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Wisely, the tortoise ignores both jasmine and stars.
Isn't it enough, she says, to carry the sky on your back,
a sky that is solid, mathematical and delicately coloured ...

by Maurice Riordan (Matter 9)

Sheffield Hallam University
mews press

Launched in 2001, Matter provides a feast for lovers of good writing – from short stories and poetry to extracts from novels, children’s fiction and scripts. Previous guest contributors are some of the best writers of their generation - Ali Smith, Hilary Mantel, Michel Faber, T. C. Boyle, Jackie Kay and Marina Lewycka to name just a few.


In the new issue, Matter 9, we feature two new stunning stories by masters of the craft, Alison MacLeod and Adam Marek. Whitbread Award and T. S. Eliot Prize nominee Maurice Riordan also presents two new poems as do two poets who were both previously shortlisted for the Forward Prize’s Best First Collection award, Julia Copus and Tim Turnbull.


And we also publish pieces by new voices from the MA at Hallam: Angelina Ayers, Ruby Robinson, Noel Williams, Rebecca Swirsky, Susan Clegg, Kate Mitchell, Kate Hainsworth, Louise Wilford, Helen Cadbury, Marian Iseard and Fay Musselwhite. With a foreword by acclaimed writer Maggie Gee, Matter 9 promises to be a real treat for all those who enjoy a good read.


Matter is on Facebook and also Twitter at twitter.com/Mattermagazine so please join us there too.



Previous issues are: Matter 1 (with work by guest writers Jill Dawson and Lesley Glaister); Matter 2 (Janice Galloway, E. A. Markham, Michel Faber and Ali Smith); Matter 3 (Sean O’Brien, Toby Litt, Mario Petrucci and Monique Roffey); Matter 4 (Jane Rogers, Nicholas Royle, Sophie Woolley and Benjamin Zephaniah); Matter 5 (T. C. Boyle, Simon Crump, Jacob Polley, Scarlett Thomas and Rana Dasgupta); Matter 6 (David Constantine, Helen Farish, Romesh Gunesekera, Jackie Kay and Marina Lewycka); Matter 7 (David Harsent, Liz Kettle, Frances Leviston, Hilary Mantel and a foreword by Marina Lewycka); Matter 8 (Malcolm Cumberbatch, E. A. Markham and Mike Harris).


Latest News

5 Jul 2010 | 9:49 am | Dore Festival | makingwritingmatter.co.uk/news.php


We took Matter 9 to the Dore Festival on Friday.  It was really lovely.  The venue in Dore Old School, and the audience were perfect.  I’m so glad we were able to be part of their festival.... [read more]


1 Jul 2010 | 10:04 am | Dore Festival 2nd July 2010 | makingwritingmatter.co.uk/news.php


Tomorrow will be the last outing for Matter 9.  We’re reading at the Dore Festival, Dore Old School, Savage Lane, 7pm.  Call 0114 236 0002 to guarantee your place.  Refreshments will be provided. We had a lovely time at the Sharrow Fringe Festival on Monday.  Thank you to Lu, who organises all the fringe events, and to everyone at Highfield Trinity Church.  Fay Musselwhite opened the reading with her excellent poem, Boulder, which will be featured in Matter 10 this autumn. ... [read more]


10 Jun 2010 | 10:34 am | Monday 28th June Sharrow Fringe Festival | makingwritingmatter.co.uk/news.php


Matter 9 is on tour.  Contributors will be reading at the Highfield Trinity Church Hall, London Road, Sheffield at 6pm.  This is a free event to mark the end of the art exhibition supported by Creative Action Network: - 28th June


27 May 2010 | 11:24 am | MA Writing Alumni talk 10 years of Matter | makingwritingmatter.co.uk/news.php


Matter is (and always was) a stylish, grown-up, proper magazine. For all sorts of reasons – because it looks so good, because established writers are published alongside student writers, because the overall quality is so high – being published in Matter is a big deal and a pleasure. Tony Williams - Matter has been a journey, of new friends and new places. trips to Hay on Wye, to London, a mention in ‘Time Out.’ Being on the team a... [read more]


21 Apr 2010 | 10:13 am | Impasse by Fay Musselwhite | makingwritingmatter.co.uk/news.php


Here is Fay Musselwhite reading one of her poems from Matter 9. Fay is a member of the Tuesday Poets, and an MA Writing student at Sheffield Hallam. ... [read more]


8 Apr 2010 | 1:01 pm | Adam Marek Audio | makingwritingmatter.co.uk/news.php



Adam Marek’s short story, If Dead Fish Could Blink, featured in Matter 9, has just been released as an audio file by Spoken Ink, and can be found here: http://www.spokenink.co.uk/catalog?id=95... [read more]


22 Mar 2010 | 12:09 pm | Summer Festivals | makingwritingmatter.co.uk/news.php


Matter 9 contributors are reading at some of the summer festivals. We will be reading at an art exhibition for the Sharrow Fringe Festival on Monday, 28th June. The event runs from 5:30-7:30pm and is at the Highfield Trinity Church Hall on London Road, Sheffield. We are also reading at the Dore Festival on Friday, 2nd July, 7pm. Venue details to follow. The readings will be different across the two events, so it would be great to see you at both.... [read more]


9 Mar 2010 | 11:13 am | Speakers2 | makingwritingmatter.co.uk/news.php


Exploding Poetry, the exhibition by Noel Williams and hosted by Bank Street Arts, Sheffield, has now closed. It was a wonderful exploration into women and warfare, and randomness in poetry. There are more installations and events planned at Bank Street. Visit their website www.bankstreetarts.com for more information. Noel has put a selection of the audio installation from the exhibition onto a CD, Speakers 2. This features many of the writers who participated in Noel’s collab... [read more]


2 Mar 2010 | 9:08 am | Reading by the Tuesday Poets | makingwritingmatter.co.uk/news.php


Performing at Bank Street Arts
The Tuesday Poets are reading at Bank Street Arts this Friday 5th March. This is the last reading event of the Exploding Poetry Exhi... [read more]


22 Feb 2010 | 1:54 pm | Adam Marek longlisted | makingwritingmatter.co.uk/news.php


Adam MarekAdam Marek
Adam Marek, guest writer from Matter 9, has been longlisted for The Sunday Times Short Story Award, alongside Rose Tremain, AL Kennedy and Jackie Kay, amongst others ... [read more]