I walked into the cinema knowing absolutely nothing about the movie except that it was about a transgender woman. I didn’t even watch the trailer. My friends asked if I wanted to watch it and not being one to shy away from anything new I decided to tag along.

The Danish Girl is a British drama film based on the fictional novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, which was loosely inspired by the lives of the Danish painters Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. The film is set in mid-1920s Copenhagen, where a man, Einar, while standing in as a female model for his wife, begin to realize that he is in fact a woman trapped in a male body. This is when everything starts to unfold; the film explores the struggles of Einar and Gerda’s relationship, the troubles they face and the sacrifices they make.

This movie caught me off guard in the most poignant and magical way. I walked in the cinema with the idea that the film was going to be about a man becoming a woman, but in actual fact the film was really about deep, unconditional love. I was completely captivated by everything the movie offered: the cinematography, acting and story-telling meld together to produce something so enchantingly beautiful.

I don’t want to give anything away but when my friends broke down during certain points of the movie I remained stoic and unrelenting. Not because I didn’t feel moved but because I felt a sadness for the characters so heavy that I didn’t know how to show my emotions.

There is a reason why the film and cast have gotten so many nominations and clinched their fair share of awards; The Danish Girl showed me exactly what love is, and what it could be.

VERDICT: 4/5
The film kind of drags on around the middle, but picks up a little later on.

Jojo Chia

Emma Challis

The past few months have been full of news when it comes to the world of book adaptations. For Harry Potter fans there’s been plenty to get excited about, with the release of the first wave of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ tickets, which sold out in minutes, and the first glimpses of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’. Both look to be a promising extension of the much-loved series, with Oscar winning Eddie Redmayne taking the lead as Newt Scamander in the spin-off movie ‘Fantastic Beasts’.

Other exciting news has been the announcement of a BBC adaptation of the ‘His Dark Materials’ series by Phillip Pullman for television. After the 2007 film ‘The Golden Compass’ was generally regarded as a disappointment by fans and critics alike this could be another chance for beloved characters Lyra Belacqua and her daemon Pantalaimon to  delight on screen as they did in the books. There’s also potential for the other worlds included in the trilogy to be seen on screen for the first time.

This announcement follows a recent increase in books awaiting to be turned into TV series; another contemporary children’s classic ‘A series of Unfortunate Events’ by Lemony Snicket is in the running to be a Netflix original series by 2017.

It’s possible that this increasing movement to TV adaptations of books is because ongoing series offer more opportunity to stray true to the original stories than films as each episode allows for a chapter to unravel. There is also potential for character development to be shown over a longer period of time, which has proved popular in other TV series adapted from books such as ‘Game of Thrones’ as well as originals like ‘Orange Is The New Black’ and ‘Breaking Bad’. This also opens up the shows beyond fans of the books they’re based on, which could lead them to prove more popular than spin-off films like ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’.

However, TV series can lack the large budget that the film industry offers which has caused other projects, such as the adaptation of Neil Gaimen’s ‘American Gods’, to be put on hold. There is also the threat of a series being cut half-way through if ratings fall which is a particular problem in the American TV industry.

Whichever form proves more popular it’s safe to say that these upcoming projects are ones to watch!

With the new academic year being in full swing, Brunel Writer overseer Max Kinnings (Senior Lecturer in creative writing) has recruited a new set of editors.

As usual, the team will be responsible for curating material and running Brunelwriter.com and the twitter handle @BrunelWriter. Students wishing for their articles to be published on Brunel Writer can still send these to brunelwriter@gmail.com for consideration.

So, with no further dilly dallying, here’s the (artsy) dream team;

PS Naturally, the boys were a little camera shy 😀

AJ

Sweetie Asantewaa aka Adjoa Okornore Manu or AJ for short likes to adapt. Previously a student of social policy at University of Birmingham, she is now a final year student of Creative Writing at Brunel.

