Mark Liam Piggott

Recently I’ve been reworking a long short story (if that makes sense) about an Englishman who becomes a hermit in an abandoned Australian mining town. My aim was to get the length down from 10,000 words to around 8,000, but rather than hack long sections away I decided instead to cut extraneous words (like “the”) wherever possible. Using this brutalist approach I’ve managed to cut almost two thousand words from the story, and it seems much stronger for it; the style has been

I still find it miraculous, Eurostar: you get on the train at St Pancras and disembark two hours later in a completely different culture – though not so different as Leeds. But then, Paris is closer, and more like London than Leeds can ever be. Expensive, for a start – nine euros for a pint at some outdoor place near Notre Dame, crikey on a bikey. Did the usual stuff – up the tower for an eyeful, ate in great little Algerian restaurants in the back streets, visited the same I

When George Best died a few years back, I was reminded of a strange little story I read in a book of sports jokes as a child. I never could find the author, so I decided to rewrite it from memory as a tribute to my idol, who I once saw drinking a beer at his pub, the Phene Arms (now, like George, and that book of sports jokes, long gone) on the King’s Road. For a long time I regretted not buying George a beer; now, I’m rather glad I didn’t... READ THE STORY HERE

Much in the manner of Turkmenistan ex-president Saparmurat Niyazov’s humble decision to re-name January after himself, I’m delighted to confirm the period 29 March – 4 April is henceforth to be known as “Mark Piggott week." Although obviously a trifle put out that uber-trendy LA-based webzine “Outside Left” have so far only seen fit to devote just two per cent of the annual calendar to me, which seems stingy, it’s only a matter of time before the entire Easter period is named

Yesterday I went to the offices of Legend Press to sign copies of my new novel, “Out of Office”. The cover is very appropriate and very eye-catching, another excellent job by While at Legend (or rather in the pub opposite) I met fellow author Bill Coles for the first time. Bill’s new novel, “Dave Cameron’s Schooldays”, is published the same day as mine, though his launch will be in Edinburgh where he currently resides. Bill’s a splendid chap and a proud Etonian so I’m hoping

The proofs for “Out of Office” have been despatched, the launch date confirmed and it’s full steam ahead, but my first novel, “Fire Horses” is still getting coverage, with an interesting review at Frank Mask here and another by fellow Legend author Andrew Blackman

“If the bookmakers are right, Colm Tóibín's New York novel Brooklyn will take the main award at the Costa Book of the Year at its lavish London award ceremony this evening at Quaglino's, but the fact that Raphael Selbourne's Beauty, about contemporary life in Birmingham, won the First Novel award should finally dispel the myth that British writers are afraid, unwilling or unable to tackle modern British society in fiction form...” You can read the rest of my feature on state

I’ve just finished a major feature for the Independent on the state of British (or more accurately, English) publishing. Several writers have recently moaned that not enough of their contemporaries are writing about England now. In my opinion this is utter bollocks; there are loads of good writers producing novels about the “here and now” including Chris Cleave, Ross Raisin and (I hope this won’t sound immodest) yours truly. One of the things that compelled me to try my luck

I’m no longer posting links – you’ll have to go and buy a copy of the Guardian or my kids will starve. Yes, starve. Do you really want that on your conscience? (7th March 2016: ah fuck it - they like you reading them for free anyway...)

Really pleased to announce that “Frank Mask”, one of the most interesting literary websites in the UK, has published my short story “rip it up and start again”. A strange little story set in sunny Fremantle, where a man and woman from different cultures try (and fail?) to work each other out... Looking up from a story I’m trying to open I peer into a stranger’s sunny-wrapped face: twenties, dark, pretty. I shrug, the blush spilling across my pasty flesh accentuated by the aw

Our Paris homeswap adventure begins ominously: Emma, our 5-year-old daughter, vanishes between the Metro platform and the train, and we haul her to safety. On entering the apartment, a lightbulb pops, and we're plunged into darkness. Finally, we're about to take a stroll when our key snaps in the lock. We are locked out of a stranger's apartment with no money and it looks like rain. Emma begins hopping about urgently: "I need a poo . . ." Read the article at The Times (£)

Is modern life rubbish? Things getting you down? You aren't alone. Luckily, schadenfreude is rarely out of fashion, and what better way to cheer yourself up than by reading about the dismal dates, beastly bedsits and medical traumas of your fellow humans? Read the first "mustn't grumble" column (devised and written by yours truly) at the link below. Think you can do better? Send your contribution to Home Defence and let's see who comes out on top. Or bottom, I suppose......

“Out of Office” publicity is grinding into action: time to write something new. Having spent the summer working on short stories, lengthy features and holidaying with the kids, it’s a relief for the leaves to change, the wind to turn and begin work on my next novel. I also spent the summer watching every episode of The Wire, which blew my head off (“how’s my hair look, Mike?” The way the layers inter-connect, so many great characters and not a scrap of dialogue out of place.

"UK's Vioxx users call for justice", my feature about the anti-arthritic drug Vioxx, which was withdrawn over health concerns, has been published in today's Times (£).

After a long, long day on the annual nursery charabanc to Walton-on-the-Naze, it was a relief to get home safely and great to discover another short story has been published in America. My dark, dirty tale "Black Eyed Bride" is now on Outside Left.

Articles are like buses, a bit; you wait ages to get published and then they all come at once. Last week, an Express column; today a major feature in The Times (£). I suppose the Times article, which I'm quite pleased with, shows that if you get your angle right you can write thought-provoking features about most events, no matter how horrible they seem at the time. I've already had a very kind invitation from an American gentleman to come and practise shooting on his local r

Who’d have thought it? My article (“Just stop worrying and enjoy the sun”, page 14, 30/06/09) makes a serious point though: why do we keep being told a bit of sunshine is bad for us? Why not just chill out, grab a glass and enjoy it?

Delighted to announce a strange little prose-poem of mine, “Fat Lady Sing”, has been published by the highly prestigious and deeply marvelous “Outside Left."

Never been much of a one to volunteer for anything, but I must admit I was delighted to be asked to help out at a book fair to raise funds for my daughter’s school yesterday. What made the event really special was the quality of the guests lined up by fellow parent and journalist Dan Carrier: Al Alvarez, Dannie Abse, Travis Elborough and Peter Richards. Meeting Mr Alvarez was a real thrill as I grew up in the same town as his old friend Ted Hughes. Quite surreal, trying to as

After writing two novels in just over two years, it’s a relief to attempt a screenplay. Not that it’s any easier, in fact with all the fiddly formatting it’s harder in some ways, and you have to really work on dialogue and actions in the absence of, well, anything else; but it’s not so intensive, I don’t dream about it, slide into schizo reveries, scream into the night. The fact my screenplay’s (theoretically) a comedy helps; with (post-) modern humour you can stick in more o