Martin Goodman

 

“Such narrow, narrow confines we live in. Every so often, one of us primates escapes these dimensions, as Martin Goodman did. All we can do is rattle the bars and look after him as he runs into the hills. We wait for his letters home” – The LA Times.

 

Martin Goodman’s first novel On Bended Knees was shortlisted for the Whitbread Award. His latest is Slippery When Wet (Transita). Other books have told the life story of an Indian holywoman, travelled the world in search of sacred mountains, and plunged into the Peruvian Amazon on a shamanic journey. He has written for The Guardian, The Independent, The LA Weekly, The Scotsman, The New York Observer and The Financial Times among many others. His stories have appeared in Critical Quarterly, Blithe House Quarterly, The Harrington Quarterly, The Richmond Review, Iron, and Gravitas. With Sara Maitland he is writing an Arts Council guide to mentoring creative writers, and has taught creative writing at the Universities of Lancaster and Hertfordshire, and for the British Council. His latest project is a biography of the scientist J.S.Haldane, for Simon & Schuster. Please visit his website, www.MartinGoodman.com.

 

“I am excited by this chance to find fresh new voices in fiction. One element of my own writing is that I like to inhabit different genres and give them a personal twist. I tell you this just so you know that I am open to any form of story you wish to deliver. Shock me if you like, move me to tears if you want to, impress me with something that is calm or something that is wild. There’s no need to guess what a winning story might be, and try to write that one. The winning story will be one that is inspired and well crafted, with some language that flows and pleases in itself, that shows promise in its opening and sustains itself truly till the end. It will be a story like no other, because its writer will shine through it somehow. Let the story spring from you, work at it, let it rest a while then work at it again. Send us a story that you’re proud of. I very much look forward to reading it!”