The Mechanics' Institute Review

The Mechanics' Institute Review
Publisher	Birkbeck, University of London

The Mechanics' Institute Review (also known by the abbreviation MIR) is an annual literary anthology published by Birkbeck, University of London, as part of its MA Creative Writing course. The MIR Project Director is Julia Bell.^[1]

History

The publication owes its name to the institution which publishes the title, Birkbeck, University of London. 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 published authors, from Issue 3 onwards. These include Ali Smith, Toby Litt, Rose Tremain, Joyce Carol Oates, T. C. Boyle, Dubravka Ugrešić, Courttia Newland, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Russell Celyn Jones, Peter Ho Davies, Jean McNeil and Richard Milward.

Reviews of the magazine have been published in the TES and The Guardian newspaper.

Issues

Issue 1

ISBN 0-9547933-0-7, Published in 2004, Introduction by Jonathan Coe.

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

ISBN 0-9547933-2-3, 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,^[2] 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

ISBN 0-9547933-3-1, Published in September 2006 Introduction by Julia Bell.^[1]

Editors: John Braime, Jonathan Catherall, Christine Hsu, Amy Popovich, Laura Peters and Victor Schonfeld.

Contributors: Lisa Appignanesi, Neil Baker, T. Coraghessan Boyle, John Braime, Jonathan Catherall, Dorothy Crossan, Harriet Fisher, Grahame Gladin, Emma Henderson, Christine Hsu, Mariko Iwasaki, Kavita Jindal,^[3] Jamie Joseph, Sarah Jane Marshall, Courttia Newland, Christina Papamichael, Laura Peters, Amy Popovich, Kate Pullinger, Robert Royston, Lenya Samanis, Victor Schonfeld, Franca Torrano, Dubravka Ugrešić and Maggie Womersley.

Issue 4

ISBN 978-0-9547933-4-0, Published in September 2007 Introduction by Joyce Carol Oates

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

Contributors: David Bezmozgis, Danny Birchall, Gabriela Blandy, Nadia Crandal, Zoe Fairbairns, Tom Gauld, 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

ISBN 978-0-9547933-5-7, Published in September 2008 Introduction by Susan Elderkin.^[4]

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 Knezevic, Cynthia Medford Langley, Toby Litt, Philip Makatrewicz, Paul Martin, Josh Raymond, Sarah Salway, Thomas Jerome Seabrook, Ali Smith, Melissa de Villiers, Matthew Weait.

Issue 6

ISBN 978-0-9547933-6-4, Published in September 2009 Introduction by Jean McNeil

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,^[5] 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, Joanna Ingham, Chris Lilly, Kavita Jindal,^[3] Richard Milward, Margi Williams, Jon Elsom, Carol Wong, Lesley Saunders, Thea Bennett, K.K. Dayal.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Julia Bell
2. ^ Website of Niki Aguirre, Short Story Writer and Novelist
3. ^ ^{a b} Kavita Jindal - Home
4. ^ Susan Elderkin
5. ^ emily cleaver …. fiction / copywriting

External links

• Mechanics' Institute Review official site