Search results for ""404 Ink""

Naomi Westerman was an anthropology student studying death rituals when her whole family died, turning death from the academic to the deeply personal. She struggled with grief and talking about, particularly as a young woman, realising while death is everywhere in our culture, grief is harder to find in specialist ways.

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Deeping It analyses drill's fight against moral panic and its fraught relationship with the police and political authority in the UK, exemplified by constant censorship, racism, and moments such as when a drill duo became the first people in British legal history to recieve a prison sentence for simply performing a song. Policing, policy and criminalisation are the cornerstones of colonial suppression; art, self-expression and collective action are beacons of resistance. Deeping It places drill firmly in the latter category, tracing its production and criminalisation across borders and eras of the British Empire, exploring drill's artistic singularity but also its inherent threat as a Black artform in a world that prioritises whiteness. Intervening on this discourse steeped in anti-Blackness, this Inkling 'deeps' how the criminalisation of UK drill cannot be disentangled from histories, technologies, and realities of colonialism and consumerism.

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When you think of ‘gambling’ you might think of Vegas casinos, betting shops and football flutters but the risk of gambling is embedded in numerous corners of popular culture that many of us consume. By considering the concept of ‘soft gambling’, No Dice asks how we could possibly link the Pokémon Trading Card Game with gambling. Can we compare Netflix to a night at the theatre? When does fictional gambling within video games go too far with their infamous loot boxes? Does such risk affect everyone or are socio-economic divides driving further inequality? No Dice explores the messy world of gambling and risk that we encounter regularly, from childhood through adulthood, considering if it is worth the risk and if we even know what risks we might be taking.

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Carrie Kills A Man* is about growing up in a world that doesn't want you, and about how it feels to throw a hand grenade into a perfect life. It's the story of how a tattooed transgender rock singer killed a depressed suburban dad, and of the lessons you learn when you renounce all your privilege and power. When more people think they've seen a ghost than met a trans person, it's easy for bad actors to exploit that - and they do, as you can see from the headlines and online. But here's the reality, from someone who's living it. From coming out and navigating trans parenthood to the thrills of gender-bending pop stars, fashion disasters and looking like Velma Dinkley, this is a tale of ripping it up and starting again: Carrie's story in all its fearless, frank and funny glory. *"Spoiler: That man was me." - Carrie

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In On the Edges of Vision, unease sounds itself in the language of legend. Images call on memory, on the monstrous self. In Helen McClory's daring debut short story collection, the skin prickles against sweeps of light or darkness, the fantastic or the frightful; deep water, dark woods, or scattered flesh in desert sand. Whether telling of a boy cyclops or a pretty dead girl, drowned sailors or the devil himself, each story draws the reader towards not bleakness but a tale half-told, a truth half-true: that the monster is human, and only wants to reach out and take you by the hand.

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With intolerance and inequality increasingly normalised by the day, it's more important than ever to share real experiences and hold the truth to account in the midst of sensationalism and international political turmoil. Nasty Women is a collection of essays, interviews and accounts on what it is to be a woman in the 21st century.Punk, pressure, politics, people - from working class experience to racial divides in Trump's America, being a child of immigrants, to sexual assault, Brexit, pregnancy, contraception, identity, family, finding a voice online, role models and more, Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!, Zeba Talkhani, Chitra Ramaswamy are just a few of the incredible women who share their experience here.Keep telling your stories and tell them loud.

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"The beautiful rolling hills and coastlines are for all of us. Together, we can reimagine the British countryside (and all it represents) and make space so that everyone is welcomed." Gathering brings together essays by women of colour across the UK writing about their relationships with nature, in a genre long-dominated by male, white, middle-class writers. In redressing this imbalance, this moving collection considers climate justice, neurodiversity, mental health, academia, inherited histories, colonialism, whiteness, music, hiking and so much more. These personal, creative, and fierce essays will broaden both conversations and horizons about our living world, encouraging readers to consider their own experience with nature and their place within it.

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A young woman with no name embarks on a fraught three-way relationship with Matt, a tattoo artist, and his girlfriend Frances, a new mum. She begins to recognise the dark undertow of obsession and jealousy that her presence has created between Matt and Frances, and finds herself balancing on a knife's edge between pain and pleasure, the promise of the future and the crushing isolation of the present. With stripped-down prose and unflinching clarity, Nash examines madness in the wreckage of love, and the loss of self that accompanies it.

