The Mechanics' Institute Review (also known by the abbreviation MIR) is an annual literary anthology published by Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...

, as part of its MA

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 Creative Writing course. The MIR Project Director is Julia Bell.

History

The publication owes its name to the institution which publishes the title, Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck, University of London

Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...

. The first Mechanics' Institute in London was founded in 1823 by George Birkbeck

George Birkbeck

George Birkbeck was a British doctor, academic, philanthropist, pioneer in adult education and founder of Birkbeck College.-Biography:...

. "Mechanics" then meant "skilled artisans", and the purpose of the Institute was to instruct them in the principles behind their craft.

The first MIR was published in 2004. Originally limited to MA students' short stories

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 and novel extracts, MIR has also included work by published authors, from Issue 3 onwards. These include Ali Smith

Ali Smith

Ali Smith is a British writer.She was born to working-class parents, raised in a council house in Inverness and now lives in Cambridge. She studied at the University of Aberdeen and then at Newnham College, Cambridge, for a PhD that was never finished. She worked as a lecturer at University of...

, Toby Litt

Toby Litt

Toby Litt is an English writer, born in Bedford in 1968. He studied at Bedford Modern School, read English at Worcester College, Oxford and studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia where he was taught by Malcolm Bradbury....

, Rose Tremain

Rose Tremain

Rose Tremain CBE is an English author.-Life:Rose Tremain was born Rosemary Jane Thomson on August 2, 1943 in London and attended Francis Holland School then Crofton Grange School from 1954 to 1961; the Sorbonne from 1961–1962; and graduated from the University of East Anglia in 1965 where she then...

, Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...

, T. C. Boyle, Dubravka Ugrešić

Dubravka Ugrešic

Dubravka Ugrešić is a Croatian writer who lives in the Netherlands.- Background and education:Ugrešić was born in 1949 in Kutina, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia., She studied Comparative Literature and Russian Language and Literature at the University of Zagreb, pursuing parallel careers as a...

, Courttia Newland

Courttia Newland

Courttia Newland is a British writer of Jamaican and Bajan heritage.-Background:Newland grew up in Shepherd's Bush, west London, where he became a rapper and music producer who, together with friends, released a Drum n' Bass white label. In 1997 he published his first novel, The Scholar. Further...

, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian writer.Her family is of Igbo descent. In 2008 she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.-Early life and education:...

, Russell Celyn Jones, Peter Ho Davies

Peter Ho Davies

Peter Ho Davies is a contemporary British writer of Welsh and Chinese descent.-Biography:Born and raised in Coventry, Davies studied physics at Manchester University then English at Cambridge University....

, Jean McNeil

Jean McNeil

Jean McNeil is a Canadian fiction and travel author.Born in New Brunswick, she grew up on Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. She is currently a writer-in-residence for the charity First Story...

 and Richard Milward

Richard Milward

Richard Milward is an English writer born in Middlesbrough, in 1984. His debut novel Apples was published by Faber and Faber in 2007. He has also recently published his 2nd novel Ten Storey Love Song....

.

Reviews of the magazine have been published in the TES

Times Educational Supplement

The Times Educational Supplement is a weekly UK publication aimed primarily at school teachers in the UK. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in The Times newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 1914, the supplement became a separate publication selling for 1 penny.The TES...

 and The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

 newspaper.

Issue 1

ISBN 0-9547933-0-7, Published in 2004, Introduction by Jonathan Coe

Jonathan Coe

Jonathan Coe is an English novelist and writer. His work has an underlying preoccupation with political issues, although this serious engagement is often expressed comically in the form of satire. For example, What a Carve Up! reworks the plot of an old 1960s spoof horror film of the same name...

.

Editors: Lamya Al-Khraisha, Sally Hinchcliffe, Alessandra Sartore, Amanda Schiff, Sue Tyley, Cathy Wasson and Rachel Wright.

