Mike French

Underground Rivers Mike French

The Luton Writers' Group was born out of a question: Are there still writers out there or has Luton become a literary desert? Before the group started, a workshop was run last year at Luton library about getting published. One person turned up... A year on and we have a collection called Underground Rivers to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of Luton Central Library. The name is a reference to the River Lea which runs under the library and it's an answer to our question - it may appear to be a desert, with the odd oasis - like Booker shortlisted Stephen Kelman - but underneath there is abundant life. This book is proof of that and is a mix of short stories, scripts and opening chapters of novels all of which have been forged this year from writers who gathered for the first time in February when the library started the group.