AJ’s been writing poetry since the age of twelve to help her articulate thoughts she otherwise couldn’t. Since then she has moved on to short story writing and more recently screenwriting. As part of her study at Brunel, she has co-written and produced/edited a radio play, written journalism, short story and poetry portfolios as well as short films. AJ’s creative work has been featured on ArtsandAfrica.com amongst others.

AJ also ran for Brunel Women’s Officer and is actively involved in advocacy for women on campus.

From the long list of names, you’d think I’m your typical eccentric writer personality but I’m not at all – I’m actually quite awkward.

My writing is mainly inspired by my experiences with faith, women’s issues and African culture both in Africa and the diaspora. I will rant uncontrollably about Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie for hours if I’m not stopped and Purple Hibiscus is one of my favourite books.

I run two blogs. Adegya (www.adegya.wordpress.com) which is a casual portfolio of some of my creative work and RuthTP (www.ruthtp.wordpress.com) where I speak about women’s issues from personal experience.

My twitter is always open for a good debate on literary matters, too – @okornore.

Joseph

Level 2 Games Design and Creative Writing student, Joseph Juson, has always dreamt about writing – choosing his current course was a no brainer as it would only improve his talent. His love for games design is inspired by his love for finding new ways to tell stories and evoke emotions.

 This is one of the reasons I love games: the potential for storytelling through the medium of games is unexplored and exciting, and there are new examples appearing all the time of how interactive storytelling and gameplay can be harmonised to create incredibly moving experiences.

I’m also interested in theatre, TV, short stories and poetry, and how they can all convey the same themes and stories in different ways. I’m really excited to learn and discover more about how we can use form and medium to do new things, and I hope that being on the Brunel Writer team will help me discover more about writing and different ways it’s being used. One of the great things about being at uni is seeing things people have written and what has inspired them, and so I’m always open to suggestions. My Twitter is @josephjuson. I need followers.

Sabrina

Sabrina Yam is a Level 2 Creative Writing student with a love for the young adult reader genre who also blogs and is confidently finding her feet in the literary world.

 I find myself bouncing from writing contemporary fiction, dystopian and fantasy – I haven’t quite found my style yet! I read a variety of genres within YA. My most recent favourite YA novels are ‘Am I Normal Yet?’ By Holly Bourne, ‘The Next Together’ by Lauren James and ‘The Age of Miracles’ by Karen Thompson Walker – this is all bound to change after a month or so. I also spend my time writing reviews for my blog as well as writing other feature posts and some event reviews.

Breaking away from the books, I enjoy baking, crafting and going to the theatre.

I’m hoping to pursue a job in publishing.

You can find me on Twitter @skyam.

Emma

Also a Level 2 Creative Writing student, Emma Challis who loves realism and fantasy and writes reviews for Brunel’s own newspaper, Le Nurb.

I enjoy reading and writing fiction of all different genres and styles but particularly realism and fantasy. Some of my favourite books at the moment (it changes all the time!) are ‘Life of Pi’ by Yann Martel, the ‘His Dark Materials’ series by Philip Pullman and ‘American Gods’ by Neil Gaimen.

I also like to keep tabs on new films, TV series and books that are being released.

When not stuck in a book or with a pen in my hand I also enjoy long distance running and photography.

Natasha

Natasha Derczynski is a Level 2 English and Creative Writing student who enjoys working in a variety of different mediums, with a growing interest in screenwriting.

There are far too many brilliant books out there for me to ever pick a favourite, but I’m a sucker for anything that can make me laugh out loud and get weird looks from people on the tube (I’ve read Bridget Jones’ Diary at least three times. Judge me.) I’m interested in reading and writing complex female characters and am pretty passionate about music so that often finds its way into my work. I love everything from The Clash to The Rolling Stones to Laura Marling. Besides reading and writing I love anything art-related and am currently trying my hand at oil painting classes. Other interests include: my dogs, Mary Berry and wearing really ugly jumpers.

Holly

Holly Saywell is a Level 1 Creative Writing student, who hopes to get her Wattpad novels published and loves reading romance, adventure and fantasy.