Contributors: Lamya Turki Hadeetha Al-Khraisha, Heidi Amsinck, Jonathan Catherall, Tamsin Cottis, Paul Daly, Liz Fremantle, Nadine Grieve, Sally Hinchcliffe, Alison Huntington, Anne Koch, Basil Lawrence, Matthew Loukes, Michael Mayhew, Helen Pike, Alessandra Sartore, Amanda Schiff, Sue Tyley, Sophie Warne, Cathy Wasson, William Weinstein, Heather Williams and Rachel Wright.

Issue 2

ISBN 0-9547933-2-3, Published in 2005, Introduction by Sarah Waters

Sarah Waters

Sarah Waters is a British novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society, such as Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith.-Childhood:Sarah Waters was born in Neyland, Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1966....

.

Editors: Heidi Amsinck, Mary-Louise Buxton, Tamsin Cottis, Nadine Grieve, Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone, Basil Lawrence, Shaun Levin, Frances Merivale, Mihaela Nicolescu, Nii Ayikwei Parkes and William Weinstein.

Contributors: Niki Aguirre, Caroline Annis, Mary-Louise Buxton, Gail Campbell, Vittorio D'Alessio, Rowena Dunn, Nicola Field, Sam Hudson, Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone, Shaun Levin, Sara Macintosh, Alison Heathwood McCormack, Frances Merivale, Katie Morris, Mihaela Nicolescu, Allia Oswald, Nii Parkes

Nii Parkes

Born in the UK, in 1974, and raised in Ghana , Nii Ayikwei Parkes is a performance poet, writer and sociocultural commentator. A veteran of several poetry festivals, and former Poet-In-Residence at the Poetry Cafe in London, he has performed Poetry in the UK, Europe, Ghana and the US and was a 2005...

, Nina Robertson, Patti Webb, Laura Weinert and Harry Whitehead.

Issue 3

ISBN 0-9547933-3-1, Published in September 2006 Introduction by Julia Bell.

Editors: John Braime, Jonathan Catherall, Christine Hsu, Amy Popovich, Laura Peters and Victor Schonfeld.

Contributors: Lisa Appignanesi

Lisa Appignanesi

Lisa Appignanesi is a British writer, novelist, and campaigner for free expression. She is president of the writers’ organization English PEN. Her latest book is All About Love: Anatomy of an Unruly Emotion...

, Neil Baker, T. Coraghessan Boyle

T. Coraghessan Boyle

Tom Coraghessan Boyle is a U.S. novelist and short story writer. Since the mid 1970s, he has published twelve novels and more than 100 short stories...

, John Braime, Jonathan Catherall, Dorothy Crossan, Harriet Fisher, Grahame Gladin, Emma Henderson, Christine Hsu, Mariko Iwasaki, Kavita Jindal, Jamie Joseph, Sarah Jane Marshall, Courttia Newland

Courttia Newland

Courttia Newland is a British writer of Jamaican and Bajan heritage.-Background:Newland grew up in Shepherd's Bush, west London, where he became a rapper and music producer who, together with friends, released a Drum n' Bass white label. In 1997 he published his first novel, The Scholar. Further...

, Christina Papamichael, Laura Peters, Amy Popovich, Kate Pullinger, Robert Royston, Lenya Samanis, Victor Schonfeld, Franca Torrano, Dubravka Ugrešić

Dubravka Ugrešic

Dubravka Ugrešić is a Croatian writer who lives in the Netherlands.- Background and education:Ugrešić was born in 1949 in Kutina, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia., She studied Comparative Literature and Russian Language and Literature at the University of Zagreb, pursuing parallel careers as a...

 and Maggie Womersley.

Issue 4

ISBN 978-0-9547933-4-0, Published in September 2007 Introduction by Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...

Editors: Gabriela Blandy, Jill McGivering, Jennifer Payne, Elizabeth Sarkany, James Vincent

Contributors: David Bezmozgis

David Bezmozgis

David Bezmozgis is a Canadian writer and filmmaker.Born in Riga, Latvia, he came to Canada with his family when he was six. He graduated with a B.A. in English literature from McGill University. Bezmozgis received an M.F.A. from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television....