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Electric Dreams picks apart the forces that posit sex robots as either the solution to our problems or a real threat to human safety, and looks at what's being pushed aside for us to obsess about something that will never happen.

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It’s one of modern history’s most beloved sci-fi creations and while the Doctor is revered world-round, what about their companions, friends and acquaintances along the way? For all the time travel and extravagant alien worlds, Doctor Who is often at its best when it looks to you, the average viewer, and how the lives and values of us human beings are actually spectacular. The cup of tea or coffee we make in the morning, the relationships we carry and lose in life, the routines we love and hate, the vinegar-soaked chippies we have at night – they might look mundane against the spectacle of the Doctor but what if it’s us, the humans, who are the fantastical ones? In We’re Falling Through Space, J. David Reed investigates how Doctor Who uses its larger-than-life lens to consider how the mundane is a lot more special than we might realise. As one of the Doctors put it, ‘Do you know, in nine hundred years of time and space, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important before.’

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Four estranged friends reunite for a motorcycle trip up the Isle of Skye, in the hope of coming to terms with how their lives have splintered since a transformative ride in Northern India fourteen years earlier. In their fumbling attempts to spiritually reconnect, expectant father Raj, recently widowed Vidushei, always youthful Liam and perpetually fragile Bobby test the limits of their friendship around campfires, on twisty roads, in unexpected Ayahuasca ceremonies, and against discussions of belonging, race, and identity. A novel about youth, the spectres of friendship, and colonial legacies in a small but fiercely proud nation, New Skin for the Old Ceremony spans India and Skye, seeing past ghosts exorcised in order to face the present.

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Welcome to Constitution Street. In this updated edition, Jemma Neville explores what real life stories from neighbours on one street in Leith reveal about our recent constitutional crisis in an age of anxiety pre- and post-COVID 19. Part memoir, part social history, part exploration of a new constitution for the day we live in, Neville's debut encourages a reclamation of human rights practice as something that belongs to each of us, too important to be left solely to politicians and lawyers. Jemma gets to know the people and stories that have lived on her street for decades, showcasing real life accounts of perseverance, courage and vulnerability, and that extraordinary stories are waiting behind every door. Constitution Street takes an essential view on the global issue of human rights through the lens of one street and its inhabitants.

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Noah spends his nights drifting between North London pubs and music venues, and his days sleeping off hangovers in the stock room of the floundering record shop where he works. He tries not to think about what will happen when his NHS-allocated therapy hours run out and he's left alone with his mind again. After years away, his favourite band Smiling Politely announce a last-minute set in a nearby venue and everything starts to shift. When the crowd turns violent, Noah runs into the street and meets Dylan, the charming local barman he's never had the courage to approach. Pulled into a toxic and co-dependent relationship with Dylan and his brooding, enigmatic friend Fraser, Noah bounces distractedly between sweaty gigs and clubs, swapping beds and friends along the way. The upcoming Smiling Politely album is a beacon of hope for Noah who craves the connection he finds in their music yet lacks elsewhere, but he has to ask himself what he's willing to lose - friendships, dignity, even his sense of self - to just feel like he belongs.

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In Blind Spot, Maud Rowell challenges readers to think differently about what they may take for granted, carrying them on a whirlwind tour through time and space - from Japanese tube stations to the 18th century museum - to showcase what the world looks like for someone who does not see. She offers practical insights based on her own experiences, as well as spotlighting incredible blind pioneers - explorers, artists, scientists, and more - through history and the current day, unearthed through her own research and interviews. In educating us about the realities of sight loss, Maud shows us how to be aware of our own blind spots, offering the knowledge needed to become better, more tolerant members of diverse communities. Society needs to support everyone - it's time we caught up.

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Let Me Tell You This is a vital exploration of racism, gender-based violence, and the sustaining, restorative bonds between women, told with searing precision and intelligent lyricism. Nadine takes you on a journey exploring heritage, connection, and speaking out. These poems demonstrate the power of heart and voice, and will stay with readers long after the last page.

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What's the one piece of advice you wish you had at the start of your career? Euan Lownie asked this question to influencers from across Scottish industries include Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, actor Alan Cumming, forensic anthropologist Dame Sue Black, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and many more. Ideal gift for those wondering 'what next?'

