Knuckle dragger Nation
- November 06, 2016
- by
- Matt
I’ve been very lucky these last few days. On Thursday I was part of a panel at the Royal College of Art in London discussing culture, cultural identity and political crisis in a ‘borderless world.’ I was blown away by the passion, eloquence and thoughtfulness of my fellow panel members and so many of the...
One Day Without Us
- October 15, 2016
- by
- Matt
Being a writer isn’t always the most dramatic kind of life. Unless you’re out researching in the field, most of the drama takes place inside your head, and most of your day is spent looking at a computer. This is pretty much how it was for me until the last day of the...
Banned Books Week Appearance
- September 18, 2016
- by
- Matt
This Thursday I’m speaking at the British Library as part of Banned Books Week. Among other things I’ll be talking about the ‘banning’ of my own book Unknown Soldiers back in 2007, something I’ve never done before. I shall also be discussing a range of free speech-related issues with the children’s author Melvyn Burgess and...
Who let the dogs out? Brexit
- September 12, 2016
- by
- Matt
More than two months after the Brexit referendum, the surge in hate crime and racism unleashed by the referendum shows no sign of abating, and the politicians who did so much to help bring it about continue to deny any responsibility for it. Farage has done this on various occasions, and now MEP and arch-Brexiter...
Troll Nation
- September 01, 2016
- by
- Matt
Anyone who has published, tweeted or posted anything on the Internet will be aware that the worldwide web can be a dank and hateful environment in which all kinds of wild and extremely poisonous creatures flourish. Whether it’s the anonymity provided by an avatar, or simply the fact that the Internet provides a tool...
Burkini Madness
- August 25, 2016
- by
- Matt
Anyone who has travelled in France this summer will have found it difficult to ignore the state of emergency with which the French state has responded to Daesh’s savage provocations. In Banyuls-sur-Mer, we found the main road by the beach guarded by armed soldiers, presumably mindful of a repeat of the attack on Tunisia...
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