'Mint' showcases fresh talent at Anglia Ruskin

Called Mint, the project has been led by six students from the MA in Creative Writing and features the work of students from across Anglia Ruskin, as well as recent alumni.   

The students evaluated nearly 100 submissions, including flash fiction, poems and short stories, before editing the final edition down to 23 pieces.

The collection includes pieces from two recent graduates who have already received national acclaim.  Kaddy Benyon has been published by Salt and is the poet in residence at the Scott Polar Research Institute, while Natalya Anderson won the prestigious Bridport poetry prize last year.

Penny Hancock, Royal Literary Fellow at Anglia Ruskin, acclaimed thriller writer and former Anglia Ruskin student, was involved in selecting the shortlist and also provided the foreword.

In her foreword, Hancock writes: “There must be countless creative works – some truly great – that never reach an audience.  So this anthology is a valuable gift, to writers, to readers, and to everyone who believes creative writing has intrinsic value.”

Student Prem Chaphekar, one of the editors of Mint, said: “Each of us had pieces we loved, often for different reasons: some for their experimentation and risk-taking, some for the sheer beauty of the language.

“Some pieces were unanimously well-received; some left a sole dissenting voice bemused.  That is the nature of creative writing.  That is the nature of art.

“Every page turned will reveal a new delight, a different style. Something you love, maybe even something you hate.”

Laura Dietz, Course Leader for the MA in Creative Writing, said: “The extraordinary student editorial team of Mint has produced something beautiful.

“To produce superb writing is one thing, but to forge that writing into a fine book – greater than the sum of its parts – is another achievement.  This is literary citizenship at its best, and the Department of English and Media could not be more proud.”

Mint (£6.99) is available to buy from Heffers, Waterstones and John Smith’s bookshops in Cambridge, and will be available as an e-book soon.

 
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For more press information please contact:
Jon Green on t: 01245 68 4717, e: jon.green@anglia.ac.uk
Jamie Forsyth on t: 01245 68 4716, e: jamie.forsyth@anglia.ac.uk
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