‘Short stories are our natural mode. There’s nothing intimidating about the short story. We have been reading and telling them our whole lives.’
An essay on the short story form by Wendy Erskine, reproduced with permission from 22 Fictions.
Interview | ‘An anti-flâneuse kind of existence’: In conversation with Lauren Elkin
‘I don’t know if it’s very interesting to read fiction where you can feel that the author is judging the character. It’s so important that the novel be a space of non-judgment, for the readers to take from it what they will.’
Rosa Appignanesi interviews Lauren Elkin.
Archive | Ted Hughes and Crow
‘Poetry is nothing if not the record of just how the forces of the Universe try to redress some balance disturbed by human error.’
From 1971, an interview with Ted Hughes.
Podcast | Gurnaik Johal
‘This is where I say to any budding writers out there: write historical fiction!’
Gurnaik Johal on The London Magazine Podcast.
Essay | The Kind of Shaking that Keeps You Steady: Alice Notley (1945–2025)
‘The insouciant yet deeply serious quality of Notley’s writing struck me. Here was a poet eschewing all templates, excavating the self with both horror and humour.’
Momtaza Mehri pays tribute to Alice Notley who passed away this May at the age of 79.
Fiction | Saraswati by Gurnaik Johal
‘It had been an early education, Nathu thought, in the fact that all history was historical fiction. A story had a longer life than a fact.’
An extract from Saraswati by Gurnaik Johal.
Archive | Children of the Earth by Henry Miller
‘What about the fate of our children … is there nothing to be done for them?’
This essay by Henry Miller was originally published in the July 1959 edition of The London Magazine.
Guide | JLF London at the British Library
‘Our London iteration is a vibrant affirmation of multilingual literary connectivities. At this volatile moment of change and transformation, we seek to make sense of our fractured world, and to explore and understand it through our shared stories.’
Namita Gokhale on JLF London 2025 at the British Library.
Archive | Verandah by Derek Walcott
‘the sunset furled / round the last post, // ‘the flamingo colours’ of a fading world, / a ghost steps from you, my grandfather’s ghost!’
From 1965, poetry by Derek Walcott.
Essay | ‘It was over; thank Heaven—over’: Reading Mrs Dalloway in a Post-Pandemic World
‘How is it possible to move on from such widespread collective trauma, and forget the innumerable dead? This is the question at the heart of Mrs Dalloway.’
Elizabeth Gourd on Mrs Dalloway, 100 years on.
Interview | Caught up in History: In Conversation with Viet Thanh Nguyên
‘What becomes important for me is to think about ourselves not only as individuals, which is what memoirs are typically supposed to deal with, but as people who are caught up in history.’
Arjuna Keshvani-Ham interviews Viet Thanh Nguyên.
Fiction | Here it Was, the Start of Life by Harriet Armstrong
‘I wanted to learn something that would shock me, something that came from someplace very far outside of myself. I was tired of learning things I could have pulled out of my own mind very easily and passively.’
New fiction by Harriet Armstrong.
Poetry | Aspiration by Kevin Graham
‘We talk lightly as if we know the outcome / of things, the floor of knowledge // an oily ghost that leaves me when they shift / gears into medical jargon.’
Winning poem from The London Magazine Poetry Prize 2025.
New Issue and Tote Bag Bundle
With the new issue and tote bag bundle, save 20% on the cost of our June / July 2025 issue and the bespoke TLM tote. The latest issue includes the three winning poems from The London Magazine Poetry Prize 2025, new fiction by Faber-novelist Michael Amherst, an interview with Pulitzer prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyên, an exclusive extract from Francesca…
£20.00
Podcast
On The London Magazine podcast, we speak to brilliant writers, poets and artists about their craft, inspiration and career so far. New episodes every month.
Podcast | Gurnaik Johal
‘This is where I say to any budding writers out there: write historical fiction!’
Gurnaik Johal on The London Magazine Podcast.
Podcast | Leo Robson
‘One of the things that the novel is about is different forms of chronology that we mark things by.’
Leo Robson on The London Magazine Podcast.
Podcast | Mark Bowles
‘To exaggerate something is like putting a magnifying glass on it. You exaggerate your rage, you exaggerate your love, and you can see it more clearly.’
Mark Bowles on corporate jargon, his love of espresso and whether or not his book can be called an anti-English novel.
Archive
The London Magazine has a publication history spanning almost three hundred years, and has featured work by some of the most prominent names in literature, from John Keats to Hilary Mantel. In this curated selection, we share our favourite pieces from the TLM archive.
Archive | Ted Hughes and Crow
‘Poetry is nothing if not the record of just how the forces of the Universe try to redress some balance disturbed by human error.’
From 1971, an interview with Ted Hughes.
Archive | Children of the Earth by Henry Miller
‘What about the fate of our children … is there nothing to be done for them?’
This essay by Henry Miller was originally published in the July 1959 edition of The London Magazine.
Archive | Verandah by Derek Walcott
‘the sunset furled / round the last post, // ‘the flamingo colours’ of a fading world, / a ghost steps from you, my grandfather’s ghost!’
From 1965, poetry by Derek Walcott.
