Jon McGregor: Making Short Work

Jon McGregor is one of the country's best authors. Having written some of the most remarkable books of the last ten years, including the sublime and dark Even the Dogs, and been twice runner-up to the BBC National Short Story Award, we thought it was about time we sat down with him for a chat. Then we discovered he has a short story collection out early next year. It was time, we decided, to talk short story.

> Next year sees the release of your first story collection. What prompted you to write one?

Mainly, being offered a deal for one. I mean, I've always written short stories - my first publication was a set of 100 x 100-word stories - but this is the first time I've had the opportunity to put a collection together. Which is, it turns out, a whole new job of work. There are some really interesting challenges around how you draw the reader's attention through the book; allowing each story to stand alone while at the same time giving the reader some kind of unified experience by the time they've finished the book. It's the same stuff you have to worry about in a novel, essentially: pace, rhythm, tone, voice, etc. I've really enjoyed it. 

> Tell us about your forthcoming collection? Are they related or do they all stand alone?

Funny you should ask.... The stories are all set in the fenlands of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, and are held together by that shared geography and landscape. There are no explicit links in terms of characters or events, but there is, I hope, a sense that the stories work together to build a composite portrait of a very particular (and, I think, little written about) place. It's a place which has an unsettling sense of wide-open claustrophobia; an isolation and strangeness which I think is unique among the landscapes of Britain. It's also a landscape which lends itself to the other unifying image of the book, which is the possibility of ecological apocalypse which sits just beyond the horizon.

> How long a period do these stories span in terms of your writing or were they all written in the same block for this collection?

It's a mix, really. The oldest story in the book was first written in 1997, although I've almost entirely rewritten it. (In fact, the original was published by Granta in 2002, so you could say that the new version is a remix more than a rewrite.) Some of the other stories were written around 2003-05. But probably the majority were written specifically for this collection.

> Do you think you could have written a collection at any other time in your career or is it easier once you've established yourself as an author?

Ah, ah, ah.... I don't know. I guess the marketing consensus is that a 'debut novel' is a much easier sell than a "debut collection". But I don't really understand why - personally, I'm more likely to take a chance on an unknown writer's stories than a novel, simply because if it turns out not to be my cup of tea then I've made less of an investment. I sometimes wonder whether the truism that 'story collections don't sell' is one of those examples where the customer needs to be told a lot more forcefully that they're wrong. But, yes, the facts speak for themselves. My first full-length collection of stories is still languishing in a drawer. I wrote three novels. Then they asked me if I wanted to do a collection. You do the math(s).

> What do you think about the stigma surrounding short stories and its new lease of life given online platforms?

'Stigma'? No, I don't think so. I only ever hear people talking up the short story; I've never actually met these mythical readers who love novels but can't stand short stories. I assume they exist; but then, we all know what 'assume' makes of you and me.

I think the time is absolutely ripe for short stories; they're perfect for reading on a screen device (phone, kindle, etc), and they're even more perfect for the kind of small-edition fine craft printing which is going to make a comeback any day now. I've also noticed that whenever I do a cull through my overloaded bookshelves, it's the short story collections which survive - because those are the books I know I'm most likely to return to and dip in and out of. So it's kind of hard for me to relate to the idea of a stigma. But then, I'm biased.

> You've now been twice runner-up for the BBC National Short Story Award - how did these two nods feel?

Yeah, pretty good. Although I think I might need one more crack at getting the you've-just-been-told-you-haven't-won-but-in-a-sense-you-have-won-I-mean-second-place-isn't-all-that-bad-plus-everyone's-looking-look-pleased facial expression right. Seriously though, it's a real honour. That's a serious competition, and some serious people enter it - and judge it - so I've been really pleased to have two stories recognised in that way. Especially as they both feature in my forthcoming collection, This Isn't The Sort Of Thing That Happens To Someone Like You. Did I mention the forthcoming collection?  

> What are you currently reading and watching and enjoying?

Humph. Once You Break A Knuckle, by D W Wilson (who, incidentally, writes better than he holds his drink) turns out to be very good indeed. I'm very surprised it hasn't yet got a UK deal (since the interview was conducted, D W Wilson signed a deal with Bloomsbury - ed); I suspect that will change soon. His writing has a very dry way with the vernacular, and a lovely loose energy. Also, I'm watching Fresh Meat on Channel 4, and although I get the feeling I'm not supposed to I actually like it a lot. It's funny, and crass, and unexpectedly tender.  

> When writing, do you go on media blackouts like other authors and stop reading, watching and going online?

When I'm at my desk I don't have the internet, if that's what you mean. But since 'when writing' is pretty much all the time, I certainly don't stop reading, or doing anything else from which I draw my inspiration.

> When do you write mostly?

Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.  

> What single most important one tip should every short story writer write on the pinboard above their desk to remind them?

'I have made this letter longer only because I haven't had the time to make it shorter' - Pascal said that.

> Who are your favourite short story writers and what to you makes a good short story?

Alice Munro, Lydia Davis, Alistair MacLeod, George Saunders, Donald Barthelme, Maile Meloy, Richard Brautigan.

A good short story has compression, rhythm, voice, compassion, and wit. A good short story rewards repeated readings.