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When we hear news stories about displaced people, people running away from war, living in exile, they're always accompanied by big numbers, presented as waves of immigrants. The Last Day Before Exile re-focuses the narrative to the human side, sharing some of the hardest moments of their lives, where they had to make the decision to stay or go. Tracing the steps of professionals who have moved from the Gaza Strip, Pakistan, Morocco, Iran, Afghanistan Turkey, and Ukraine, Selin Bucak shares stories of rebellion, fear, and, in some cases, victory. To truly understand what immigrants often have to go through at the hands of governments, legislation, and war, we need to put ourselves into the shoes of the people living in exile.

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Love That Journey For Me dives deep into the cultural sensation of Canadian comedy-drama Schitt’s Creek. Considering the fusion of existing sitcom traditions, references and tropes, this Inkling analyses the nuance of the show and its surrounding cultural and societal impact as a queer revolution. By discussing how the show reshapes LGBTQ+ narratives from the crafting of the town itself, and celebratory influences including Cabaret, to how writer-creator Dan Levy utilised and subverted expectations throughout his work, Emily Garside will showcase how one TV show became a watershed moment in queer representation and gay relationships on screen. Part analysis of Schitt’s Creek’s importance, part homage to a cultural landmark, this is a show that – in the words of David Rose himself – needs to be celebrated. This book is that celebration. This book is unofficial, and unaffiliated with Schitt’s Creek and its brand.

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ni de aquí, ni de allá: It starts neither here nor there, a liminal space between two states of being. A life captured within his lines, At Least This I Know guides the reader through Andrés N. Ordorica’s own story, of ancestry, nationhood, activism and queerness, through childhood photographs, across international highways, to tales of love and loss, and beyond. These poems are a means of working through the belonging in both the physical sense and emotional, be it the belonging of immigrant bodies in new countries, or that of the queer self within found families and safe spaces. Navigating his family origin and personal journey to belonging, from Mexico, the USA, to Scotland, it’s a story to be welcomed into, one that flows from the page and envelops you.

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In the anticipated follow-up collection to 2015's awardwinning On the Edges of Vision, Helen McClory returns delving deeper into descriptively mythical yet recognisable stories woven from dark and light, human fear and fortune. Swimming and suffering. Spikes loom ever-threatening. A weight against the throat. Sea where the dead lie pressed into a layer of silt. A silent documentary through a terrible place. Mary Somerville, future Queen of Science. A coven of two. Mayhem & Death is the matured, darker companion to On the Edges of Vision and shows McClory's ever expanding ability to envelop and entrance her readers with lyrical language of lore, stunning settings and curious characters. Mayhem & Death also introduces the brand new novella Powdered Milk, a tale for the lost.

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Friendships can be the foundation of our earliest memories and most formative moments. But why are they often seen as secondary to romantic, or familial connection, something to age out of and take a back seat to other relationships? BFFs is an examination of the power of female friendship, not as something lesser, but as a site of radical intimacy, as told through the cultural touchstones around us. From coming-of-age tales through physical intimacy and discovering personhood to break ups and parting of ways, Behrooz considers the vast significance of our friendships through the work of Toni Morrison and Elena Ferrante, Booksmart and Grey’s Anatomy, Insecure, The Virgin Suicides and beyond. To have a life rich in love is often viewed through a specific lens; BFFs shows us that friendship can offer a more expansive and emancipatory understanding of female intimacy, and can be the most important, loving relationships in our lives.

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Struggling to deal with the trauma of her Catholic upbringing, Noelle, travels to the Isle of Bute. She meets a man who claims to be a vampire, and a relationship blooms between them based solely on confession. Noelle becomes hounded by memories of her past.

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Hair is potent. Its presence and its absence has profound influence upon our lives, across race, gender, sexuality, status, and more. It will grow in places you don't like and it may desert you - suddenly, or gradually. Whatever your experience, you have had a relationship with hair and its power. Kajal Odedra considers how hair has shaped society today, from the 'perfect' blondes in the school playground to the angry skinheads on the streets. Mohawks, wigs, afros, these are just a few of the ways in which hair has been part of history and wider activism. The word 'essay' derives from the French 'essayer', meaning 'to try' or 'to attempt'. This is Odedra's 'try' at hair - part memoir, part observation across history, politics, religion, and culture. Hair/Power explores the power, control and ultimate liberation that hair can provide.

