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Danuta Kean interviews Lisa Blower, Mslexia

Lisa black and white photoDanuta Kean interviews Lisa Blower for this season’s Mslexia, in their Debut Interview slot. She writes, within the two page spread:

“A bright, witty woman, Blower wears her academic credentials lightly: she has a PhD and lectured in Creative Writing at Bangor University. Sitting Ducks was written out of her frustration at never hearing working-class voices, like her own, in fiction.’It is about telling the stories of people that wouldn’t otherwise be told,’ she explains.’These are working- class families trying to exist on even less than before.’

Exploitation of the poor should infuriate, but Blower handles her rage deftly. The novel is not a polemic. A fan of Alan Bennett, she has the same ear for dialogue and characters that are sympathetic, human and funny, but not laughable. Tory councillor Roy Dingwall is described with a precision that nails his vanity and corruption and draws a wry smile; in one scene an attempt at seduction is relayed with a deadpan eye for detail that makes the reader chuckle with embarrassment and pity.”

You can hear Lisa Blower along with a distinguished panel On October 10th at an event called Workers’ Writes  – talking about working class literature at this October’s Birmingham Literature Festival

Danuta Kean is Books Editor of Mslexia and a respected publishing expert and journalist. Her work appears regularly in national newspapers, including the Financial Times and Independent on Sunday. She is a regular speaker at festivals, interviewing authors and revealing the inner workings of the book trade.

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