''The Mechanics' Institute Review'' (also known by the abbreviation ''MIR'') is an annual literary anthology published by

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

, as part of its MA Creative Writing course. The ''MIR'' Project Director is

Julia Bell Julia Bell (28 January 1879 – 26 April 1979) was a pioneering English human geneticist.Greta Jones, 'Bell, Julia (1879–1979)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 200accessed 10 M ...

.Julia Bell
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History

The publication owes its name to the institution that publishes the title,

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

. The first Mechanics' Institute in London was founded in 1823 by George Birkbeck. "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 and novel extracts, ''MIR'' has also included work by notable published authors, from Issue 3 onwards. These include

Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 Au ...

Toby Litt Toby Litt is an English writer and academic in the Department of English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London. Life Litt was born in Ampthill in 1968. He was educated at Bedford Modern School, read English at Worcester College, Oxfor ...

, Rose Tremain,

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

T. C. Boyle Thomas Coraghessan Boyle, also known as T. C. Boyle and T. Coraghessan Boyle (born December 2, 1948), is an American novelist and short story writer. Since the mid-1970s, he has published sixteen novels and more than 100 short stories. He won the ...

Dubravka Ugrešić Dubravka Ugrešić (; born 27 March 1949) is a Yugoslav and later Croatian writer. A graduate of University of Zagreb, she has been based in Amsterdam since 1996 and refuses to identify as a Croatian writer. Early life and education Ugrešić ...

Courttia Newland Courttia Newland (born 25 August 1973) is a British writer of Jamaican and Barbadian heritage. Background Born in 1973 in west London, to parents of Caribbean heritage, Newland grew up in Shepherd's Bush, where he became a rapper and music ...

, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Peter Ho Davies,

Jean McNeil Jean McNeil, born 1968, is a Canadian fiction and travel author. She is a Reader in Creative Writing and co-convenor of the MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) at the University of East Anglia. She grew up on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scoti ...

and David Foster Wallace. Reviews of the magazine have been published in the '' TES'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' newspaper.

Issues

Issue 1

, Published in 2004, Introduction by

Jonathan Coe Jonathan Coe (; born 19 August 1961) 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 ...

. 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

, Published in 2005, Introduction by Sarah Waters. 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, Nina Robertson, Patti Webb, Laura Weinert and Harry Whitehead.

Issue 3

, Published in September 2006 Introduction by

. Editors: John Braime, Jonathan Catherall, Christine Hsu, Amy Popovich, Laura Peters and Victor Schonfeld. Contributors: Lisa Appignanesi, Neil Baker,

T. Coraghessan Boyle Thomas Coraghessan Boyle, also known as T. C. Boyle and T. Coraghessan Boyle (born December 2, 1948), is an American novelist and short story writer. Since the mid-1970s, he has published sixteen novels and more than 100 short stories. He won the ...

, John Braime, Jonathan Catherall, Dorothy Crossan, Harriet Fisher, Grahame Gladin, Emma Henderson, Christine Hsu, Mariko Iwasaki, Kavita Jindal,Kavita Jindal – Home
/ref> Jamie Joseph, Sarah Jane Marshall,

, Christina Papamichael, Laura Peters, Amy Popovich,

Kate Pullinger Kate Pullinger is a Canadian novelist and author of digital fiction, and a professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, England. She was born 1961 in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada, and went to high school on Vancouver Island. She dr ...

, Robert Royston, Lenya Samanis, Victor Schonfeld, Franca Torrano,

and Maggie Womersley.

Issue 4

, Published in September 2007 Introduction by

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

David Bezmozgis David Bezmozgis ( lv, Dāvids Bezmozgis; born 1973) is a Canadian writer and filmmaker, currently the head of Humber College's School for Writers. Life and career Educational background Born in Riga, Latvia, he came to Canada with his family ...

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

Tom Gauld Tom Gauld (born 1976) is a Scottish cartoonist and illustrator. His style reflects his self-professed fondness of "deadpan comedy, flat dialogue, things happening offstage and impressive characters". Others note that his work "combines pathos ...

, Jaime Hernandez, 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, James Vincent, David Foster Wallace, Hilary Wilce and Laura Williams.

Issue 5

, 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 Knežević Olja Raičević Knežević (born 1968) is a Croatia-based Montenegrin novelist. Her 2019 novel ''Katarina, velika i mala'', which received that year's V.B.Z. Award, was translated into English the following year as ''Catherine the Great and the Sma ...

, Cynthia Medford Langley,

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

, Melissa de Villiers, Matthew Weait.

Issue 6

, Published in September 2009 Introduction by

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, Anna Baggaley, Emily Cleaver,emily cleaver …. fiction / copywriting
/ref> Maggie Womersley, Anna Ackland, Sue Gedge, Peter Ho Davies, Graham Hodge, Richard English, Mary Irene Masaba, Josh Raymond, Moira Sharpe, David Queva,

Russell Celyn Jones Russell Celyn Jones is a British writer and Emeritus Professor, Birkbeck, University of London. Jones was born in London and brought up in Swansea, Wales. He has written novels, mostly focused on crime and issues of guilt and morality, and also te ...

, Joanna Ingham, Chris Lilly, Kavita Jindal,

Richard Milward Richard Milward (born 26 October 1984 in Middlesbrough) is an English novelist. His debut novel ''Apples'' was published by Faber in 2007. He has also written ''Ten Storey Love Song'' and most recently ''Kimberly's Capital Punishment''. Raise ...

