VERBAL

Two-issue bundles of the fiction journal Verbal are available through London Books, priced £5. Edited by John King (author of titles such as The Football Factory and Human Punk), Verbal is an A5 small-press production that concentrates on fiction and related areas.

Issue 1 is 60 pages and includes short stories by Kevin Williamson (editor and publisher of the legendary Rebel Inc magazine), Laura Hird, Stewart Home, Karen Elliott, David Murphy and Brent Hodgson, as well as John’s own Bulldog Bobby. Attila The Stockbroker and Bobby Christie add punk rhymes, and there’s an interview with Steve Goodman (author of England Belongs To Me), as well as reviews and comment.

Issue 2 is a 36-page special produced for a Ruts night in Rayners Lane, West London, which doubled as a DrugScope benefit, and was organised by the people at Club Ska. This issue looks at the words, ideas and legacy of The Ruts, a punk band from Hayes and Uxbridge whose lead singer Malcolm Owen died from a drugs overdose while still in his twenties.

Issue 3 is currently in production and will feature interviews with Stewart Home, Alan Sillitoe and Dan Fante, some new fiction, plus reviews of the recent novels by Irvine Welsh and Alan Warner. More details will be available nearer the time it is published.

To buy the Verbal bundle (Issues 1 and 2), please contact us by e-mail info@london-books.co.uk.