Virtual Onion

The SUN reviewed my book today under the Something for the Weekend section. Here’s what they said:

“This debut novel is a collection of short stories which is perfect to dip in and out of at your leisure. Each tale takes us to a different country, spanning London to America. Along the way we meet a beautiful woman trapped in a marriage because her husband is so determined that money is the only thing of importance, a man who is at his happiest in his shed writing a story he knows he will never finish and a woman who is terrified of the rain after a traumatic experience during her childhood. Aguirre has an amazing imagination and each story is individual and thought-provoking. This collection of tales is perfect bedtime fodder.”

The longlist for the 2008 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award was announced earlier this week. The 35,000 Euro prize is currently the world’s richest for the short story. Last year the prize went to Miranda July for No One Belongs Here More Than You. I am happy to say that this year an unprecedented 14 British books made the list, including my own 29 Ways to Drown!  

I wish all my fellow writers lots of luck and I’m hopeful this says a lot about the future of the short story in the UK.  The entire longlist can be found on the Frank O’Connor site.

Britain (14 authors)

Torc James Waddington (Ogo Press)
The Loudest Sound and Nothing Clare Wigfall (Faber)
29 Ways to Drown Niki Aguirre (Flipped Eye Publishing)
Little Marvel Wendy Perriam (Robert Hale Limited)
Aroma Bingo David Gaffney (Salt Publishing)
Some New Ambush Carys Davies (Salt Publishing)
Balancing on the Edge of the World Elizabeth Baines (Salt Publishing)
Broken Things Padrika Tarrant (Salt Publishing)
Searching Glance Linda Cracknell (Salt Publishing)
The I Love You Book William Guy (Salt Publishing)
Vanessa Gebbie Words From a Glass Bubble (Salt Publishing)
Body Parts: The Anatomy of Love Richard Bardsley (Salt Publishing)
Tiny Deaths Robert Shearman (Comma Press)
Instruction Manual for Swallowing Adam Marek (Comma Press)

Monday 12 May, 6.30-8.15 pm,
RADA Foyer Bar, Malet Street,
London WC1E 7JN

Readings and Q&A to celebrate the publication of books by three Birkbeck Creative Writing MA alumni: 29 Ways to Drown by Niki Aguirre, Out of a Clear Sky by Sally Hinchcliffe, and Estrella Damn by Matthew Loukes. Q&A facilitated by Julia Bell.

Admission is free of charge, but with a suggested donation to Oxfam of £3.50.

To reserve places in advance, email writloud@aol.co.uk.

14 May 2008

As part of  Get London Reading, I will be at Sutton Central Library reading from my collection of short fiction 29 Ways to Drown. There will be a Q & A session after and a chance to purchase the book. If you are in the area, come along and say hello. 

Venue: Sutton Central Library
Time: Wednesday, 14 May at 7:00pm
Admission: Free

My reading at Free the Word went really well. International Futures was MC’ed by the wonderfully punctual and poetic Nii Parkes. There were some great events and readings over the weekend. I had a chance to meet Francisco Goldman, author of The Art of Political Murder: who killed the Bishop? I first read Goldman’s Night of the Long White Chickens at uni(!) so it was a pleasure to chat to him.

Salman Rushdie finished off the festival and was captivating, both in terms of extracts from his new novel The Enchantress of Florence and in the interview with Lisa Appignanesi.

Flight of the Blackbird, one of the stories from 29 Ways to Drown, will be featured in the special Christmas edition of LITRO. If you take the underground (and even if you don’t) please keep on eye out for it.

LITRO is a literary alternative to Metro, distributed at London underground stations and a variety of shops for FREE every other Friday.

Check out their website for more info: www.litro.co.uk

29 Ways to Drown (Launch reading)
26.11.2007

Niki Aguirre’s debut collection of short stories, 29 Ways to Drown (lubin & kleyner) reveals a writer with an incredible range, humour and balance. Being the first female writer from Birkbeck’s highly regarded MA Creative Writing programme to have a book of fiction published, after Shaun Levin’s A Year of Two Summers, her first reading is hosted by the faculty at Room 538, Birkbeck College, Malet Street, London WC1 7HX.

Reading Details:
Date – Monday, November 26, 2007
Venue – Room 538, Birkbeck College, Malet Street, London WC1 7HX.
Time – 6pm
Entry – Free

Signed copies of the book will be available for sale. Also available on INPRESS and Amazon.co.uk

I will be in at the Brooklyn Book Fair in September doing a reading for X-24 and possibly something from 29 Ways to Drown.

September 27, 2007
x-24 Anthology reading
with Niki Aguirre, Jennifer Kabat, Laila Lalami and Nii Parkes
California State University
Los Angeles, California

The x-24 launch took place last night at the Barbican Library. I met fellow anthology writers, heard some great stories and mingled over dinner & wine.

James Smith of theshortstory.org.uk wrote a good review of the launch. Read -> Glass eyes and slippery eels.

The BBK Rebels, as my friend tagged us, performed the other night at the Poetry Cafe. Despite initial jitters, it was great fun and I enjoyed it. The voice of each writer was evident in the reading of their stories. What a great bunch! Looking forward to more.

Harriet Fisher
Harry Whitehead
Fran Merivale
Mary Louise Buxton
Nii Ayikwei Parkes
and Niki Aguirre