Simplified Test Signal Title

Test Signal is a ground-breaking anthology of the best contemporary northern writing from Dead Ink and Bloomsbury, showcasing the wealth of literary talent in the North of England. It is a testament to the fact that there is no singular prescription of what it means to be a northern writer and no such thing as a definitive northern voice. Instead, it celebrates a community of writers, each telling a different story in their own words. From bridges over the Tyne to crumbling coastlines, influencers' online worlds to asylum applications, packed train carriages to forgotten village social clubs, and family in Nigeria to holidays in Greece, shining university campuses to ghosts in city cemeteries, jobs in London to teenage explorations, monstrous graffiti to suburban woodland, we are the North.

With ground-breaking new authors, a thriving independent publishing scene, and vibrant grass-roots networks, the North is driving a revolution in new literature. This anthology showcases the best of its talent, from every corner of the region and across all its vibrant genres. Some contributors are well-known established names, others are newcomers; all of them are part of the new northern writing scene. This is Test Signal: Adam Farrer, Andrew Michael Hurley, Amy Stewart, Carmen Marcus, Crista Ermiya, Désirée Reynolds, Jane Claire Bradley, Jenna Isherwood, J. A. Mensah, Kit Fan, Lara Williams, Laura Bui, Matt Wesolowski, Melissa Wan, Naomi Booth, Rebecca Hill, Robert Williams, Sammy Wright, Sara Sherwood, Sharon Telfer, Tawseef Khan, Tricia Cresswell.

"There's nothing too obviously Northern about these trenchant stories – in their content or form – beyond that stubborn refusal to blend in, to stay still, to be complacent," says Tom Benn.

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