Spread the Word: City of Stories

I like boundaries. I'm perhaps a bit of an over-communicator, but as someone that is a rather anxious person I tend to find comfort in certainties, and there is a certainty around placing myself in a box, as if to say “There. That’s it - that’s what I am.”

Over the course of the past year, I’ve started actively pursuing activities I liked doing or that I enjoyed as a child.

Perhaps its a mid-life crisis, or a manifestation of something more sinister, but it’s been a source of great joy, and unexpected surprises.

I ended up writing a creative short story - and to my delight, it has been selected as the winning entry for the Borough of Hackney in the City of Stories Anthology by Spread the Word.

Last weekend we was invited to attend a workshop, lead by some of the judges - Jarred McGinnis, Amer Anwar, Natasha Brown and Caleb Azumah Nelson.

I learned so much from the day, but my most important reminder was just to keep writing. I’ve found that I’ve written a lot less since publishing my books, which has caused me to overthink. I stopped creating all together, and the exercises there reminded me that, in a sense, results don’t matter - as long as I keep writing for myself. There will always be people who don’t like what I do, but unless I get it out there I’ll never know for certain.

I’ll be doing a reading of my piece - The Kettle - at Stoke Newington library on June 30. It’ll be the last thing I do as a 30-year-old, so I hope you’ll join me.

Thank you to all the judges and organisers who selected my piece, and everyone at Spread the Word. I’m so grateful.