Mark Liam Piggott

Fantastic night last night at the Dogstar in Brixton for the launch party for the “Greetings” anthology published by Enthusiastic Press. The book has one of my poems, “Roman Synchysis”, and my short story, “The Angel of Stalingrad”. Readings, great music and booze – what more could you want? The anthology is available now on Amazon – you can buy it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/1916113036/

Delighted to announce that I have a poem and a short story in a forthcoming anthology published by Enthusiastic Press. The collection will include “The Angel of Stalingrad”, which is also included in my collection Militant Factions; and a poem, “Roman Synchysis”. More details soon!

Set amid 500 acres of rolling countryside at Bretton Hall Estate, Yorkshire Sculpture Park opened in 1977 and features sculptures by local heroes Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as Joan Miro and other giants of the discipline. To the delight of the park’s many child visitors – mine included – there are also actual giants, such as Eduardo Paolozzi’s “Vulcan”, a 23-feet metallic humanoid….

Last night (3rd July) I was honoured to be invited to speak at our local Society of Authors event on the subject of applying for grants, awards and other forms of funding. In recent years I’ve been fortunate enough to receive several awards from the Royal Literary Fund, Authors’ Foundation and the Journalist’s Charity, so hopefully those present were encouraged to keep applying for financial support to enable them to get that masterpiece over the line.

Delighted to announce that my first major feature appears in the Summer 2019 (Vol CXXX No. 2) issue of The Author. “Scandal & delight” includes quotes from Toby Litt and Lily Brett, as well as describing the pain that being a writer can cause the ones we love. No link available – so try this instead

“Hard to believe that in 2019, as the UK falls apart, when the only stores booming in the high street are food banks, when a New York-reject like Boris Johnson can zip up his pants for five minutes and declare himself PM, and Europe is busy wishing us a not-so-fond adieux, that there isn‘t a single punk band ready and willing to rage against the machine. That no one dares to push back against this dumbed-down cultural vacuum in which art, books and music must be inclusive, re

Recently I’ve been working with BAFTA-winning artist, photographer and film-maker Alison Jackson, writing a show based on her unique work creating lookalikes of famous people. It’s Alison’s show but I’m glad to say a lot of the jokes are mine – some of them pretty fucking outrageous. Royalty, Trump, the Kardashians and some filthy jokes by yours truly - what more could you want?

Standing beneath a blazing Outback sun with my wife and two children, I am staring at a rock. It's a big rock -not as big as expected, but certainly impressive -and looks like a wave, hence the name. Intro to “The Wonders of Oz”, my latest travel feature, which appeared in the Daily Mail

“On turning 50, I realised I’d never own my own home. What bank would agree to give a mortgage to someone with no regular source of income? Even if I did somehow hold down a job, I would have just 15 years until retirement age. For a while, I was depressed. Owning your own home is the British dream. Why else would all those property shows I drool over be so popular? I won’t have anything to hand down to my kids. What sort of loser am I?” Read the rest of my feature in the Spe

"When Mark Piggott realised how many events and places that were important to his family lay on a 20-mile trail from the outskirts of London to Soho, he decided to walk the whole route in a single day…" I’ve been planning this walk for years now, so I’m delighted to announce the whole 4,500-word feature can be found at The Independent’s fantastic Long Reads section. Read it here

Just been a guest on 5 Live where I discussed Brexit with the wonderful Emma Barnett. You can hear our discussion here. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09l5cpb

Recently I was lucky enough to meet Turner-shortlisted artist Ian Davenport ahead of his new display at at the Waddington Custot Gallery in London. Read my interview at the Blouin Art Info website.

For the third year running I am deeply indebted to the wonderful Royal Literary Fund for their extremely generous grant. This money will enable me to finally finish some major projects I am very excited about – more details soon. The RLF has been helping authors since 1790 and thanks to its support I have been able to concentrate on writing rather than simply working all hours to survive. I am now close to where I want to be – again, watch this space! – but will never forget

Sunday morning. On a particularly busy section of the A2 – our old car hemmed in by transcontinental lorries, all apparently in desperate need to reach Dover – the Citroen C4 begins to lose power. Even with my foot to the floor the speedo continues to drop – 30, 25, 20 – while behind me truck drivers help out as best they can by tooting horns and waving fists. “There seems to be something wrong with the car,” I tell my wife... READ THE REST OF MY LATEST "LONG READ" AT THE IND

"As Europe’s team claims the UK is bugging Brexit meetings, the Sunday Express finds the transcript* of a meeting attended by negotiator Michel Barnier, EC president Jean-Claude Juncker, Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Emmanuel Macron..." *according to Mark Piggott Read the rest of my latest Sunday Express feature HERE

"On reading that former Tottenham Hotspur legend and shampoo salesman David Ginola has become a father again at the age of 51, my first response was: “Sacré bleu!” Sleepless nights, smelly nappies, illogical tantrums – that’s middle age for you. Who’d want to bring kids into it? However, having become a parent at a relatively late age myself (isn’t all parenting relative?) I must confess that my primary feeling for David is neither sympathy nor disgust, but envy..." READ THE

"Rising from a stranger’s bed I pull aside the curtain and see the low isle of Anglesey floating in the Menai Strait: a fine day to climb Snowdon, first episode in what we hope will become the Three Peak Trilogy over coming weeks as part of my daughter’s Duke of Edinburgh challenge..." Read the rest of my long, meandering feature in The Independent's Long Reads section.

"Now, I’m as much of an England fan as the next man (if the next man is Jean-Claude Juncker) but to be honest, after three solid weeks the novelty of watching matches between two nations I’ve no interest in – perhaps a sandy Sultanate versus one of those central American countries where they throw losing managers from helicopters – has started to wane. Trouble is my wife Lynda is from Liverpool, which means she’s genetically unable to miss a single match. When she gets home f

"When a Newcastle academic called me a southerner recently I almost choked on my mushy peas. "Tripe!" I muttered. When my wife had handed me my tripe I had to resist the temptation to kick a whippet. Then I remembered it's only Northerners who are prone to sudden acts of irrational violence; as a southerner-elect I'm above such things, and resolved instead to buy a one-bed flat for half a million and stop saying "hello" to people on the street..." Read the rest of my column i

"Older people have been moaning about younger people since Aristotle, but it does seem the generation gap has widened in recent decades – due partly to bewildering advances in technology, but also because the rise of the 'X Factor' follow-your-dream mantra..." READ THE REST OF MY LATEST INDEPENDENT BLOG HERE.