Kieron Fairweather

In fiction, I am looking for literary and upmarket-commercial crossover. My tastes tend toward the darker side of the spectrum, and I am fascinated by stories that explore unsettling worlds—whether dystopian, speculative, or rooted in gritty realism. Whether this comes in the form of the sharp, atmospheric, weird sci-fi of Jeff Vandermeer or through the emotional intensity and alienation of books like Eileen or Nightcrawling, I always appreciate a novel which challenges me to enter a jarring context or confront unique perspectives.

That said, give me an unconventional, quirky narrator, a healthy dose of horror (or the horrible!), or some gritty urban realism and you’ll have me hooked. Books like Convenience Store Woman, Bear, I Who Have Never Known Men, The Doloriad, Hagstone, Young Mungo, Weird Fucks, Snow Crash, The City & The City, Never Let Me Go, Lapvona, Hummingbird Salamander, and Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow have all scratched this itch in some form or another.

In non-fiction, my taste is for the narrative. I’m interested in writing that blends personal stories with broader cultural, historical, or expert insights, and I’m always fascinated by books that unearth hidden meaning or shed new light on familiar events. Books like Rory Carroll’s Killing Thatcher, Hallie Rubenhold’s The Five, Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing, Ciaran Thapar’s Cut Short, and Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey are good examples of this. I would also love to read submissions that delve into music history from the mid-century onwards (Meet Me In The Bathroom, Our Band Could Be Your Life), provide storied accounts from the world of sport (Barbarian Days, The Takedown podcast), and I would also love to see practical narratives in arts and craft.

I also love writing that examines the emotional and psychological impact of environments, cities, and landscapes, and I’m always looking for works that challenge the quotidian and mapped nature of the city (Lauren Elkin’s Flaneuse, Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust, Robert Macfarlane’s Underland).