Seeking attention, with Emma Brankin

also featuring: cats, Carrie Fisher, and Harry Styles holding a puppy

Attention Seekers is the debut collection of short stories by Emma Brankin, published by Valley Press last month. If you’ve passed over this volume in our shop so far – perhaps because you don’t usually buy books in hot pink, with cats licking themselves on the cover – it’s time for a rethink. This is a book with serious literary ambitions that it meets effortlessly, with ripped-from-the-headlines premises excoriating the whole concept of “attention”, all cut through with a streak of dark humour. It’s a genuinely exhilarating read, which will leave you thoroughly entertained, and perhaps a little wiser.

For today’s post, I spoke to Emma about her writing life, inspirations, tips for short story success, and a few other things I’d been wondering about…

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Before you came to short story writing, you made a living from words, as a journalist. What were some of your earliest experiences with writing, and how did they lead you into journalism?

When I was aged six or so, I wrote a two-page play about cat detectives who solved crime. (It was basically Scooby Doo, but everybody was a cat.) I adored writing at school, and it was this love of words – coupled with absolute naivety – that saw me enter journalism. I foolishly thought the job would comprise of me having a lovely time interviewing talented people I admired, then writing fun, creative articles. Too often though, it was just me interviewing somebody from The Only Way is Essex about their swimwear range, then having to write it up in a prescriptive and pandering manner – so, eventually, I quit.

After six years of not having a lovely time, you retrained as a children’s drama tutor, which you have described as your most rewarding work so far. Would you be willing to recount a special moment from that job?

Generally, as a drama tutor, there are two ‘types’ of special moments. Firstly, when a student is just astonishingly talented. Recently, I was lucky enough to watch a student performing a series of pieces we’d been working on, and I felt emotional just sitting back and witnessing their greatness.

But the other type of special moment is when a student with less ‘natural’ ability can excel and improve within their own parameters. So, for example, a shy student who starts to speak with better projection and confidence, or a student who starts off by saying they don't like drama getting excited about creating a mini-play with friends. Those moments are lovely.

Speaking of acting greatness… in another interview, you mentioned your admiration for Carrie Fisher. For those of us yet to read any of her novels and memoirs, where should we start?

Carrie Fisher's memoirs are all awesome. You don't have to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy her insights into fame and life in general. However, the book I am obsessed with is a novel called Postcards from the Edge. It's a very funny, semi-autobiographical tale of an actress in rehab who sees everything, except herself, very clearly. It's also quite experimental with form in unexpected and interesting ways. 

You have definitely brought that gift for ‘clear-sightedness’ into your own writing. What are some of the other books/authors that have influenced you?

Anything that’s stark and blunt and uncompromising. Or anything a bit weird! So, slightly obvious picks, but I am always so impressed by anything George Saunders or Ottessa Moshfegh writes. 

You appear to be a seriously committed reader of fiction. How many books do you read a year?

For about a decade I barely read anything, so I think now I'm just making up for lost time. I've read 33 books so far this year (well, two or three were audiobooks) and they’ve not all been fiction. A few of my favourite reads this year have been non-fiction. I’m thinking Fern Brady’s Strong Female Character, Sophie Duncan’s Searching for Juliet, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett’s The Year of the Cat and Hayley Campbell’s All the Living and the Dead. If anyone has any good book recommendations, please hit me up on Instagram via @sabre_reads!

The stories in Attention Seekers were widely published prior to the compilation of the book, including a few prize successes. What would be your advice to short story writers seeking to follow in your footsteps?

Winning some competitions, and being shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, gave me tremendous encouragement at a time when I was doubting my writing ability – so I am eternally grateful to those organisations. Having a talent like Eloghosa Osunde single out my story ‘The Scandals of Christendom’ to win Fugue’s Fiction Prize was other-worldly. I can’t tell you how many rejections that story had in the run-up to her showing such amazing belief in it. I mean, if it’s good enough for the author of a book as sensational as Vagabonds!...

I would encourage writers seeking publication in lit mags to try a few writing courses. SmokeLong Quarterly does a great one that immediately springs to mind, as does the fabulous flash fiction writer Kathy Fish. I appreciate there’s a cost to this but it doesn't have to be an expensive, long course; you could try a short one to test the waters. I do think finding a supportive community and some like-minded writers can be incredibly useful.

Then, I would advise you to read a lot, and when you come across something you like, think carefully about the particular craft choices the writers are making and why it is working. The final, unsurprising, piece of advice would be to have resilience and appreciate that there is always good work getting rejected. If writing is important to you, keep going.

