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The pick of the best books / films / writers of 2006 from this site's regular contributors and other guests
Best Book - ‘Disobedience’ by Naomi Alderman is a brilliant critique of the
tight orthodox Jewish community in North London - but also a critique of
many tight communities, in many places.
Best Film - ‘The Prestige’, by Christopher Nolan, the same guy that directed
Memento. The film is not perfect, but Christian Bale always is. Like
Daniel Day Lewis, he always seems to be spellbinding, even when everyone on set is asleep.
Writer of 2006 - My writer for every year is Alasdair Gray. And I've
been rereading a lot of his books, as I'm writing about him at the moment.
Best Album - I loved the Thom Yorke album – ‘The Eraser’. Songs like ’Harrowdown Hill’ and ‘..And it Rained All Night’ sound like Radiohead's ‘Kid A’ period, but better.
Best Gig - Elbow in Edinburgh Usher Hall, or The National at King
Tuts, or the Twilight Singers and King Tuts or (and especially) His
Mozness, at the SECC, breaking my heart, playing ‘I've Changed My Plea to
Guilty’. Is that too many?
Best Literary Magazine - I like The Drouth, because it has themed issues. I like order!
Best Writing Website - Oh Laura, why make me flatter you in public?
Best Publisher - Canongate, for pure enthusiasm for what they publish.
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Despite being a big show-off and having a photograph on laurahird.com from 1983, Alan Bissett is still my favourite.
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - Debbie Kirk - for the picture. (How predictable men are...)
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - The same old shit. Estate agents. Walking under ladders. Pretending to like things and people you don't because it makes life easier.
Moment of 2006 - Donald Rumsfeld's graceless fall. By a mile.
Person of 2006 - Paul Scholes - for rescuing Man United's midfield and
giving English ex-pats in Scotland a title race for once.
2006 in 12 Words - Oh dear God please bring next year soon this one was
rubbish!
© Rodge Glass
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘Against the Day’ - Thomas Pynchon
Best Film - 'The Fountain'
Writer of 2006 - Thomas Pynchon
Best Album - ‘Whatever People Say That I am That's What I'm Not’ - Arctic Monkeys
Best Gig - Eric Clapton, October 10, Verizon Center, Washington, DC
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - Newly-empowered Democratic House & Senate majorities drag U.S. into a Bush impeachment quagmire, while situation in Iraq spirals ever further out of control, Iran goes nuclear, Pyonyang attacks Japan, and Democrats find fingers, once angrily pointed at Republicans, exasperatedly pointed in their direction.
Moment of 2006 - When Whitney Houston initiated divorce proceedings from Bobby Brown, October 16.
Person of 2006 - Cristiano Ronaldo - he's just soooo fuckin' classy. Such a sportsman. Never one to let a teammate down or take a dive. Just a stand up guy, really.
2006 in 4 Words - The moon or bust!
© Eddie Jeffrey
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘David Peace - ‘The Damned Utd.’
Best Film - ‘Ken Loach - ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley.’
Writer of 2006 - Muriel Spark.
Best Album - Jan Jelinek ‘Tierbebobachtungen.’
Best Gig - Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid, Lemon
Tree, Aberdeen
Best Literary Magazine - Variant
Best Writing Website - Laura Hird website (honest)
Best Publisher - (fifth amendment)
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - M.
Frias-May
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - Kevin Williamson
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - Stuart Blackwood
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - London to become independent city-state with lots of money but no politics.
Moment of 2006 - Tony Blair forced to admit WMD lies.
Person of 2005 - Vandana Shiva.
