Do we need ‘conspiracy theory’ because we find trust in short supply? August 20th Day Seven in Edinburgh Highlights: 1. Pleasance Dome 10, ‘Moth and Dog Are Dying to Get Out’, a play exploring the relationship of two boys, their  coming out and the confrontation of distrust and ‘conspiracy’ involved (The Fringe Festival); 2. NW Room, Jem Calder & Derek Owusu (The  Book Festival) & Courtyard Theatre Édouard Louis (The Book Festival).

What’s a conspiracy theory you actually find believable? Do we need ‘conspiracy theory’ because we find trust in short supply? August 20th Day Seven in Edinburgh Highlights: 1. Pleasance Dome 10, Moth and Dog Are Dying to Get Out, a play exploring the relationship of two boys, their  coming out and the confrontation of distrust … More Do we need ‘conspiracy theory’ because we find trust in short supply? August 20th Day Seven in Edinburgh Highlights: 1. Pleasance Dome 10, ‘Moth and Dog Are Dying to Get Out’, a play exploring the relationship of two boys, their  coming out and the confrontation of distrust and ‘conspiracy’ involved (The Fringe Festival); 2. NW Room, Jem Calder & Derek Owusu (The  Book Festival) & Courtyard Theatre Édouard Louis (The Book Festival).

‘Man measured his words like food and decided what was worth opening his mouth for’. Words and food in Derek Owusu (2026) ‘Hunger Pains’ for The Reading Agency Quick Reads.

‘Man measured his words like food and decided what was worth opening his mouth for’.[1] No-one measures his words like Derek Owusu, and no writer has pursued the link between food and the ‘matter’ that is, as in Hamlet (Act 2, Scene 2, 204ff.), ‘Words, words, words’, (whether spoken or written) like him since Shakespeare. … More ‘Man measured his words like food and decided what was worth opening his mouth for’. Words and food in Derek Owusu (2026) ‘Hunger Pains’ for The Reading Agency Quick Reads.

‘I’m not sure how I ended up here … and I see only blocks of text that are unclear like each word is fused into the next …’. Reading is an aspiration towards a communion.

Have you ever felt that so much depended on a reading of what is in front of you? I have just made a first reading – fast and furious – through the proof text of a novel not due for publication until, I think, September 2026, Derek Owusu’s The Recovery House, which will be published … More ‘I’m not sure how I ended up here … and I see only blocks of text that are unclear like each word is fused into the next …’. Reading is an aspiration towards a communion.

‘A pervasive pattern of instability of relationships, self-image, and affects and marked impulsivity, …’: Are DSM-5-TR Categorical Criteria means of describing a person, a character, an author, or a reading experience ever? This blog reflects on Derek Owusu (2025) ‘Borderline Fiction’, Edinburgh, Canongate.

‘A pervasive pattern of instability of relationships, self-image, and affects and marked impulsivity, …’: Are DSM-5-TR Categorical Criteria means of describing a person, a character, an author, or a reading experience ever? This blog reflects on Derek Owusu (2025) Borderline Fiction, Edinburgh,  Canongate. As yet, I have discovered no ‘professional’ critical view of this book, … More ‘A pervasive pattern of instability of relationships, self-image, and affects and marked impulsivity, …’: Are DSM-5-TR Categorical Criteria means of describing a person, a character, an author, or a reading experience ever? This blog reflects on Derek Owusu (2025) ‘Borderline Fiction’, Edinburgh, Canongate.