IMPRINT 27 - Key Persons
Selma Carvalho is a prize-winning British Asian writer and author of three non-fiction books documenting the Goan presence in colonial East Africa. Her poetry and fiction have been widely published. She has placed in numerous contests including Mslexia, Fish, Bath, Brighton and London
Short Story. Selma won the Leicester Writes Short Story Prize in 2018 and her collection of short stories was longlisted for the SI Leeds Literary Prize. Her novella Sisterhood of Swans is forthcoming from Speaking Tiger.
PENGUIN: A FLIGHTLESS MIGRATORY BIRD follows a woman living in the desert protected from crime, war, famine and disease. The only thing she is asked to sacrifice is her selfhood. Self-censure is the cruellest form of death is what she discovers as she grapples with an unplanned pregnancy.
Stephanie Wilderspin grew up in Essex, raised by the stereotype of a single mother on benefits. She graduated with a degree in American Literature with Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, and currently works as a researcher for a prominent TV broadcaster. Stephanie's writing often explores social issues with a focus on gender, sexuality, class, and mental illness. She enjoys finding unorthodox ways to explore serious issues; from playing with format and structure, to utilising comedy to navigate difficult topics to make her writing more relatable, whilst retaining the message at its core.
REFRACTED follows a young woman after a suicide attempt. The event splits her life into fragments, which she defines by colours to better explore the multiple manifestations of mental illness, as well as the self-censorship that comes with trying to hide its symptoms in order to lead a "normal" life.