2006 in 12 Words - Cold preparing moving launching trough working working working accommodation quitting confusion hibernation
© Michael Gardiner
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘Digging The Vein’ - Tony O’Neill
Best Film - ‘Oi! This Is England’ - (Shane Meadows)
Writer of 2006 - Dan Fante
Best Album - ‘Fur & Gold’ by Bat For Lashes
Best Gig - The Slits / Pink Grease / Methodist Centre at Vibe Bar (April 06)
Best Literary Magazine - 3AM
Best Writing Website - Scarecrow
Best Publisher - Wrecking Ball Press
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Heidi James
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - Ben Myers
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - The Brutalists
Moment of 2006 - Stravinsky’s ‘Rite Of Spring’ at The Barbican performed by The Michael Clark Dance Company
Person of 2006 - Jarvis Cocker
2006 in 13 Words - ‘he who kisses the joy as it flies lives in eternity's sun rise'
© Adelle Stripe
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - I read many good books this year, though not necessarily new. I enjoyed two by South African writers - Karel Schoeman's ‘This Life’ (reviewed in this site) and Marlene van Niekerk's ‘Triomf’. I finally got myself round to reading Madame de Sévigné's letters to her daughter, which are wonderful both for historical interest and literary value. Of my most recent reads, I liked Carlos María Domínguez's ‘House of
Paper’ and Omar Prego Gadea's "Delmira". They're both by Uruguayan
authors :) and the latter is about the murder of Uruguayan poetess
Delmira Agustini in 1914.
Best Film - I haven't been too lucky with movies this year, but I loved ’Crash’ and (for all its flaws) Al Pacino's ‘Merchant of Venice’.
Best Literary Magazine - I love Magma and Versal.
Maybe this will sound a bit like self-promoting because I've been
published in both and am a contributing editor in the latter, but the
truth is, they're both great magazines. Versal is the result of the
efforts of a lot of people from different countries working together to
showcase interesting contemporary literature and visual arts, and it's
really worth checking.
Best Writing Website - I enjoy blogs hosted by little-known writers a
lot. You find all kinds of stuff, both good and bad, and rummaging
through it all is fun! Check the poetry blog www.laseleccionesafectivas.blogspot.com (in Spanish).
Best Publisher - I adore Bloodaxe and make a point of buying some of their books every year.
2006 in 12 Words - Year I got married and got my book accepted by a
publisher!
© Laura L. Chalar
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘Kite Runner’ - Khaled Hosseini
Best Film - ‘The Departed’
Writer of 2006 - Thomas Pynchon
Best Album - ‘The Craft' - Blackalicious
Best Gig - The Bad Plus at Royce Hall in Los Angeles
Best Literary Magazine - A Public Space
Best Writing Website - Dogmatika
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - Ayn Rand's philosophy
Moment of 2006 - Finding the ability to not care about being lost on a sparsely populated Chilean island
Person of 2006 - Zinedine Zidane
2005 in 13 Words - ‘The latent year george w. bush was found foible and thoroughly vitiated
© Joel Van Noord
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘Taking Comfort’ by Roger Morris is the book I've thought about most this year.
Best Film - ‘Casino Royale’ - But that is the only film I've seen this year.
Writer of 2006 - Alan Moore
Best Album - ‘Jarvis’ - by Jarvis Cocker
Best Literary Magazine - McSweeney's
Best Writing Website - Edit Red has been good to me.
Best Publisher - Macmillan for their New Writing Imprint, doing well in the face of all predictions to the contrary.
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Neil Cocker
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - Damion Hamilton
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - David Hebblethwaite
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - The Crowswing Anthology New Science Fiction: 2050 promises to be pretty good.
Moment of 2006 - My first tooth extraction. I wish I'd read that Pam Ayres poem earlier.
Person of 2005 - Richard Dawkins
2006 in 12 Words - A finite amount of time leads to miscommunication and dark, squashy prose.
© Aliya Whiteley
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘The Collected Stories - Amy Hempel
Best Film - ’Edmond’ (a movie version of the play by David Mamet with William H. Macy)
Writer of 2006 - Amy Hempel
Best Album - Bob Dylan - Modern Times
Best Gig - Nobody's Nothing @ River tracks (my band of course)
Best Literary Magazine - Mystery Island Magazine
Best Writing Website - LauraHird.COM
Best Publisher - Main Street Rag
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - M. Frias-May
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - Jake Mooney
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - Jake Mooney
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - American troop withdrawal from Iraq.
Moment of 2006 - Republicans losing control of congress in 2006 American elections.
Person of 2005 - Representative Mark Foley - the raincoat-clad freak who, believe it or not
was also co-chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.
The past six years have been the most shameful, corrupt and incompetent
period in the history of the American legislative branch.
2006 in 12 Words - Another bloody year of Bush ignoring the obvious, monumental failure in
Iraq
© D.B. Cox
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - Lionel Shriver - 'We Need to Talk about Kevin' - probably last year wasn't it?
