What is 'The Things We Write'?
The Anthology Story: Interview with Emma Henderson
The culmination of the Creative Writing program at Keele rests in its student-contributed anthology, ‘The Things we Write’. This annual publication features work from across the discipline: from PhD portfolios to undergraduate workshopped pieces. What makes the anthology so special is its representation of skilled writing from across the program, and gives many their first publishing credit. To find out a bit more about the anthology’s history, I sat down with Emma Henderson, lecturer in creative writing, who started the anthology in 2020.
The following Q&A is paraphrased.
What was the inspiration for starting the anthology?
I saw other universities had successful student-contributed anthologies and believed we could do it better. I had produced an anthology during my MA program and wanted to help celebrate the Creative Writing program here at Keele. I also believed it’d give students a great introduction to submitting their pieces for publication.
What were the early years like?
The first anthology release unfortunately aligned with COVID-19, so our launch event was an outdoor affair. The going wasn’t easy, glue sticks may have been involved. We’ve learned important lessons since then, and now, our launch events are the best part of the year!
How does it compare to other university anthologies?
The Things We Write is special because it is entirely postgrad led and organized. They handle all submissions, production, and logistics of the launch event. The Anthology team works incredibly hard. The lecturers only get involved in deciding which pieces move from the longlist to the shortlist.
What is the benefit of the anthology having an ISBN?
Having an ISBN means that having a piece placed in the collection counts as a publishing credit: this can be added to your CV and should be included in bios when you send work off to agents. This is a great way to jump the hurdle to calling yourself a published author! A copy even ends up in the British Library!
For people looking to enter the anthology, what pieces of advice would you give them?
Submit pieces that have been workshopped, edited, and redrafted. If not in class, then find peers, friends, or family to proofread for you. Don’t be afraid to submit multiple genres; experiment. Take the style guide seriously, it helps you get off on the right foot with the submission reading team.