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

Issue 7

, Published in September 2010 Introduction by John Ralston Saul Editors: Farzana Ahmad, Alan Baban, Valeria Melchioretto, Catherine O'Connor, Esther Poyer, Rhiannon Smith, Rachel Withers Contributors: Jules Grant, Felicity Francis, George Lewkowicz, Laura Tapsfield, Stephen J. Vowles, David Foster Wallace, Daniel Bourke, S.J Ahmed, Barbara Bleiman, Xavier Leret,

Salena Godden Salena Godden is an English poet, author, activist, broadcaster, memoirist and essayist. Born in the UK, Salena Godden is of Jamaican-Irish heritage and based in London. Widely anthologised, she has published several books. She has also writt ...

, John Lucas, Elizabeth Sarkany, Liz Fremantle, Sadie McKenzie, Cordelia Feldman, Aaron Cox, Bernardine Evaristo, Nicholas Hogg, Charlie Fish, Hannah Parry, Tamara Pollock, Katherine Woodrow.

Issue 8

, Published in September 2011 Introduction by

e. e. cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

Editors: Greta Burgio, Anna Corbett, Miguel Fernandes, Ceia Emma Lever, Megan Orpwood-Russell, Samira Salihu, Veena Sharma. Contributors: Fiona Melrose, Tray Butler, Daniel Bourke,

Chris Adrian Chris Adrian (born November 7, 1970) is an American author. Adrian's writing styles in short stories vary greatly; from modernist realism to pronounced lyrical allegory. His novels both tend toward surrealism, having mostly realistic characters ...

, Xavier Leret, David Peter Burns, Karin Salvalaggio, Tim Graves, Kevin Barry, Maggie Womersley, Rosie Allabarton, Charlotte Beeston, Barbara Bleiman, Damien Doorley, John Lucas, Anna Baggaley, Julius Pasteiner, Mary Bracht, Thaddeus Hickman, Amit Chaudhuri, Kirty Topiwala, Tanya Datta, Mihaela Nicolescu, Genevieve Herr, Louise Lee.

Issue 9

, Published in September 2012 Illustrations by Lucy Jones Editors: Sue Betney, Dane Buckley, Sarah Cumming, Natalie Fletcher, Marlowe Harris, Zoë Ranson, Antonia Reed. Contributors: Terence James Eeles, Jamie M-Richards, Phoebe Blatton, Lucy Hume,

Jenn Ashworth Jenn Ashworth is an English writer born in 1982 in Preston, Lancashire. In June 2018 Ashworth was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative. Education At the age of 11 Ashworth informed her parents th ...

, Paul Flack,

, Susan Greenhill, Phil Gilbert, Veena Sharma, Rachel Withers,

Alison MacLeod Alison MacLeod is a Canadian-British literary fiction writer. She is most noted for her 2013 novel ''Unexploded'', a longlisted nominee for the 2013 Man Booker Prize, and her 2017 short story collection ''All the Beloved Ghosts'', a shortlisted f ...

, Jack Wilkes, Tanya Datta, Erinn Kindig, Thaddeus Hickman, Chris Lilly, Nick Alexander, Victoria Grigg, M. J. Whistler, Nadim Safdar, Maggie Womersley, Alexander Knights.

Issue 10

, Published in September 2013 Introduction by

Senior Editor: Sue Tyley Editors: Ravinder Basra, Mary Bracht, Stephanie Cooper, Pamela Gough, Ian McNab, Angela Shoosmith. Contributors: Kavita Jindal, Charlie Fish, Lucy Hume, Gaylene Gould, Adam Marek, Gemma Thomas, Amanda Crane, Lenya Samanis, Amy Bird, Rebekah Lin, Colin Grant, Maddy Reid, Fiona Melrose, Dave Wakely, Barbara Bleiman, Jackie Kay, Desmond Byrne, Joel Pearcey, Louise Christian, Jacquelyn Shreeves-Lee, Evie Wyld, Julius Pasteiner, Sarah Alexander, Maggie Womersley, Amanda Schiff. Celebrating 10 years of ''The Mechanic's Institute Review''.

Issue 11

, Published in September 2014 Introduction by

Editors: Erica Duggan, Kate Smalley Ellis, Kieran Falconer, Alison Hitchcock, Heidi Midtun Larsen, Rebekah Lin, Luke Terry. Contributors: Jennifer Whitehead, Sara Keene, Walter Jones, Melanie Jones, Dave Wakely,

Hari Kunzru Hari Mohan Nath Kunzru (born 1969) is a British novelist and journalist. He is the author of the novels '' The Impressionist'', '' Transmission'', ''My Revolutions'', ''Gods Without Men'', ''White Tears''David Robinson"Interview: Hari Kunzru, a ...

, Angela Shoosmith, Martin Bryant, Len Lukowski, Talim Arab, Dave McGowan, Paul Flack, Desmond Byrne, Vanessa MacDonald, Rebecca Rouillard, Mary Bracht, Julia Gray, Josh Raymond, Jacquelyn Shreeves-Lee, Sonya Oldwin, Antonia Reed, Angela Wray, Alex Preston, Kate Whiteside, James Mitchell.

Issue 16

The Climate Issue, Autumn 2019 Managing Editor: Sye Tyley Contributors: Julia Bell, Richard Hamblyn, Emma Hutton
Rachel Bower
Katie Willis, Arhonndia, Hannah Austin, Rushika Wick, Tarquin Landseer, Carol Caffrey, Louisa Armitage, Season Butler, Dave Wakely, Kate Noakes, Alexandra Petropoulos, Shauna Mackay, Elizabeth Baines, Diego Ferrari, Sarah Barr, Laura Lewis-Waters, M.W. Bewick, Reena Dennhardt, Joshua Southern, Valentine Carter, Andrew Leach, Carmel Shortall, Fran Lock, Judy Darley, Jean McNeil, Emily Hinshelwood, Ronan Fitzgerald, Lawrence Illsley, Lorraine Wilson
K.M.Elkes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechanics' Institute Review Publications established in 2004 Birkbeck, University of London