My spoken word debut at Pop Up Cafe 11, Glastonbury. A reading of the award-winning short story, Facing East, and the poem, We took her to the beach, in memory of Talia Grace Cook, a daughter lost to stillbirth in 2012.

On Saturday the 4th of May, I’ll be stepping out from behind the laptop and giving performance poetry a shot at Pop Up Cafe 11, Glastonbury.

The short story ‘Feeler’ has been published in the ‘The Marvel’ anthology in aid of Comic Relief. Feeler A man disconnected from reality watches in silence as a young boy drowns at the beach. His mind is distracted by the paranoid fears of what sinister creatures and machines are lurking beneath the sand. About ‘The Marvel’ anthology The Marvel and

In 2012, we tragically lost our beautiful daughter, Talia, to stillbirth. Everyone around me kept telling me, ‘There are no words.’   I appreciated the sentiment, but this seemed an awful poverty to be in. A place without words, as if we had tumbled off the edge of language and there was nothing left to say. In this dark and

The short story ‘A corner of a distant field’ has been published in the ‘Hitler did it’ anthology from Stringybark Press. A corner of a distant field An old man digs the ground in a field, contemplating his life, retirement and the changing nature of work and the seasons. But the warm sun and the sweet smell of the meadow

The short story ‘Ox’ has been published in the Gem Street anthology from Labello Press. Ox A man in a nightclub becomes fixated with a girl sporting a partially obscured ‘noughts and crosses’ tattoo peeking out of her dress. Overcome with the desire to find out which side won, he sets about attempting to seduce he.  But he is not

‘Interactions’ anthology available at the discounted price of £12 for a limited period. All proceeds go to Interact Reading Service. The book features work by; Ruth Rendell, Toby Young, Nell Dunn, Seamus Heaney, Alan Ayckbourn, Max Stafford-Clark, Lolita Chakrabati, Alan McCormick, Christian Cook, Adrian Henri, Emily Pedder, Vicky Paine, Pete Barrett.

The story ‘Facing East,’ winner of the 2012 Ruth Rendell Short Story Award has been published in the ‘Interactions’ anthology. All proceeds go to aid the work of the Interact Reading Service in using live readers in hospitals and clubs to aid stroke recovery. Facing East A boy lying in a wheat field is counting down the days until he

InterAct are delighted to announce that the winner of the 2012 Ruth Rendell Short Story competition is Christian Cook with his story Facing East. Baroness Rendell presented the award to Christian on Tuesday 8th May at a ceremony held at the St Bride Foundation near Fleet Street. Also highly commended were Dorothy Moir’s story Under Her Pillow in third place

The short story ‘This concerns no one’ has been published in the ‘Tipping Point’ Anthology. This concerns no one A man with no identity meets a man fleeing a deadly rumour and suggests they change places. About the ‘Tipping Point’ anthology: A collection of short stories that won and were shortlisted for the Rubery Book Award 2011. Every relationship and