In this week’s newsletter, we round up April events happening at the Burgess Foundation, plus a preview of Robin Ince on tour and the performance of a new Anthony Burgess-inspired song cycle brought all the way from Canada. Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/april-2026...

Great read by the Anthony Burgess Foundation on One Hand Clapping, which we reissued in February. ‘. . .one of his most successful satirical novels, animated by a witty and energetic first-person voice.’ substack.com/@anthonyburges… @anthonyburgess.bsky.social

This is out today!

On this week’s newsletter, we’re revisiting a strange comic novel Anthony Burgess was working on in the years immediately before A Clockwork Orange: One Hand Clapping. Find out why it is unlike most of his other work. Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/a-lot-of-l...

A brand new audiobook of ONE HAND CLAPPING by Anthony Burgess is coming on 31 March 2026. Burgess's satire of consumerism and television is brilliantly narrated by Becky Bowe. Listen to a sample below and pre-order wherever you usually get audiobooks! www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6YZ...

A brand new audiobook of ONE HAND CLAPPING by Anthony Burgess is coming on 31 March 2026. Burgess's satire of consumerism and television is brilliantly narrated by Becky Bowe. Listen to a sample below and pre-order wherever you usually get audiobooks! www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6YZ...

We come across this every now and then, and it's an amusing letter. The thing is, Burgess kept all of his letters, hate mail too, but all we have in the archive is a more polite letter direct from 'Herr Wenner' himself. Some of the hate mail makes HST's letter look like it was written by a nun...

Actually that joke did have its origins in a Guardian piece. A profile of Anthony Burgess, which I dictated down the phone and in which I referred to him as an 'expatriate man of letters'. The Guardian rendered this as 'ex-patriot' and he threatened to sue.

On this week’s newsletter, we’re celebrating Len Deighton, who died this week. Anthony Burgess (author of A Clockwork Orange) was a fan of his work, and had plenty to say about him. Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/len-deight...

Happy St Patrick's day to all who celebrate! Here's a song from Blooms of Dublin, Anthony Burgess's musical based on James Joyce's Ulysses. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdcH...

We are sad to hear of the death of Len Deighton, who had a fan in Anthony Burgess. A few years ago we did a podcast about Bomber, one of Burgess's favourite of Deighton's novels (SSGB was another favourite). www.anthonyburgess.org/blog-posts/n...

On this week’s newsletter: pop music! Why did Anthony Burgess hate it so much? What did he have against the Beatles? What group of people did he say ‘stink to heaven’? Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/twanging-n...

It’s a busy March at the Burgess Foundation. This week’s newsletter gives a rundown of all the events. Can’t get to Manchester? Find out how you can engage with the Burgess Foundation online. Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/march-2026...

There are mere hours until the entry deadline for the 2026 Observer Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism. One winner will get £3,000 and publication in The Observer, and two runners-up will each be awarded £500. Thanks for all of your reviews so far – our judges are in for a treat.

There are mere hours until the entry deadline for the 2026 Observer Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism. One winner will get £3,000 and publication in The Observer, and two runners-up will each be awarded £500. Thanks for all of your reviews so far – our judges are in for a treat.

Only ONE DAY to go to enter the Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism! Entries close at midnight on 28 February. Find out all of the details: www.anthonyburgess.org/observeranth...

In this week’s newsletter, Anthony Burgess (author of A Clockwork Orange) writes about the challenges of enjoying Wagner’s music in light of the composer’s abhorrent views. Subscribe for FREE for weekly posts by and about Anthony Burgess: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/flying-to-...

The £3,000 Observer/Anthony Burgess prize for arts journalism: last call for entries. Ahead of the closing date on 28 February, Tim Adams, New Review editor, recalls a writer’s doomed vocation. Here’s how to enter the annual prize. https://bit.ly/3MJ0dJi

“LANARK is a strange, experimental book that immediately thrusts the reader into a weird world with glimmers of familiarity” —author @rodgeglass.bsky.social & the International @anthonyburgess.bsky.social Foundation discuss Alasdair Gray’s LANARK #GrayDay 💙📚 www.anthonyburgess.org/blog-posts/n...

OUT TODAY! A brand new edition of TREMOR OF INTENT, Anthony Burgess’s spy caper Secret agent Denis Hillier boards a ship bound for Crimea. He must return a defector to England, but he’s past it and the ship may be filled with enemy agents Buy now (affiliate link): uk.bookshop.org/a/15106/9781...

OUT TODAY! A brand new edition of ONE HAND CLAPPING, Anthony Burgess’s satire on consumerism. Northern housewife Janet tells of her husband’s success on a TV quiz show and the lavish lifestyle that follows. But something's not right... Buy now (affiliate link): uk.bookshop.org/a/15106/9781...

OUT TODAY! A brand new edition of ONE HAND CLAPPING, Anthony Burgess’s satire on consumerism. Northern housewife Janet tells of her husband’s success on a TV quiz show and the lavish lifestyle that follows. But something's not right... Buy now (affiliate link): uk.bookshop.org/a/15106/9781...