I love that feeling of escapism where you get lost in a piece of text and become the character! My favourite authors are Cassandra Claire, J K Rowling, Michael Grant and James Patterson; with a love for romance, adventure or fantasy books. I’m also trying to get into Sci-Fi novels too! I have a love for those 3am writing sessions and I write my own books which I hope to publish one day. These are on a popular eBook website and can be found on my page at www.wattpad.com/user/SkinnyLizzy. I’m also quite a lonely person as my boyfriend is back home and I haven’t made many life-long friends here yet.

You can also find my Twitter pages at:

@MehCookiez (personal)

And

@RebelAOfficial (if anyone is musically talented).

Matthias

Poetically inclined Matthias Asiedu-Yeboa is a Level 3 Creative Writing and English student at Brunel. Matthias is currently enjoying the challenges of studying the Long Novel and tightening up my writing in Writing Modern Fiction.

As for what I like to write… well, it varies as much as the sort of things I like to read! I’d say I have a basis in writing sci-fi and fantasy (Lord of the Rings and Star Wars from early, mate!), with a vested interest in horror, surrealism and the absurd. I find it really hard to fill up word counts without going off on tangents in early drafts, so if I like something I’ve written and someone else does too, then I know I’m onto a winner! Anyhoo (see what I mean?), I’m looking forward to being part of the Brunel Writer Editorial team and I hope to field as many ideas as possible, with my fellow Team members of course, so if you’ve got anything you’re just bursting to talk about, just give us a shout!

 

Write poetry? Want to get published? Look no further than Pencil Crayon Poetry!

Pencil Crayon Poetry is an upcoming online poetry website due to be launched in the next couple of weeks. Pencil Crayon Poetry will host a series of competitions aimed exclusively at Brunel University London students, offering a chance of publication.

Submissions are welcomed from students of all levels, studying any course. Whether you’re an undergraduate, postgraduate or a PHD student, we want to read your poems!

Each month Pencil Crayon Poetry will be hosting two competitions, linked broadly by a certain theme, and will be accepting poetry written in response to the prompts in any form, genre or style (no Odes please!). Poems will need to be submitted as per the guidelines.

Two people will be published per competition on the website itself.

For more information and announcements about the website and its launch, follow @pencilpoetry on Twitter and like the Pencil Crayon Poetry page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pencilcrayonpoetry

If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to us on our Twitter or Facebook page.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Publicist and Marketing Coordinator Kate McKim and the Pencil Crayon Poetry team.

Publisher: RHCP Digital

Date of publication: 2 July 2015

Originality: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Quality of Writing: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Character development:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Settings:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Overall View:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

So let’s raise our glasses to the accident season,

To the river beneath us where we sink our souls,

To the bruises and secrets, to the ghosts in the ceiling,

One more drink for the watery road.

First of all, let me tell you why you should purchase this book as soon as it comes to shops this July… It’s the most bone-chilling, nail-biting, heart-tearing young adult novel I have ever read that has a juicy mix of love, friendship, and horror. Told in an entirely beautiful voice, The Accident Season is a book that will leave you thinking about it even after you’ve finished it.

Cara’s family are not so normal as you would think. Her whole family are affected by what they call the ‘Accident Season’, a whole month of continuous head-banging, bone-breaking, flesh-bruising terror that haunts the family even after it’s over. Since the death of her father one accident season many years ago, Cara’s mother is constantly reminded of the effects of that particularly terrible October. The memory tears through the whole family, creating a constant fear between each member. However, there is one thing that crops up later in the novel that suggests The Accident Season is not what it seems to be at all. Cara’s older sister, Alice, is teller of that even more horrifying tale.

In my opinion, The Accident Season is a very testing young adult novel. It deals with themes of complicated romances between the circle of main characters, fear, fading memories, and friendship. The constant symbol of secrets is effectively used throughout the novel to bring out the deepest revelations between characters. Through these secrets, we see what’s really between the lines of The Accident Season.