Best Film - I'm always even more behind with films - Spike Lee's '25th Hour' was on TV this year.
Writer of 2006 - Can't pick one
Best Album - Kate Rusby 'Girl Who Couldn't Fly' or Karine Polwart 'Scribbled in Chalk'
Best Gig - Michael Marra or Heidi Talbot at Montrose folk club.
Best Literary Magazine - Citizen 32 seem more open-minded and less full of shite than many (and of course have printed one of my poems which helps)
Best Writing Website - Laura Hird - who else?
2006 in 12 Words - War, death and destruction - business as usual. And some better stuff - thankfully.
© Rachel Fox
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ’Tales from a Travelling Couch’ by Robert Akeret - it's not a new book but I only read it this year - a psychotherapist tracks down five of his most interesting patients twenty years after their therapy ended...wanting to find out whether psychotherapy makes any difference...very funny and thought provoking.
Best Film - ’Little Miss Sunshine’.......almost made me reclaim my faith in the american film industry...almost.....
Writer of 2006 - David Harrower for showing me that I should never judge a writer by one piece alone...I hated his ‘Knives in Hens’ play and would never have knowlingly gone to see anything else that he wrote...and then he comes along with ‘Blackbird’......just supremely tight tense emotional writing and finding something new to say all at the same time...genius.......
Best Album - ‘Alright Still’ - Lily Allen - it makes me laugh - a really spunky new debut............download 'Nan You're a Window Shopper' from Itunes.....perfectly silly.
Best Gig - Lily Allen at Newcastle Student Union....I danced on plastic seats, drank too much and sang along to every song....like being a teenager all over again...Go Lily!
Best Literary Magazine - Laura Hird's obviously....
Best Writing Website - BBC Writers Room
Best Publisher - Tonto Press because they've only been set up a year and have already published lots of new writers and seem to be sticking to their remit of searching for talented new writers. Writers really need a small press revival as getting a first novel published as an unknown writer is now practically an urban myth.....
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - I loved ‘Being Normal’ by Stephen Shieber in issue 14 and also Megan Hall's ‘Starethrough Eyes’ in issue 15...I guess I have a leaning towards teenage trauma....
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - I really liked Rachel Fox's poetry in issue 15.....particularly 'Pluses and Minuses' and 'Alternatively'.....
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - My favourite non poetry prose piece has been Rodge Glass's piece on 'This is How Israel has been for me.' The Israel/Palestine issue seems to be becoming more and more of a topic for discussion...from Mike Leighs play '2000 years' to 'My Name is Rachel Corrie' - I don't think we get objective news on Israel in this country....I've met people who have visited both Israel and Palestine and they tell me that Israel is very troubled, and obviously Palestine is in a mess....there's a great deal of anger and confusion...peace activists seem at a loss of how to help anymore..... it's a hard topic to bring up without seeming anti semetic...but to steal from Lionel Shriver I think maybe we do need to talk about Israel....
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - I guess with Take That and All Saints reforming then we're only a Vikki Beckham half inch away from a Spice Girls reunion.......can Sporty still backflip......is Mel B still scary...did Ginger find her marbles.......these are the important questions people....
Moment of 2006 - Rosh, My step son type thing finally finishing his biology GCSE coursework.......means nothing to anyone else but believe me it was monumental here in Heaton.
Person of 2005 - Heather Mills McCartney!
2006 in 12 Words - Of my 'things to do' list - I've ticked off 3...oh well.
© Rosalind Wyllie
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - I suppose I'll go patriotic on this one and take ‘Inventory’ by my friend and teacher, Dionne Brand. It's probably the best attempt at categorizing the last six years of world affairs and the cumulative effect is (surprise!) dizzying.
Best Film - ‘Half Nelson’. Saw this when it first came out in Sept. and was blown away. Acting is awesome across the board. Ryan Gosling, obviously, but also Shareeka Epps and Anthony Mackie. "It's just not cool to be a Nazi anymore."
Best Album - I'll take the new Tom Waits box-set.
Best Writing Website - Cough*thievesjargon.com*Cough. I'm sorry, I had some self-promotion in my throat there...
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Paul Kavanagh, bitches!!!!
