Toby Litt

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Overview
Overview
Biography
Toby Litt joined Birkbeck in 2008. He is the author of four collections of stories, eleven novels, a collection of essays, Mutants, and a memoir, Wrestliana.
His most recent novel, Patience, published by Galley Beggar Press, was shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize 2020.
His book of stories, Life-Like, published by Seagull Press, was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize. His story ‘John & John’ won the Manchester Fiction Prize, and his story ‘Call it “The Bug” Because I Have No Time To Think of a Better Title’ was shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award.
With Emily Hall, he has collaborated on a trilogy of song cycles ‘Love Songs’, ‘Life Cycle,’ and ‘Rest’ on the themes of love, birth and death.
In 2014, Vastation, an opera with a libretto by Toby and music by Samy Moussa was premiered at the Munich Biennale. Also in 2014, Toby collaborated with Mark Buckingham on Dead Boy Detectives, a monthly comic published by Vertigo DC. Toby’s completion of Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel, Free Country: A Tale of the Children’s Crusade, was published in September 2015.
Toby is the editor of the Writers Rebel website, and the Fiction Editor of MIR Online.
Web profiles
Administrative responsibilities
- Convenor of the MFA in Creative Writing
Professional activities
Core Management Team of the SMaRteN (Student Mental Health Research Network).
Professional memberships
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2011
ORCID
0000-0001-8065-2858 -
Research
Research
Research interests
- Short Stories
- Satire
- Soto Zen Buddhism
- Science Fiction
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Supervision and teaching
Supervision and teaching
Supervision
I welcome Creative Writing PhD applications.
Completions:
- Christos Callow, 'Etherotopia, an Ideal State and a State of Mind: Utopian Philosophy as Literature and Practice' (2014)
Current doctoral researchers
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LAURA KAYE
Teaching
I teach on the MFA in Creative Writing.
I am also a Tutor on the MA in Creative Writing.
Teaching modules
- Reading and Writing the Contemporary (AREN223S7)
- Advanced Writing Workshop (AREN224S7)
- Creative Writing Summer Term Lecture Series (AREN227Z7)
- Writing Workshop (ENHU039S7)
- Contemporary Writing 2: Genre (ENHU041S7)
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Publications
Publications
Article
- Litt, Toby (2016) Sourcedness. Critical Quarterly 58 (1), pp. 96-101. ISSN 0011-1562.
Book
- Litt, Toby (2019) Patience. Galley Beggar Press.
- Litt, Toby (2018) Wrestliana. Norwich, UK: Galley Beggar Press.
- Litt, Toby (2018) Notes for a young gentleman. Kolkata, India: Seagull Books. ISBN 9780857424853.
- Litt, Toby (2016) Mutants. Calcutta, India: Seagull Books. ISBN 9780857423337.
- Litt, Toby (2014) Life-like. Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780857422071.
- Litt, Toby (2010) King Death. London, UK: Penguin. ISBN 9780141902920.
- Litt, Toby (2009) I play the drums in a band called okay. London, UK: Penguin. ISBN 9780141017921.
- Litt, Toby (2009) Journey into Space. London, UK: Penguin. ISBN 9780141902906.
- Litt, Toby (2008) Hospital: a dream vision. London, UK: Penguin. ISBN 9780141901244.
- Litt, Toby (2007) Hospital. London, UK: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 9780241142806.
- Litt, Toby (2005) Ghost story. London, UK: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141017907.
- Litt, Toby (2004) Beatniks. London, UK: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141017938.
- Litt, Toby (2004) Finding myself. London, UK: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141006543.
- Litt, Toby (2003) Adventures in capitalism. London, UK: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141007953.
- Litt, Toby (2003) Exhibitionism. London, UK: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141006536.
- Litt, Toby (2001) Deadkidsongs. London, UK: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140285789.
- Litt, Toby (2000) Corpsing. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140285772.
Book Section
- Litt, Toby (2002) Notes on "Notes of a Son and Brother" (by Henry James). In: Notes of a Son and Brother. London, UK: Gibson Square Books. pp. 1-10. ISBN 9781903933121.
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Business and community
Business and community
I have media training.
Outreach
I blog at www.tobylitt.com - recent blogs have included two free writing manuals, intended to help writers without access to teaching or peer support.
I make regular appearances on Radio 3’s literary programme, The Verb, and have also been interviewed on The Today Programme, Free Thinking and Front Row. I wrote and presented three radio documentaries for Radio 3 on Osip Mandelstam, Komitas and Paul Celan.
I have written for a wide variety of websites, newspapers and magazines, including cnn.com, Libération, The Guardian, The Literary Review, The Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph, Modern Painters, Esquire, New Statesman and Cosmopolitan. I have interviewed Gilbert & George, Howard Hodgkin, Muriel Spark, Jennifer Egan, James Frey, Junot Diaz and J.G.Ballard.
I have travelled with the British Council on cultural exchange tours to many countries including Armenia, Slovenia, Croatia and China.