Author Interview: Alex Barr

Q&A with the contributors from the latest issue of Hinterland - and dates for our upcoming non-fiction courses.

Alex Barr’s short fiction collections are My Life with Eva from Parthian and Take a Look at Me-e-e! from Pont, and he is assembling a third featuring stories recently published in magazines in the UK, US, Canada and India. His third poetry collection Light and Dark was published last year by Kelsay Books. He lives near Bristol, having recently moved from Wales. His flash non-fiction piece ‘Chagrin d’Amour’ appears in Hinterland Issue 17.

What’s the last thing (except for this!) that you wrote?

The last thing I wrote was an extremely weird and probably unpublishable story called ‘Cherchez la Femme’. (Oh hell, not another French title.)

What’s a recent discovery that you can’t keep quiet about?

My recent discovery, which has made a huge difference to me, is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

Words to live by…

‘All that arises passes away.’

Tell us something about yourself that surprises people...

What surprises people about me is that I was brought up in North Manchester — I've lost all trace of an accent.

What’s your piece in this issue about?

My piece in this issue — ‘Chagrin d’Amour’ — is about my ex-fiancee from way back. I was inspired to write it by suddenly understanding clearly why the relationship was doomed.

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Thanks Alex! In other news, booking is now open for our next First Steps online course on 21st March, our popular taster day for those of you curious about writing non-fiction. We’ve still got spaces on the next run of our Building Skills and Advanced Skills courses after Easter too, and have added a new date for our Writers’ Workshop class for works in progress starting at the end of March. You can book direct with us, and if you do you’ll receive a free digital issue of your choice.