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - II'll call it a tie between John Sweet and Ashok Niyogi, both from Issue 12.
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - Pshaw. Who am I to be falsely humble?
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - 2007 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the world's first curling club. Hurry.
Moment of 2006 - Monday, June 13th, 7:14:25 to 7:14:41 EST.
<
2006 in 12 Words - Quoting Zen Master Issa: "It's dirty, this world, and in there's no place for me."
© Jacob McArthur Mooney
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - A. Igoni Barret – ‘Caves of Rotten Teeth’, Matthew Firth's 'Suburban Pornography and Other Stories', ‘Unbuttoning the Violin’ (Banipal), ‘The Accidental’ – Ali Smith, ‘Empty Frames’ – D.B Cox……
Best Film - ‘Grizzly Man’, ‘Adam and Paul’, ‘Tsotsi’, ‘Transamerica’, ‘Heading South’, ‘Paradise Now’, ‘The Squid and the Whale’, ‘Yossi and Jagger’...
Writer of 2006 - A. Igoni Barrett for his brilliant debut collection ‘Caves of Broken Teeth’ and for deservedly winning the BBC World Service Short Story Competition. Booker Prize look out when this man writes a novel!!
Best Album - Seu Jorge – The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions, Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways, Modern Times – Bob Dylan
Best Gig - Alan Bennett’s ‘The History Boys’ at Edinburgh King’s Theatre
Best Literary Magazine - The Stinging Fly, Storie, The Savage Kick, Banipal
Best Writing Website - Pulp.net, Scarecrow, Barcelona Review, 3am, Words in Here
Best Publisher - Good old Canongate Books, Tonto Press, Wrecking Ball Press
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Nicole Taylor – ‘Better’, ‘Uncle Otto’ – Zsolt Alapi, Clare Azzopardi – ‘The Green Line’, Anny de Foosaf – ‘Dean Street’....
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - Tony O’Neill – ‘Blackburn, Lancashire’, ‘Lament for a Poetess’ – Tracy Patrick, ‘A Blaze of Glory’ – John Vander, ‘The Luminous Flame of Rosie Savin’ – Kevin Williamson, ‘Out of Sight’ – Ciara McLaverty, ‘Ralph’s Still Here’ – Mike Estabrook...
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - Bless them all for tirelessly coming up with the goods for each issue.
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - My mum, June Hird finally in print in her own right in ‘Dear Laura’ which Canongate will be publishing in March 2007.
Moment of 2006 - I’ve been blessed with some great moments this year – meeting my friend Trev Taylor, who helped set up this site and who ‘Hope’ is dedicated to for the first time when he surprised me after my reading at Crossing Border in The Hague with Tony O’Neill / receiving the typeset proofs for ‘Dear Laura’ / cocktails from makeshift cocktail shakers with Marc and Deana Goldin / the whole week but particularly the final night concert of an Arvon course for Highland school pupils I to-tutored with John Glenday / a magical few days in Valtos, Outer Hebrides with the wonderful Art Angel group / the drummers in Ballina High Street the final night of the Rebel Yell festival in Co. Mayo / David Bowie in ‘Extras’
Person of 2005 - June Hird, for always being around / Trev Taylor for the best surprise of my life / everyone at Canongate for their hard work and enthusiasm for ‘Dear Laura’ / Cynthia, Andrea and Lindy at Arvon for asking me co-tutor some great courses and looking after me while I was doing so / Sean Walsh for organising the Rebel Yell Festival / all my regular contributors to the site.
2006 in 7 Words - Hiya mucker, get this down you
© Laura Hird
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - 'Digging The Vein' by Tony O'Neill
Best Film - ‘American Hardcore', an excellent documentary about the lesser explored punk subculture that flourished in the American underground, circa 1981 - 1986 and is a wider indictment of Reagan's America. The parallels to today's political/cultural climate are depressingly familiar. It came out in the US in 2006 and is out in the UK in 2007.
