and punk hadn’t yet made inroads. So it was Abba or Status Quo. But it was also the era of dub reggae and U.S. funk and real R & B. Older siblings would tell you smugly that nothing would be as good as the sixties ever again and you felt miserably that you’d been born too late. Read more…
