BlankPages
Wednesday 1st Feb 2012
Welcome! What can we say? It's hit the 43 issues mark and we're at the beginning of another year and it's time for blankpages to go bi-monthly. This announcement comes after much discussion – it's time for us to focus on really taking blankpages up to the next level and to do this we need to dedicate some serious time and effort. If you can be patient with us it will be well worth it.
But worry not! February's blankpages is enough to keep you going for two months until April. Becky Allen's mesmerising fractal-esque geometric drawings will keep you staring at your screen for almost all that time. But if you can drag your eyes away you'll experience AJ Kirby's tender yet unsettling tale of transference in a 'fertility forest', the refreshing simplicity of Ross Phillips' illustrations and an instantly accessible single piece of longer poetry from Tutku Barbaros.
And deftly bugstepping from storyteller to music journalist is David Hartley, who presents this month's mp3 from Salford electronica duo Bug and Leaf.
Ever roaming the cultural landscape for its wonders is our Features Editor Sarah Handyside, and this time she's bringing us Kaffeeklatsch – an unassuming, clever bunch of poets and critics whose manifesto alone is worth perusing; riding that tricky line between poking fun and actually saying something meaningful and worthwhile.
And the pastry underneath our blogging-pin this month is ANBAD, doing all the hard work of finding a new (decent!) band EVERY DAY for your good selves.
How will you possibly get through it all in 2 little months?
See you in April!
Sunday 1st Jan 2012
Forget ‘Happy New Year’… Happy new blankpages! Issue 42 is OUT NOW.
Don’t miss out on our first offering of 2012: a spectacular post-party pick-me-up of fiction, poetry, music and art.
Manchester DJ jazzbo tells us how he became an ‘un-DJ’ with the help of ‘accidental’ dance phenomena CantMixWontMixShdntMixDontMix. We’re not sure he’s quite lost the hang of it though; check out this month’s mp3 for his carefully crafted Eyes Like the Sun.
Ben Walker provides a hauntingly beautiful collection of paintings and takes the well-deserved place as cover artist for this edition; meanwhile artist Anne Brodie takes up the Spotlight with an exploration of science and art in the form of bioluminescent bacteria portraits.. And if that’s not enough art for you, our Features Editor explores one of Manchester’s most exciting exhibition spaces, the Chinese Arts Centre.
For this month’s poetry, we’ve got not one but two featured writers: Evan Cowen and Nigel Wood usher in the New Year with a fresh hit of talent. David Hartley provides your fiction feature: do not miss his brilliant account of a life in retail. You’ll never look at a shop assistant the same way again.
And if you’re looking for a new blog obsession this year, go no further than our blankpicks blog, Bad Penny.
Start your new years resolution here with a brand new culture habit.
Thursday 1st Dec 2011
December’s edition of blankpages is OUT NOW!
What a month! From the Title Art Prize to blankpages Presents, the Blank Media Collective team’s been caught up in a whirlwind of activity. But it doesn’t stop there! We at blankpages have pulled out all the stops to bring you a Christmas cracker of an edition.
Join us this month as we explore the world of Alex Jones’ performance installations, wrap up warm for an exclusive interview with New York band The Shivers, and take a reflective look back on BMC’s most exciting year to date.
With all this talk of unemployment, our blankpicks blog and Manchester Blog Award winner Curriculum Vitae tells you all you need to know about the art of finding a job. Sort of.
And finally, we must have been very good this year, as Christmas has come early for the blankpages team with not one but two brand new editors, who’ve stepped up to the challenge of providing us with a piece of their own work for our literature section. Don’t miss Dan Carpenter or Chris Riesco’s work in our Fiction and Poetry pages.
We hope you have a lovely Christmas and we'll see you in the New Year!
Tuesday 1st Nov 2011
You know what they say; life begins at 40...
blankpages issue 40 is out now!
For your entertainment, we've got Laura J Martin's brand new single Spy, as well as her interview with the head of the Static Caravan label himself, Geoff Dolman. Becky Owens gets involved in a game of pin the tail on the project as she goes in search of Manchester's community writing groups, and top dance music blog Newsic Moos is heading up the conga with its team of “raver-type writers” and DJs.
Nobody goes empty handed; we've stuffed your goody bags full of visual treats from Elliott Burns' masterful imagery in our poetry section, and Sarah Redfern takes up our spotlight feature with her creative transformations of every day objects to delicate things of beauty.
Last but not least is our birthday present to you: Rebecca Joy Sharp provides extracts from her brand new collection of poetry, The Tiger Act, as well as part of The Ballard of Juniper Davy and Sonny Lumiere, which she'll be performing alongside acts such as Fat Roland live at our blankpages Presents... event on 13th November. So if you like what you see in the magazine, come down to BLANKSPACE and see it all live.
Saturday 1st Oct 2011
October's edition of blankpages is out now!