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Grief is all around us. At the heart of the brightly coloured, vividly characterised, joyful films of Studio Ghibli, they are wracked with loss - of innocence, of love, of the connection to our world and of that world itself. Now Go enters these emotional waters to interrogate not only how Studio Ghibli navigates grief so well, but how that informs our own understanding of grief's manifold faces.

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Loki, ever the shapeshifter, has never been more adaptable across pop culture. Whether it’s deep in the stories from Norse mythology, the countless offshoots and intepretations across media, or even the prolific Loki that has come to dominate our screens via the Marvel Cinematic Universe, each serves its own purpose and offers a new layer to the character we’ve come to know so well. By exploring contemporary variations of Loki from Norse god to anti-hero trickster in four distinct categories – the God of Knots, Mischief, Outcasts and Stories – we can better understand the power of myth, queer theory, fandom, ritual, pop culture itself and more. Johnson invites readers to journey with him as he unpicks his own evolving relationship with Loki, and to ask: Who is your Loki? And what is their glorious purpose?

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You're probably familiar with tired cliches around gaming culture in the media... that video games are violent and damaging. That they re for children, or society's outcasts; for the lazy and those without purpose. Joe Donnelly is here to tell you that video games, in fact, save lives. They saved his. Inspired by his own experience navigating depression following a tragic personal loss, Checkpoint reflects on the comforting and healing effect that entering into new digital worlds and narratives can have on mental health both personally and on a wider scale. From the big-budget triple A studios, to the one-person indie set-ups, there are thousands of eye-opening games exploring human complexities overtly and subtly all waiting to enthrall and comfort players old and new. Through exclusive, in-depth interviews with video game developers, health professionals, charities and gamers alike, Joe makes the case for the vital value of gaming culture and why we should be more open minded and willing to pick up a controller if not for fun, for the well-being of ourselves and our loved ones.

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What is a university for? They educate and set people up for their futures; they teach, research, employ - often irritate. We talk about developing the next generations and pushing the boundaries of knowledge, but in the midst of a pandemic, universities were put more firmly under the microscope than ever before. As we emerge into a new reality, James Coe considers the enormous challenge of reimagining an entire cornerstone of society as a more civic and personal institution. The New University posits a blueprint of action through universities intersecting with work, offering opportunity, and operating within the physical space they find themselves. Diving into the issues he aims to tackle in his own work as a senior policy advisor, Coe believes we can utilise universities for community betterment through realigning research to communal benefit, adopting outreach into the hardest to reach communities, using positional power to purchase better, and using culture to draw people together in a fractured society. The world has changed and universities must change too. The New University is the start.

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From drag queens and discos, to black holes and monsters, these stories and poems wrestle with love and loneliness and the fight to be seen. By turns serious and fantastical, hilarious and confrontational, We Were Always Here addresses the fears, mysteries, wonders and variety of experience that binds our community together. We Were Always Here is a snapshot of current Scottish LGBTI+ writing and a showcase of queer talent.

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From the streets of working class Scotland, and on occasion, a little beyond our solar system, comes one of the country's most hilarious debut writers. Putting surreal and witty twists on the everyday, Chris McQueer creates recognisable characters you will love and want to avoid like the plague.Peter's earned his night off, and there's not a bloody chance he's covering Shelley's shift. He just needs to find some pals for the perfect cover story. Deek is going to be at the forefront of the outsider art movement and do Banksy proud. Davie loves tattoos and his latest is going to be a masterpiece. Tam is one of the most creative minds in the galaxy (apparently), but creating parallel universes can cause problems. Everybody on Earth wakes up with their knees on backwards.He caught folks' imagination on Medium with his stories, had rooms howling with laughter on the spoken word circuit, and now it's time to put Chris McQueer on the page. Are you ready?

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In Victor and Barry's Kelvinside Compendium, Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson reminisce about their hectic years as Victor and Barry through both beloved and never-before-seen photos, songs and musings in a scrapbook style compendium, including a foreword from former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

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Chronicling a history of punks at war, Blitzkrieg Bops studies bands who have soundtracked a movement including Pussy Riot, Stiff Little Fingers, National Wake, Wutanfall, The Kominas & more creating music to overthrow corrupt governments, stomp out oppressive regimes, fight the establishment and, in turn, fight for their lives.

