Joss Sheldon (born 7 April 1982, Barnet, UK) is an author who has released five novels; ''Individutopia'' (2018), ''Money Power Love'' (2017), ''The Little Voice'' (2016), ''Occupied'' (2015) and ''Involution & Evolution'' (2014). He released his first work of non-fiction, ''DEMOCRACY: A User's Guide'', in 2020.

Early life

Sheldon studied at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

and the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

. He worked for Burnley Football Club and Northampton Town Football Club, before becoming an author.

Involution & Evolution

''Involution & Evolution'' (2014) is an

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

with an anti-war theme. The main protagonist, a conscientious objector during

WW1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, is based on

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

and

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

Occupied

''Occupied'' (2015) is a work of

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) Magical (foaled 18 May 2015) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who excelled over middle distances and was rated in the top twenty racehorses in the world in 2018 and ...

, inspired by the

occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

of Palestine,

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages ...

and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

. Sheldon told AXS that ''Occupied'' was based on the principle of

divide and rule Divide and rule policy ( la, divide et impera), or divide and conquer, in politics and sociology is gaining and maintaining power divisively. Historically, this strategy was used in many different ways by empires seeking to expand their ter ...

I believe that deep down we’re all the same; we all share a common humanity; we all have hopes and dreams, strengths and weaknesses, fears and doubts. That’s a truly beautiful thing. But all too often we focus on the small differences which divide us. And that, for me, is a tragedy. It’s the greatest tragedy of all.

Free Tibet Free Tibet (FT) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation, founded in 1987 and based in London, England. According to their mission statement, Free Tibet advocates for "a free Tibet in which Tibetans are able to determine their own futur ...

named ''Occupied'' as one of three books to read in 2016. The Daily Herald called it a "A chilling critique of modern society". The

Middle East Monitor The Middle East Monitor (MEMO) is a not-for-profit press monitoring organisation and lobbying group that emerged in mid 2009. MEMO is largely focused on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, but writes about other issues in the Middle East as wel ...

said it had a "Simple, but strong political message".

The Little Voice

''The Little Voice'' (2016) is a work of

psychological realism In literature, psychological fiction (also psychological realism) is a narrative genre that emphasizes interior characterization and motivation to explore the spiritual, emotional, and mental lives of the characters. The mode of narration examin ...

inspired by Sheldon's own life. Steve Topple of ''The Canary'' called it "Top notch" and "Radical": "The Little Voice is radical, to say the least. But Sheldon’s style is warm, almost whimsical at times, and this means that even the most politically uninitiated reader will understand what he’s trying to say".

Money Power Love

''Money Power Love'' (2017) is a work of historical fiction which follows the lives of three men who are united by nature but divided by their different upbringings.

Individutopia

''Individutopia'' is a work of political dystopian fiction set in a time when corporations rule the roost. A small oligarch class own absolutely everything, inequality is extreme, and people have to pay to walk down the street or breathe the air.''The Dallas Sun'' called it a "Modern classic", The Bay Net called it a "Must read", and The Canary called it "Gloriously colourful".

Other Work

Sheldon has published a number of poems, which he has performed for Stop The Arms Fair.

Bibliography

*Involution & Evolution. 2014. *Occupied. 2015. *The Little Voice. 2016. *Money Power Love. 2017. *Individutopia. 2018. *DEMOCRACY: A User's Guide. 2020.

References

Interviews

2019 Interview with Joss Sheldon
at ''Cyberpunks.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Joss Living people 1982 births British writers