This month we're shedding some light on the world of Neon Art, with some stunning visuals from Karen Ay and Nick Malyon. The Tern Collective artists behind Manchester Time Piece (Annie Harrison, Jude Macpherson and Jacqueline Wylie) tell us how they turned Beetham Tower into a giant sundial, and the author of Song by Toad tells us how he accidentally made a blog. Peter Day is our featured poet this month; we've been given an exclusive excerpt from his poetry and photography collection, Perambulist Somnambulist. This month's Spotlight shines on Creaturemag and their fantastic new book, The Creature Alphabet, exhibiting 26 beautiful illustrations of endangered animals; take a look inside for a sneaky peak. Fiction this month comes from Miriam Foley and her heart wrenching short story, The Summer O'Toole had Pups. And finally... Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's the bird-like Beaky Sue flitting in last but not least with her brand new solo EP, Jars.
Thursday 1st Sep 2011
Welcome to Issue 38, our September edition of blankpages: Blank Media Collective's very own concoction of music, art and literature... and it's time for your monthly dose of all things arty, dears, so open wide: here comes the good stuff.
Get your folk on with All We Are's exclusive interview and brand new MP3; and catch a first glimpse at Blank Media Collective's No.1: Paint exhibition artwork (launching at BLANKSPACE on 8 September), featuring this month's cover artist, Cara Campbell.
We broke the news to you in our last edition that Kevin Bradshaw, our fiction editor, is leaving – read his fantastic parting gift to us in this month's fiction. We've also got brand new poetry from Amy-Rose Derbyshire; hand selected from our very own Blank Media Collective portfolios.
If you've not heard her name before (where have you been?), we'd also like to introduce you to Tamsin Drury, director of hAb Arts, in this month's feature. Read all about her work with the approaching emergency Accommodation festival here.
As always, you can find out how to spend the rest of your month in our Recommends section. Other than reading blankpages, of course.
Enjoy!
READ ISSUE 38 ONLINE NOW... (Click to enlarge)
Monday 1st Aug 2011
Welcome to Issue 37! We can't believe we're almost into our forties! We've been busy little Blankers this month to bring you our August installment of blankpages.
Our Features Editors have been dodging the downpours to get out and about to Manchester's fashion hotspots - investigating the growing Sustainable Fashion market. Brown Brogues bring us this month's mp3, and we've hand-picked August's best events in our Recommends section.
Despite the drizzle, the sun still shines on the beautiful: Phill Hopkins provides cover art with his exploration of the form of the traditional house and Rebecca Audra Smith takes up our poetry section this month with a reinterpretation of Goya's etchings. And that's not all.. We've got a collection of flash fiction from J Sebastian, Naomi Cartwright and Guy Stephenson to keep you entertained on those long summer nights...
READ ISSUE 37 ONLINE NOW... (Click to enlarge)
Friday 1st Jul 2011
Once again blankpages is jam-packed full of exciting stuff for you to enjoy with a glass of Pimms (or whatever you fancy... If you can find a while in your busy cultural calendar this month!). Not least our features on 24:7 Theatre Festival and this month's blog pickers, the elusive Manchester Modernist Society; our highlights this month include first time poetic publishings from Caitlin Bahrey, and fiction from Bad Language's Dan Carpenter – each with specially commissioned illustrations. And don't miss Avital Raz's eclectic sounds in This Month's mp3 – one to watch! Catch her live if you can before she goes back to Berlin!
Wednesday 1st Jun 2011
If you do do anything this week, do this: Listen to This Month's mp3 from legendary folk guitarist John Fairhurst. This radical and influential artist has firmly left his imprint on the Manchester music scene and our Music Editor Baz Wilkinson was lucky enough to catch up with him and find out more about his colourful life and musical influences.
For all you literary souls, indulge yourself with not one, but TWO poets this month, in the form of Tom George and Robert Neumark-Jones, and some beautifully illustrated fiction from Rosalind Kent. Mesmerising cover art this month is supplied by Andy Singleton and check out our recommends section where we handpick only the very best events and workshops for all your creative needs!
We're a friendly bunch here at blankpages, so whether you want some support as a writer, or a new creative outlet, then why not pop along to one of our In_Tuition sessions every Tuesday. As always, keep your submissions coming in and check out our new and revised submission guidelines, intended to help any aspiring artists and writers out there to submit their work to us more easily.
READ ISSUE 35 ONLINE NOW... (Click to enlarge)
Sunday 1st May 2011
blankpages is renewing its call for submissions! Check out our revised guidelines and send in your work – we thought it was about time we freshened up, so get involved!
blankpages is as packed as ever with another exciting blog feature this month from Hayley Flynn. This month's poetry is accompanied by an interview with Canadian contributor Geof Huth and look out for some skilled dialogue in Arden Redgrave's story.
Listen in to this month's mp3 from Yves, and as always we've selected the very best events and festivals for our recommends section so you're in tune with the cultural scene each and every month.
READ THIS MONTH'S ISSUE ONLINE NOW... (Click to enlarge)
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