Writer of 2006 - I've yet to actually read him, but anyone who created such a stir as
Nobel-winner Orhan Pamuk did in his home country of Turkey for acknowledging the persecution and murder of over one million Armenians in the early 20th century deserves credit. Though not often written about in the mainstream media, the knock-on effects of these brutal killings and subsequent Aremenian diaspora throughout the generations are still being felt
worldwide. The Turkish government's refusal to acknowledge their part in it
makes them as bad as Holocaust deniers. Which in itself is an arrestable
accusation. A writer who receives multiple death threats for speaking such
truths needs to be taken seriously - and commended.
Best Album - 'Absolution' by Muse, 'Orchestra Of Wolves' by Gallows and 'When We Were Young' by Akira The Don, all for different reasons
Best Gig - Marmaduke Duke @ The Barfly, London. June 2006, Gay For Johnny Depp @ Buffalo Bar, London, June 2006, Slayer @ Brixton academy.
Best Literary Magazine - 'Dreamss That Money Can Buy
Best Writing Website - A tie between 3AM, Laura Hird and two weblogs, Straight From The Fridge and Scarecrow
Best Publisher - In the UK, Wrecking Ball Press. In the US, Future Tense.
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Adelle Stripe
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - Tony O'Neill
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - Peter Murphy
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - The Off-Beat Generation and their hardline military faction The Brutalists.
Moment of 2006 - On a sand bank of the Thames, around about midnight. It was probably October.
Person of 2005 - Dan Fante
2006 in 12 Words - Better than last year but hopefully not as good as next year...
© Ben Myers
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘Spot of Bother’ by Mark Haddon
Best Film - 'Brokeback Mountain'
Writer of 2006 - Mark Haddon
Best Album - Damien Rice - 'O'
Best Gig - The one in my village pub, every Sunday night.
Best Writing Website - This one
Best Publisher - Canongate, even though they keep rejecting me
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Lots and Lots
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - John Glenday
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - More wrinkles
Moment of 2006 - An email saying my novel is going to be published,
Person of 2005 - Pete Bene
2006 in 5 Words - My god, is it christmas again, ALREADY?
© Cynthia Rogerson
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - Lisa Randall – ‘Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions’
Best Literary Magazine - American Drivel Review
Best Writing Website - Dogmatika
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Willie Smith
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - Michelle McGrane
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - Jacob McArthur Mooney
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - James O Jenkins
2006 in 12 Words - Hell x 12
© Paul Kavanagh
Reproduced with permission
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Paul Kavanagh
Best Literary Magazine (apart from www.laurahird.com) - Thieves Jargon
2006 in 12 Words - Everywhere, no matter what we chose to wear, the war wore on.
© Willie Smith
Reproduced with permission
Best Album - Amy Whinehouse - Back to Black
Best Gig - Primal Scream
Best Writing Website - This one for
featuring such good quality writing as it does, and most of all for being so
supportive of new writers.
Person of 2006 - Stephen Fry for possibly doing the most that anyone's done in years to reduce stigma in mental health
© Megan Hornbuckle
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘Hating Olivia’ by Mark SaFranko
Writer of 2006 - Laura Hird
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Heidi James
Best Literary Magazine - Savage Kick
Best Film - Bon Cop, Bad Cop (Quebec/Canada)
© Zsolti Alapi
Reproduced with permission
MOIRA McPARTLIN
Best Book - Sorry to be predictable but for me it was ‘On Beauty’ by Zadie Smith. It is perfect.
Best Film - ‘E11’ – Dunbarton’s own Dave MacLeod’s successful attempt at the worlds hardest rock climb on Dunbarton Rock.
Writer of 2006 - Elizabeth Reeder, her radio play ‘Standing Still Running’ broadcast on radio 4 was splendid.
Best Album - Floorfillers – Club Classics - at last I too can sit in my car at traffic lights and boom, boom, boom!
Best Gig - The Island Tapes performed at the Arches as part of the Celtic Connections Festival. Music and archive film footage from Scottish Islands. Wonderful images and sounds from our dying heritage.
Best Literary Magazine - Storie, Pulp.Net and Granta for consistently churning out great quality fiction.
Best Writing Website - Laurahird.com – of course. Also ideas4writers.co.uk.
Best Publisher - Canongate
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - Glasgow Hip Hop band Empafy - http://www.myspace.com/empafyesb and
Peter Goodfellow and The Lost Gallery exhibit at the Glasgow Art Fair. Unusual contemporary Scottish Art, not a boring blue and yellow landscape in sight.
