SC: Your practice encompasses several outputs from film and television to music videos and writing — is there an overarching ethos that tethers these diverse works?

But as we grew up, we started to realise that home became a sanctuary out of necessity rather than anything else. The aggressive frisking of a stop and search regime could do that to you. The closing down of youth clubs and public parks could do that too. The people in the area changed. Didn’t look quite the same as they did before. Seeing your friends move further and further out of London because the council had relocated them elsewhere. Birmingham. Cardiff. Ipswich. MSN was the only common place. Our centre of gravity. Sometimes this is why I think Mandem was written. To remove the invisible cloud that stood between myself and the sun. To remove the cloud that stands anywhere between us boys and the sun. J D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye sums it up the best: “Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them—if you want to. Just as some day, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful, reciprocal arrangement. And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.” The synopsis of the series reads: “Twelve-year-old girls Lizzie Sancho and Dido Belle are from different worlds – Lizzie lives in Westminster in her dad’s tea shop, while Belle is an heiress being brought up by her aunt and uncle at grand Kenwood House – but they both share a love of solving mysteries. When their eyes meet in the audience of the Drury Lane theatre one night, both girls are sure they’ve seen something suspicious on stage. Lizzie and Belle soon find themselves on the trail of a mystery – and becoming best friends. Can they work out what is going on in time to prevent a murder?” The North Will Rise Again is an in-depth exploration written by a native Northerner who wants answers to some of the biggest political questions facing the North in modern times. The North/South divide, the collapse of Labour’s Red Wall and the impact of austerity are all explored within this book, interwoven with Niben’s own personal story and family history. This book delves into how our country came to be so starkly divided, how geographical divides have shaped socioeconomic inequality, and what the future looks like for the North.Iggy is an award-winning filmmaker, artist and writer whose work touches upon themes of identity, community and coming of age. Known for his distinctive style and gripping, unexpected stories, his work crosses many mediums from film to poetry to photography.

Joanna Williams aka Joanna Brown is a writer and educator, and was the runner up but ‘highly recommended’ for the Life Writing Prize 2020 with Birds can be heard singing through open windows, a piece on maternal bonding and loss. Joanna also facilitates creative writing workshops. Last year she was involved in the development of the literary education programme Africa Writes: Young Voices, linking poets with London school students to explore writing from Africa and the diaspora. In this reflective book, activist and writer Munroe Bergdorf reveals how transitioning is a universal part of the human experience, and something that all of us can relate to. By w riting from her personal experience of gender transition and integrating theory from key experts and activists, Bergdorf reveals how we can understand transitioning as a shared experience. By shining a light on the inevitable reality of change, it aims to bring us together and build a more understanding and inclusive world.

Summary

Mandem is a collection of stories designed to make you laugh, to make you cry—or perhaps you may not feel anything at all when you read them. I hope you have the courage to read them outside the comfort of your own home, like I finally did. To live fuller lives closer to the sun. But underneath it all, Mandem’s true purpose is for people, like me, to learn something from the beautiful and personal stories that are told within the book. So another person may open it and learn something and offer something to someone so that they may learn something. And so on and so forth. It is truly history in the making. It is truly poetry. saw hot strike summer unfold across the UK. A wave of collective action took workplaces by storm, with employees demanding change as the cost of living crisis laid bare the scale of worker exploitation – all while CEOs and executives made (and continue to make) astronomical profits. Troublemaking combines years of conversations with workers on the frontlines across the globe with clear points for action. Written by two union members who have experience in organising, this book is a great entry point if you’re new to the world of unionising and worker solidarity.