I particularly liked the idea of Elsie being found in all of Cara’s photographs. From the beginning this is what gripped me. The mysterious essence of the novel began here, and later took us further into more twists and turns. The locations that are described in the novel are so beautiful and magical, you are immediately thrown into another world. While I was reading I felt as I was there, as if I was Cara herself. The most complicated characters I found were Alice and her boyfriend Nick. These two characters are examples of good character development and writing.

Despite being Doyle’s first published novel, the whole plot, characters, location and narrative are top-notch. This book will not fail to amaze you at the most appropriate times, and will drag you in for a eerie and romantic ride. I have rated this four stars for it’s easy to read yet complicated plot, and I’ll definitely continue to look out for this author in the future!

Review by Lena Mistry.

@Mistry_Lena

http://newbooksnewreviews.blogspot.co.uk

After much anticipation, tomorrow (the 11th of March) will finally see the release of Brunel University’s second student-centric short story anthology! The book features a varied collection of stories dealing with a range of subjects and themes. Whether you’re looking for something experimental or something more traditional. From comedy to tragedy, cerebral to the downright weird, you can find it all down the aisle of The Psyche Supermarket. Not only are the stories by students but the vast majority of the project has been run by them too. Roles such as editing, cover design, marketing and event organisation have been led by the students and now all of their hard work is finally coming to fruition. At 7pm in the Antonin Artaud building the book will be launched in an event hosted by Katijah-Wellings Thomas and Chris Winn. The event will feature readings from Grace Hill, Thu-ha Hong, Oliver Jarvis, James Schubert, Halimat Shode and Katijah-Wellings Thomas, all of whom are in the anthology. If that wasn’t enough there will also be other acts there as part of the Arts @ Artaud event. This is a huge and exciting opportunity for the budding writers and we want to get as many people there as possible, it’s set to be an amazing night showcasing and celebrating some great young talent. During the night the anthology will go on sale at £5 a copy but be sure to grab one quickly because they’ll be in limited supply! Can’t wait for tomorrow but you still want to check out some of the writers featured in the collection? Then you’re in luck because we picked the brains of a handful of them in interviews which you can find on this blog right now. All that’s left to say is that we really do hope to see you at the event, let’s make it a night to remember!

Jonathan Harris is a Creative Writing student here at Brunel University.

What writers have influenced you most and why?

I’m influenced by a lot of writers, most notably Hemingway, Houllebecq, Easton Ellis, Dostoevsky, Sartre, Miller, and Bukowski. Mostly dead guys, I’m not into novels that are very plot-based or too descriptive. I like novels with a good, relatable voice and strong themes.

What’s your favourite genre and why?

It’s difficult to choose one genre, but I would say literary or magic realism, kind of slipstream. I like works that have something to say about society, or that raise questions about their social conventions. They don’t have to be particularly plot oriented, for instance, I’m currently reading ‘Nausea’ by Jean-Paul Sartre.

Can you give us a brief insight into your writing process?

Usually, I’ll just sit down with a blank page and I have an idea in my head. I’ll just write and see where it takes me, getting the work out feels like the fun part of writing. Then I see how well my idea has translated to the page, and I edit if I think it could work, or I’ll just bin it if not. I’m quite lazy at sitting down and writing, but I am learning to be more disciplined with it.

What are your interests when you’re not writing?

When I’m not writing, I’ll either be watching the football or at the Emirates Stadium. I love the atmosphere of thousands of people all wishing for the same result, it’s kind of like my church, only you can have a beer. Other than that, I’ll usually be reading, or I often do carpentry and woodwork with my dad. It’s good to spend time using my hands to be productive and learning a life skill, it’s also quite therapeutic.

You can read Jonathan’s short story, alongside many others, in the ‘The Psyche Supermarket’ released on the 11th of March.

You can also find him on Twitter at @JDHarris90 and his website at http://himynameisjon.com/

James Schubert is a Game Design and Creative Writing student here at Brunel University.

What writers have influenced you most and why?