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In the UK, around one in six men will experience some form of sexual violence. Many of these men who experience sexual abuse are dismissed, only brought up as the butt of a joke, an exception to the rule or, perhaps at worst, are used as a rhetorical tool against female victims. Conversations on sexual violence have understandably focused on women’s voices and experiences, with data indicating that women are still the majority of victims and not enough is being done to prevent this violence. As most perpetrators of this violence against women are men, it becomes almost easy to mistake that male survivors stories are exceptions or irrelevances. The fact is that we share a world and our experiences are closely interwoven. Sons and Others challenges misconceptions and misrep-resentations of sexual violence against men across media and society and offers a new way of seeing and understanding these men in our lives, asking how the violence they experience affects us all.

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We like Jeff Goldblum. You like Jeff Goldblum. Helen McClory really likes Jeff Goldblum. The Goldblum Variations is a collection of flash fiction, stories and games on the one and only Jeff Goldblum as he, and alternate versions of himself, travels through the known (and unknown) universe in a mighty celebration of weird and wonderful Goldbluminess. Maybe he's cooking, maybe he's wearing a nice jumper, maybe he's reading this very book. The possibilities are endless. Treat yourself, because all that glitters is Goldblum.

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Here We F**king Go (HWFG) is the much-anticipated follow up to Chris McQueer s hilarious, award-winning debut short story collection Hings. In HWFG... Your fave Sammy gets a job and Angie goes to Craig Tara. Plans are made to kick the f*ck out of Kim Jong-Un. You ll find answers to the big questions in life: What happens when we die? What does Brexit actually mean? Why are moths terrifying? What are ghosts like to live with? It s just a load more short stories n that. hwfg x

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Since its inception decades ago, the tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons has offered an escape from the real world, the chance to enter distant realms, walk in new shoes, and be part of immersive, imaginative tales as they unfold. More so, in Thom James Carter's opinion, it's a perfect vessel for queer exploration and joy. Journey on, adventurer, as Dungeon Master Thom invites readers into the game's exciting queer, utopian possibilities, traversing its history and contemporary evolution, the queer potential resting within gameplay, the homebrewers making it their own, stories from fellow players, and the power to explore and examine identity and how people want to lead their lives in real and imagined worlds alike. Grab a sword and get your dice at the ready, this queer adventure is about to begin. (This book is unofficial and unaffiliated with properties Wizards of the Coast and Dungeons & Dragons.)

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For a period in time that gave us Sappho and the love affair of Achilles and Patroclus, the Ancient Greek relationship with queer folk is more complicated that at first glance. Tales as old as antiquity persevere, whether the goddess of love Aphrodite, Tiresias, the prophet who spent time as both man and woman, or the infamous Heracles. But, what can these ancient stories offer our contemporary world? Historian Jean Menzies dives into the world of queer retellings and the Greek myths being told anew by LGBTQ+ writers. From explorations of gender and identity across millennia, to celebrating queer love in its many forms, All the Violet Tiaras invites readers to discover the power to be found in remaking these myths, time and again, carving a space for queer stories to be told with all the complexity and tenderness they deserve, with a goddess or two for good measure.

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As we go about our day-to-day lives, digital information about who we are is gathered from all angles via biometric scans, passport applications, and, of course, social media. This data can never fully capture our complex, fluid identities over decades of our lives. Yet, this data populates numerous databases we may not even be aware of that can make life-or-death decisions such as who is allowed access to welfare benefits or who is granted food parcels as they pass war-torn borders. A joy of humanity is being able to decide who we are and how we represent ourselves publicly and privately. Thanks to an over-reliance of government bureaucracy upon systems which assume that digital avatars are representative enough, data about our identities can restrict the paths available to us in life, professionally and personally, often strengthening systemic inequalities along the way. Machine Readable Me considers how and why data that is gathered about us is increasingly limiting what we can and can’t do in our lives and, crucially, what the alternatives are.

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Beginning with a story of an ex sex-worker drifting through a rural town in South America, and ending with a young woman's sinister wedding night, Nash writes across the complications of working class women, rendering their desires with visceral prose and psychologically dissecting the fundamental root that threads her work: craving and the conflicts within.

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