You are invited to join us on 26 June 2026 at the Anthony Burgess Foundation in Manchester for a special free public event, exploring the relationship between Umberto Eco (author of The Name of the Rose) and British culture. More details and to book for free: www.anthonyburgess.org/event/umbert...

At the prize ceremony for the Observer Anthony Burgess Prize this week, Susannah Clapp gave a brilliantly impassioned speech about the importance of arts criticism. The Observer have just published it, and you can read it for free here: observer.co.uk/culture/the-...

Anthony Burgess was rarely photographed without his trademark Schimmelpenninck Duet cigar. In this week’s newspaper, he explores the history of the cigar and the allure of ‘prime stinkers’. Subscribe for FREE for weekly posts: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/tobacco-road

🚨 Breaking news. The WINNER of the 2026 Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism is Ciarán O’Rourke for his review of The Occult Elvis. Ciarán wins £3000 and publication in the Observer newspaper. The 2026 runners-up are No’a L. bat Miri and Julia Clayton. Congratulations!

In this week’s newsletter, a celebration of the Scottish experimental novelist Muriel Spark. Anthony Burgess met her several times when they both lived in Rome, but what did he think of her novels? Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/sparks-and...

In this week’s newsletter, all of the events happening in May at the Burgess Foundation in Manchester (and a special evening of music inspired by Anthony Burgess’s poetry now booking for June). Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/may-2026-a...

A Clockwork Orange

The Burgess Foundation invites you to the premiere of a song cycle inspired by the poetry of Anthony Burgess. Explore life’s unavoidable happenings with three visiting Canadian musicians. Tickets for the 21st June afternoon concert are £10, available here: www.anthonyburgess.org/event/concer...

In this week’s newsletter, we’re celebrating the life of zoologist Desmond Morris who has died at the age of 98. He developed a friendship with Anthony Burgess in the 1960s, which involved, among other things, cavemen. Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/desmond-mo...

Future of Opera – Human–AI Improvisation 🎶🌐 🗓️19/05, 4–7pm 📍International Anthony Burgess Foundation 🎟️ https://ow.ly/JSGA50YC96z A workshop by Tuning Into Opera (ENO) with the OperAI: Future of Opera series exploring how live human–AI improvisation can widen participation in opera.

We are delighted to partner with @blackwellsmcr.bsky.social and @poetryireland.bsky.social to welcome Jane Hirshfield to read from and discuss her collection 'The Asking'. 📅 Mon 27 Apr ⏰ 6.30-8pm 📍 @anthonyburgess.bsky.social 🎟️ £4 (free with book purchase) www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-asking...

In this week’s newsletter, Anthony Burgess (author of A Clockwork Orange) reviews the controversial bestseller The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, which posits that the descendants of Christ exist in the European nobility. Subscribe for FREE: anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/the-holy-b...

I am performing a solo show in Manchester next month - spread the word if you can - thank you www.anthonyburgess.org/event/litera...

Let's announce the shortlistees for the 2026 Observer Burgess prize. Over the next hour, we will reveal SEVEN names, in random order. Our first shortlistee is... Ciarán O’Rourke for their review of Miguel Conner’s biography The Occult Elvis: The Mystical and Magical Life of the King

In this week’s newsletter, we explore Tremor of Intent, Anthony Burgess's espionage novel published in 1966. Why did Burgess take on spy fiction, and what’s it got to do with Ian Fleming and John Le Carré? Let’s look at the evidence… 🔍 anthonyburgessfoundation.substack.com/p/spooks-at-...

We are very excited to announce our longlist for the 2026 Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism. Congratulations to these excellent writers, whose subject matters included a cover of The Specials’ Ghost Town, an exhibition of autonomous robotic dogs, Brad Pitt racing motor cars, >

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...