Moment of 2006 - For me it was the day I opened up the email that informed me I had won first prize in a poetry competition. I have never won anything before. I was thrilled.
Person of 2005 - My husband Colin for reading and editing my painful first drafts.
2006 in 12 Words - January; homeless, jobless, futureless, December; novel complete-ish, three publications. Things are happening
© Moira McPartlin
Reproduced with permission
Best Album - It's Muse's 'Black Holes and Revelations', by something like a square mile.
Best Film - 'Pan's Labyrinth': one of the only actually outstanding films out this year.
© Iain James Robb
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘Winterwood’ by Patrick McCabe
Best Film - 'The Departed'
Best Album - 'Modern Times' - Bob Dylan
Best Gig - Came So Far for Beauty - A Tribute to Leonard Cohen. The Point, Dublin. Featuring Nick Cave, Lou Reed, Jarvis Cocker, Beth Orton, Laurie Anderson, The Handsome Family, and a host of other luminaries paying tribute to the great Canadian bard.
Best Literary Magazine - The Stinging Fly
Best Writing Website - www.laurahird.com
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - Bruce Springsteen's next album. Following the glory of the Seeger Sessions, it will be really interesting to see how that 'freeing up' wil affect his songwriting.
Moment of 2006 - EDGE06: Rebel Yell! - A Celebration of Contemporary Scottish Literature at Ballina Arts Centre, Sept 06. Reading Night featuring Paul Reekie, Laura Hird, Gordon Legge and Kevin Williamson.
Person of 2006 - Bob Dylan
2006 in 12 Words - ‘January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December!
© Sean Walsh
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - Cormac McCarthy's ‘The Road’. All I'm going to say is, read it.
Best Film - ‘Children of Men’ adapted
from the PD James novel) writer/dir. Alfonso Cuaron, starring Clive Owen. A vision of the future that has uncomfortable resonances with the present: is this why audiences in Britain, where it opened, were scared away? Looks as if it may do better in the US.
Writer of 2006 - Samuel Beckett, who made a something of a reluctant comeback in the centenary of his birth. Would love to know his take on that. “I can't go on. I'll go on”, perhaps. And short fiction writer - Laura Hird.
Best Album - Thom Yorke – ‘The Eraser’
Best Gig - An old man busking in a ruin. No boogy box, just a violin
Best Literary Magazine - Pulp Net. (It's an online magazine of course, but I am putting that here so as to leave the next spot free.)
Best Writing Website - Actually, it's both. Biassed, me?
Best Publisher - Canongate
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Mark Gallacher
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - Oops, didn't spot any poetry.
I am slightly allergic to the stuff, so it's probably a self-
protective mechanism that kept me from noticing it was there.
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - Kara Kellar Bell
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - The end of Celebrity. I'm certainly hoping it will end before the newspapers start publishing endoscopic images of celebrities having sex together, or having
plastic surgery or whatever it is that they spend their time doing or
having done to them, when not arguing expensively over expensive
divorces.
Moment of 2006 - A personal one this, to avoid the multiplicity
of big bad global moments: I was looking at my bank account online
earlier this month and trying not to panic, when an email arrived
from Fish Publishing to say they'd picked my story ‘Dancing on
Canvey’ as the winner of the Fish Short Histories prize. Anyone who
writes short stories and knows how rare it is to get paid for them
will understand the euphoria that ensued.
Person of 2005 - Tricky given my feelings on celebrity, but could do worse than vote for Hugo Chavez. In fact, why doesn't he start some funky political parties in Britain?
2006 in 12 Words - global refugee frenzy war blogosphere gun clone harsh apocalypse zone
climate islamic
© Lane Ashfeldt
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - 'The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel’
Best Film - ‘Little Miss Sunshine’
Writer of 2006 - D.B. Cox
Best Album - Bob Dylan - 'Modern Times'
Best Literary Magazine - One Story
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Writer - D.B. Cox
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - My screenplay, 'Fitz Whispers' to be optioned.
Moment of 2006 - When George Bush declared himself "The Decider"
Person of 2005 - Bryce Wilkins USMC,Iraq
2006 in 12 Words - My muse pulled up a chair and whispered,"Long time no see."