, Danny Birchall, Gabriela Blandy, Nadia Crandal, Zoe Fairbairns, Tom Gauld

Tom Gauld

Tom Gauld, is a Scottish cartoonist and illustrator. He studied illustration at Edinburgh College of Art and the Royal College of Art....

, Jaime Hernandez

Jaime Hernandez

Jaime Hernandez is the co-creator of the black & white independent comic book Love and Rockets .-Early life:...

, Parselelo Kantai, Rohan Kar, Nik Korpon, Jill McGivering, Jennifer Payne, Samanthi Perera, T. Rawson, Lucy Roeber, Rosie Rogers, Paul Ryan, Elizabeth Sarkany, Michelle Singh, David John Soulsby, Rose Tremain

Rose Tremain

Rose Tremain CBE is an English author.-Life:Rose Tremain was born Rosemary Jane Thomson on August 2, 1943 in London and attended Francis Holland School then Crofton Grange School from 1954 to 1961; the Sorbonne from 1961–1962; and graduated from the University of East Anglia in 1965 where she then...

, James Vincent, David Foster Wallace

David Foster Wallace

David Foster Wallace was an American author of novels, essays, and short stories, and a professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California...

, Hilary Wilce and Laura Williams.

Issue 5

ISBN 978-0-9547933-5-7, Published in September 2008 Introduction by Susan Elderkin.

Editors: Pippa Griffin, Keith Jarrett, Cynthia Langley, Philip Makatrewicz, Josh Raymond

Contributors: Thea Bennett, Gul Y. Davis, Jon Elsom, Albert Garcia, Pippa Griffin, Anupama Kumari Gohel, Anna Hope, Alison Huntington, J.D. Keith, Olja Knezevic, Cynthia Medford Langley, Toby Litt

Toby Litt

Toby Litt is an English writer, born in Bedford in 1968. He studied at Bedford Modern School, read English at Worcester College, Oxford and studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia where he was taught by Malcolm Bradbury....

, Philip Makatrewicz, Paul Martin, Josh Raymond, Sarah Salway, Thomas Jerome Seabrook, Ali Smith

Ali Smith

Ali Smith is a British writer.She was born to working-class parents, raised in a council house in Inverness and now lives in Cambridge. She studied at the University of Aberdeen and then at Newnham College, Cambridge, for a PhD that was never finished. She worked as a lecturer at University of...

, Melissa de Villiers, Matthew Weait.

Issue 6

ISBN 978-0-9547933-6-4, Published in September 2009 Introduction by Jean McNeil

Jean McNeil

Jean McNeil is a Canadian fiction and travel author.Born in New Brunswick, she grew up on Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. She is currently a writer-in-residence for the charity First Story...

Editors: S.J. Ahmed, Ingrid Glienke, Jacqueline Haskell, Caroline Macaulay, Tamara Pollock, Deirdre Shanahan, Sarah Walcott

Contributors: David Savill, M.L. Stedman, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian writer.Her family is of Igbo descent. In 2008 she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.-Early life and education:...

, Anna Baggaley, Emily Cleaver, Maggie Womersley, Anna Ackland, Sue Gedge, Peter Ho Davies

Peter Ho Davies

Peter Ho Davies is a contemporary British writer of Welsh and Chinese descent.-Biography:Born and raised in Coventry, Davies studied physics at Manchester University then English at Cambridge University....

, Graham Hodge, Richard English, Mary Irene Masaba, Josh Raymond, Moira Sharpe, David Queva, Russell Celyn Jones, Joanna Ingham, Chris Lilly, Kavita Jindal, Richard Milward

Richard Milward

Richard Milward is an English writer born in Middlesbrough, in 1984. His debut novel Apples was published by Faber and Faber in 2007. He has also recently published his 2nd novel Ten Storey Love Song....

, Margi Williams, Jon Elsom, Carol Wong, Lesley Saunders, Thea Bennett, K.K. Dayal.

External links

• Mechanics' Institute Review official site