Stewart Home is a British author known for his satirical and avant-garde approach to literature. His works often parody conventional genres, employing techniques such as the appropriation of pulp tropes and postmodern collage. Home is unafraid to experiment with form, as evidenced by his unconventional performance style at readings. His writing challenges readers, forcing them to confront their own complacency.
Ray 'The Cat' Jones, originally aspiring to be the middleweight boxing champion, became infamous as a legendary cat burglar. His notoriety stems from his daring escape from London's Pentonville Prison in 1958 and a series of bold thefts that captured public attention. This tale explores his transformation from a hopeful athlete to a notorious figure in the criminal underworld, highlighting his audacity and cunning.
Strange things happen on social media, such as the almost chance encounter between a London born-and-bred fitness instructor and a drug-fueled Spanish witch. At first Maria Remedios and Martin Cooper share their love for super-dumb, two-chord stomp in private messages, but when they meet magic happens. Maria knows that she and Martin have been lovers in past lives, and sets out to convince the former skinhead that her occult beliefs are true.
Merced Es Benz is an account of a dysfunctional love affair, narrated through SMS, email, Facebook, and Google search results. Set in a barely-credible pre-Olympic London, the story unfolds amidst Bow E3’s high-rises and east London’s art parties, where the offspring of the affluent indulge in 90s rave nostalgia. The remnants of a ‘virtual’ conversation serve as circumstantial evidence, revealing a ‘real’ intimacy behind a messy social media scandal that attracted tabloid attention. Iphgenia Baal’s non-fiction novel navigates the complex intersection of death, mourning, and Facebook, suggesting that downward mobility can be a more intoxicating, albeit less fatal, drug than heroin. This work is part of the Semina series, edited by Stewart Home, which has also featured authors like Bridget Penney and Jarett Kobek. After a journalism career that ended in 2008, Baal has focused on writing, with previous works including The Hardy Tree and Gentle Art, as well as serialised pieces like The Seedless Grape. Some of her writings have been adapted for film, including Heavy Vibrations. She has contributed to various publications and co-founded the imprint AKA. This title is published as part of Book Works’ Semina series (No.8), edited by Stewart Home.