© Marilynn M. Wilkins
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘Digging The Vein’ - Tony O’Neill and 'Hope and Other Urban Tales' - Laura Hird
Best Film - ‘Oi! This Is England’ - (Shane Meadows)
Writer of 2006 - Dan Fante
Best Album - 'The King of New Orleans Jazz' - Jelly Roll Morton with his Red Hot Peppers
Best Gig - Primal Scream, Cornhill Exchange, Cambridge
Best Literary Magazine - Dogmatika
Best Writing Website - www.laurahird.com
Best Publisher - Wrecking Ball Press
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Megan Hall
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - Tony O'Neill
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - Steven Porter
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - Faux Pas magazine
Person of 2006 - Laura Hird
2006 in 13 Words - A Rollercoasterrideofupsanddownsplusaremarkableloveattack
© Joseph Ridgwell
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘Kingdom Come’ – J.G. Ballard
Best Film - ‘Little Miss Sunshine’
Writer of 2006 - J.G. Ballard
Best Album - 'Hospitals' - Off With Their Heads
Best Gig - World-Famous Pontani Sisters
Best Literary Magazine - Pen Pusher
Best Writing Website - Yer looking at it
Best Publisher - Single Cell Press
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Leon Stern
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - Rodge Glass
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - The SNP getting in.
Moment of 2006 - Getting my first job in a new country.
Person of 2005 - My lovely wife, Ellen.
2006 in 12 Words - Unemployment, stress, job, writing, interviewing, William S Burroughs, music, movies, booze, love, contentment
© Graham Rae
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘Lost Girls’ - A. Moore, M. Gebbie
Best Film - ’Loose Change'
Writer of 2006 - S. Barrett, Dosage, Solo Press
Best Album - Tom Waits – ‘Orphans: Brawlers & Bastards’
Best Gig - Being Obama
Best Literary Magazine - Boulevard
Best Writing Website - LauraHird.COM
Best Publisher - Bleak House
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Michael Keenaghan
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - Dave Morrison
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - Tony O'Neill
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - more lies & the constipation that hatches
them.
Moment of 2006 - Cheney blasting his buddy in the face.
Person of 2005 - S.B. Cohen
2006 in 6 Words - the rise of the middle finger
© M. Frias May
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy
Best Film - 'Capote'
Writer of 2006 - Cormac McCarthy
Best Album - 'Onda' by Fiamma Fumana
Best Gig - Tom Waits at the Chicago Auditorium Aug '06
Best Literary Magazine - The Stinging Fly
Best Writing Website - LauraHird.COM
Best Publisher - Knopf & Canongate
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Michael Keenaghan
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Poet - D.B. Cox
Best www.laurahird.com Reviewer - Graham Rae
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - Comedian Dave Chappelle (please come back Dave, we miss ya).
Moment of 2006 - O.J. Simpson's compulsion to confess in a book and unreleased tv special titled:'If I did it'. Priceless...
Person of 2005 - Barack Obama, the African-American politician & future saviour of the U.S.
2006 in 12 Words - The U.S. hits new lows -- get it sorted before it's too late...
© Marc Goldin
Reproduced with permission
Best Book - ‘The Fahrenheit Twins’ by Michel Faber. The best short stories in the world ........ ever!
Best Film - ‘Little Miss Sunshine - dysfunctional families have never been such fun.
Best Album - ‘Songs for Parents Who Enjoy Drugs’ by Hamell on Trial. An album to make you smile and think.
Best Gig of 2006 - Kasabian - straight outta Leicester! Tho i actually saw them in birmingham.
Best Writing Website - laurahird.com of course. The only website in the whole of the world kind enough to give my work a platform.
Best www.laurahird.com Showcase Fiction Writer - Heidi James - soft, deft and cruel all at once. Zsolt Alapi - simply elegant.
Who/what to look out for in 2007 - celebrity death row
Moment of 2006 - Steve Harmison sends the first ball of the ashes series straight into Andrew Flintoff's hands. Flintoff is fielding at second slip. A cricketing nation holds its' head in its' hands.
2006 in 12 Words - Healthy and steadfast progress towards accursed anonymity, liver cirrhosis and old age.
© Matt Hassell
Reproduced with permission
© 2007 Laura Hird All rights reserved.
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