OUT TODAY! A brand new edition of TREMOR OF INTENT, Anthony Burgess’s spy caper Secret agent Denis Hillier boards a ship bound for Crimea. He must return a defector to England, but he’s past it and the ship may be filled with enemy agents Buy now (affiliate link): uk.bookshop.org/a/15106/9781...

Should Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange be top of this banned books list? And should it be five positions above a Wizard of Oz prequel? pen.org/banned-books...

Did you know Anthony Burgess (author of A Clockwork Orange) worked as a television critic? This week’s newsletter explores his changing attitude to TV and what he thought of some famous television shows. Subscribe for FREE for weekly posts: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/words-out-...

This is happening here! You can find out all the details here: www.anthonyburgess.org/event/talk-t...

Ece is in conversation with Nerve co-founder Carole Cadwalladr on Thursday Feb 19, 6:30-8pm, Anthony Burgess foundation, Manchester @anthonyburgess.bsky.social Buy tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-nerve-...

On this week’s newsletter, find out about Anthony Burgess’s long association with the Observer newspaper, and find out how you can enter your own writing into the Observer Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism. Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/sunday-obs...

The Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism is looking for the best new voices in cultural criticism. Entries close on 28 February 2026, so get scribbling! First prize is £3000 and publication in @theobserveruk.bsky.social Find out how to enter: www.anthonyburgess.org/observeranth...

New podcast: The Burgess Foundation is working to preserve the vast collection audio tapes in our archive. We talk to David Govier, audio preservation engineer at Manchester Central Library, about his work on the collection. All the usual places or here: www.anthonyburgess.org/blog-posts/p...

This week’s newsletter celebrates Anthony Burgess’s (A Clockwork Orange) novel Beard’s Roman Women, a novel about loss a grief. And yes, we address its terrible title… Subscribe for FREE for weekly posts: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/psychopomp...

Pynch, punch, the last of the month. profadamroberts.substack.com/p/pynchons-t...

Do you have thoughts on culture and a way with words? Why not enter the Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism

The Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism is looking for the best new voices in cultural criticism. Entries close on 28 February 2026, so get scribbling! First prize is £3000 and publication in @theobserveruk.bsky.social Find out how to enter: www.anthonyburgess.org/observeranth...

Ahem...

On this week’s newsletter, Anthony Burgess takes on the utopian thinking of B.F. Skinner. Find out how reading Skinner inspired the themes of A Clockwork Orange, and what Burgess thought ‘B.F.’ stood for… Subscribe for FREE for weekly posts: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/a-psycholo...

On this week’s newsletter, we’re talking about Anthony Burgess’s translation of ‘the Russian Hamlet’. In the play, a young man rails against the immoral stupidity of the ruling classes. Some might say it’s quite relevant... Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/the-import...

Welly welly well, viddy this my brothers. We're going to like tolchock Captain America in his bolshy great yarbles.

Finished reading Anthony Burgess's Earthly Powers (1980) last night — I found it extremely funny, a rich take on twentieth century history, Roman Catholicism, homosexuality, and literature from Jim Joyce to Willie Maugham. Heavy but brilliant.

New review of Anthony Burgess and America: "Thurley provides as comprehensive a treatment of the topic as it is possible to imagine. Thurley’s study is certain to become essential reading for anyone studying the writings of Anthony Burgess". @manchesterup.bsky.social @anthonyburgess.bsky.social

It’s darkest January, storms are battering the UK, snow is falling and we are dreaming of warmer climes. This week’s newsletter explores Anthony Burgess’s attraction to the food, culture and weather of Southern Europe. Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/the-beauti...

Thinking about David Bowie on his birthday and ten years after the release of his final album, Blackstar. Find out about the connections between Bowie and Anthony Burgess over on our Substack: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/reading-th...

Looking back at 2025 - Centre for Place Writing books published this year. Including The Roads to Rome @cathfletcher.bsky.social Stowaway @joeshute.bsky.social A Shorter Ulysses @anthonyburgess.bsky.social & Moving Mountains @louisekenward.bsky.social #BookSky

In our reflections on 2025, we're listening to the radio & podcasts - with Michael Symmons Roberts on Front Row, Jean Sprackland on Start the Week and The Essay on BBC Radio4, Helen Mort @helenmort.bsky.social on The Library of Lazy Thinking & Andrew Biswell on @anthonyburgess.bsky.social 99 novels.

Nobody knows more about Peake than @profrmaslen.bsky.social. This is an exemplary podcast on Gormenghast etc. For all your Gothic-Christmas listening pleasure!

In our final newsletter of 2025, we’re celebrating 30 years of Anthony Burgess’s last novel, Byrne. We’ll be back in the new year. Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/the-last-w...

Anthony Burgess wrote an introduction to Titus Groan, which is still in the current UK paperback. We also made a podcast episode about Burgess and Peake right here: www.anthonyburgess.org/podcasts/nin...

Everybody knows the best memoirists are merely nominated for the Booker, right? *saunters off, whistling conspicuously*

Anthony Burgess on Shaw: After cataloging the man's many flaws and follies, he wrote, "But none of this could prevent his being a great dramatist, perhaps second only to Shakespeare."

A noble endeavour!