Being awarded the Observer/Anthony Burgess Prize was an unbelievable privilege. Apart from being published in the Observer and the cash prize (which I put towards research trips for future writing), it was an invaluable insight into newspapers’ commissioning processes. I’m very grateful for the contact and guidance I’ve had since. It was a pleasure to […]

What makes good criticism? It’s a big question, especially in this age where there are more critics than ever. Specialist blogs proliferate; anyone with a social media handle can review the latest films, novels, albums, plates of food…. Firstly, it’s important to separate general cultural criticism from academic criticism. The latter is deep-delving, forensically detailed. […]

I am delighted to be judging the Anthony Burgess prize. At a time when the arts pages in many of our newspapers are under threat, it seems doubly important to celebrate the role of arts journalism both as a necessary tool in enabling the circulation of books, pictures and films and as an art form […]

For me, winning the first ever Anthony Burgess/Observer Prize in 2012 ­­– as opposed to an award given in any other similarly esteemed writer’s name – had a uniquely personal resonance. To someone who grew up in the north-west, without obvious advantages of birth or connection, and who went on to study and compose music, all the while harbouring a passion […]

Burgess and the art of quotation. By Graham Foster.

Burgess’s relationship with the work of Thomas Pynchon. By Graham Foster.

Burgess and the American Counter-Culture. By Graham Foster.

Burgess’s vexed relationship with pop music. By Graham Foster.

Burgess’s interaction with American writers and their work. By Graham Foster.

Burgess’s relations with Monty Python’s Flying Circus. By Graham Foster.