Brett Easton Ellis inspired me a great deal, so much so that I spent the first two years of my university creative writing career trying desperately to copy him and subsequently making every character Patrick Bateman. For the most part this was fine except for that one children’s story I wrote which ended with Mr. Squiffles nailing Nobbly Bobkins to an expensive Memphis Group Carlton Bookcase designed by Ettore Sottsass while Easy Lover by Phil Collins and Philip Bailey played in the background. *pause for breath* People weren’t too keen on that one. Why did he inspire me so much? Not too sure, his initials spell BEE though, that’s pretty swish right?

What’s your favourite genre and why?

I tend to gravitate towards horror; H.P. Lovecraft, Clive Barker, E.L. James, stuff like that. I also recently had a brief fling with Alt Lit in the sense that I discovered it, got quite into it and then a week later it came out that everyone involved in the movement was a monster, figures. If I had to justify why I was interested in Alt Lit it would partially be that I’m attracted by its infantile sincerity but mostly because it brings me ever closer to my dream of one day inserting a ‘Dickbutt’ (See: http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140201013626/trollpasta/images/a/a6/Dickbutt.jpg) into a story and not being called out on it.

Can you give us a brief insight into your writing process?

When it comes to writing specifically I find it hard to just come up with good ideas apropos of nothing, I need that moment of inspiration to pounce on me like an angry squirrel. Once that happens I’m finally ready to sit in front of a blank word processor for several hours and sink further and further into depression in the knowledge that, the longer I leave the idea in my head without writing it down, the more warped and ruined it becomes. On the flip side if I do write it down there’s a chance that I damage the idea beyond repair. Steps after this generally include staring into space, tidying my desk and watching YouTube videos of people playing videogames. Also I find it really easy to write if I’m listening to The Smiths; does that make me a nobber? I think that makes me a nobber.

What are your interests when you’re not writing?

Playing an unhealthy amount of video games, finding excuses to avoid going outside and just generally avoiding being an adult. I also enjoy making games, a creative pursuit that’s different from writing in the sense that when you tell someone about it at parties they’ll laugh at you to your face rather than waiting to do it behind your back.

You can read James’ short story, alongside many others, in The Psyche Supermarket released on the 11^th of March.

You can also find him on Twitter at @Jimmy_Schubert and check out his portfolio at http://james-schubert.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-me.html

Thu-Ha Hong is an English Literature and Creative Writing student here at Brunel University.

What writer(s) influenced you most and why?

Writers such as Amy key, Warsan Shire, Benjamin Zephaniah and Franz Kafka. Amy Key because her poems are feminine, romantic and experimental. She fuses reality with the fantastical through a plethora of similes and metaphors. Warsan Shire poems because her poems are extremely emotional, provocative and political. She also includes references to Somali culture in her poems. Performance poet Benjamin Zephaniah because the social, racial and political issues in his poems are historical and relevant now. He gets serious messages across through rhyme and a conversational tone. Franz Kafka’s short stories such as ‘The Hunger Artist’. This story can be interpreted in many meaningful ways and is still relatable in the twenty-first century despite being written nearly a century ago.

What’s your favourite genre and why?

I like reading poems that have deep meanings whether it be about love, womanhood, cultures, problems or situations in today’s society. In terms of novels, I like reading novels where love is a theme as the plots are usually heartfelt. I like The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I have seen the film ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ and want to read Jodi Picoult’s novel. I also like reading chick lit novels such as Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding and The Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. This is because they are post-feminist novels that make us question women’s decisions and are light-hearted reads.

What are you currently reading (or what was the last thing you read)?

I am reading ‘Lullabies’ and ‘Love and Misadventures’ by Lang Leav to get inspiration and continue writing my dissertation on poetry.

Can you give us a brief insight into your writing process?

When something comes to mind, I make a note of it on my laptop, on paper or on my phone and then write about it on my laptop.

You can read Thu-Ha’s short story, alongside many others, in The Psyche Supermarket released on the 11^th of March.

You can also find her on Twitter at @thuhahong and check out her fashion blog at https://stylingtelltalesbythuha.wordpress.com/