SHELF LIFE
The short story writer turned literary novelist picks five titles which struck a chord with him in the process of becoming a writer
SELALI FIAMANYA
My debut, Before We Hit the Ground, became a novel despite my best efforts. I first wrote short stories and flash fiction for myself, then briefly for submission to competitions, and then after many rejections, focused on writing for zines that I made with friends. Zines – short for magazines – are informal publications made by individuals or groups. They can be scrawled in pen on folded A4, designed for risograph by art-school kids, or printed at near-professional quality into bound magazines if you have a bit of a budget. I made mine with friends, friends of friends, and people who we just thought were cool and asked to contribute. A zine pal recommended I apply to a writing workshop, and through a few of those I started taking my writing more seriously. I collated and expanded my stories, which centered around a Ghanaian-Scottish family dealing with the grief of their eldest son’s death in his twenties, who himself led a lonely and frustrated life. I’m interested in why people do things, and so my stories explored the decisions these people made in reaction to grief, migration, loneliness, coercive relationships and desire. Eventually I had enough material to apply to an open call for unfinished manuscripts by my publisher, The Borough Press. I submitted as a short story collection, but my first editor Margot bent my arm and convinced me to write a novel, despite my initial terror – a novel seemed like an insurmountable project, compared to individual stories. I’ll forever be grateful to her.