What have been some of your proudest moments since the book was launched?

Every time a reader responds positively to the book, it's such a lovely feeling. It’s a privilege that they even choose to dedicate their reading time to my book. So, when they then enjoy the book and then dedicate even more of their time to sharing positive and public thoughts, it's such an honour, one I know I'm not entitled to – one my words have to earn.

When I write, I'm constantly worrying that I'm writing for an audience of one and that my taste in character, plot, tone etc. is never going to appeal to anyone else. While nobody's writing is for everyone (well, maybe Claire Keegan’s is – has anybody not adored Small Things Like These?), it's reassuring that there are a few people bonkers enough to like stories about talking vaginas, Instagram-famous cats and imaginary friends that are also beheaded Tudor Queens…

You seem to have a very special relationship with your cat, who appeared in much of our early communication, was the “muse” for your cover, and with whom you share your Instagram. What is it that connects you to cats?

I've always loved all animals, but the cats in my life are extra special to me. (No shade to dogs – I love dogs!) Just like a book review, nobody is entitled to a cat’s good favour; so it’s the utmost privilege when I earn it.

If I did some serious self-reflection, I might come to acknowledge that cats live my idea of the perfect existence. They are allowed to be – celebrated, even, for being – interchangeably independent and needy. And there’s a reason I consider cats to be the ultimate attention seekers. My cat Sabre lives assuming (correctly, to be fair) that all I want in life is for him to plonk himself in front of me and interrupt my current activity (which is often writing). Cats are unapologetically themselves, with huge main character energy.

All power to them! But I’m glad you mentioned dogs; I’m keen to follow up on a matter from your interview with Herald Scotland, which I think will be of great interest to the more intellectual readers of this blog.

What happened when you met Harry Styles?

So, as I mention in the Herald interview, I often get asked “who’s the best celebrity you've ever met?” The answer is (sort of) Harry Styles, because meeting him also involved meeting a plethora of adorable guide-dog trainee puppies. (I often show them this photo, too – I just find it hilarious.)

To quickly explain, One Direction were shooting a semi-ironic magazine cover in the studio next to an interview I was conducting with some Team GB athletes, and we crossed paths. As I mentioned, I'm an animal lover, so I was in heaven walking around holding the sweetest guide dog puppy in my arms as many other very cute puppies ran about my feet. It was almost irrelevant that Harry Styles was there! But, yes, Harry and I ended up in a conversation – well, actually I was mainly talking to Harry's puppy in his arms!

Finally, if you could share just one page from Attention Seekers with the readers of this blog, which would it be?

It's too much pressure – so I would just say, myself and editor Jo Haywood chose the opening story to be the opening story for a reason. I felt ‘Caturday’ really encapsulated the tone and theme of what I was trying to achieve with the entire collection. It’s irreverent, but it’s also vulnerable. Hopefully, readers find the premise (a spiralling woman jealous of her cat’s internet fame) funny, but at the core of it is very real, relatable human pain (intense loneliness and a real lack of self-worth).

I think Attention Seekers is generally a bit of a trojan horse in that, yes, it has a cat licking its bum on the cover, but it does deal with a lot of serious issues and has a lot of emotional moments. At my book launch, for example, I chose to read a flash fiction piece called ‘There Should Only Be Greeks’ which puts three classic Ancient Greek icons – Medusa, Cassandra and Helen – into the modern world. That story deals, at different points, with sexual assault, domestic abuse and white privilege/systematic racism. Whether you’re reading about Greek icons or Insta-cats, I’ve tried to highlight real truths about the human condition, and about what it means to take up space in a modern world.

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Huge thanks to Emma for taking the time to answer my questions. I’ll close with the collection’s first page – er, and also the next few paragraphs, so it doesn’t just end mid-sentence. (This “share just one page” idea may need further thought!)

The cat surpasses Ash in Instagram followers. She tells herself she doesn’t mind, but she does. Gone is that flighty fluttering of validation in her chest whenever her phone buzzes. Now, the likes, comments, and follows are almost never for her. Even the most recent post – of the cat’s tail – is proving infuriatingly popular.

She sighs. Over on her personal account, there is an underwhelming response to her most recent upload. Thirty-four likes. The cat could get that many likes just coughing up a photo of a furball.

She types ‘Jenna’ into her search bar. As the profile loads, air jams in her chest but the same sight greets her: Blocked.

The cat enters the living room. Ash reaches out a welcoming hand but its eyes narrow as it looks away. This is nothing new. The cat, despite being unaware of its burgeoning celebrity status, has always had the ego and entitlement of a Kardashian. The animal dumps its black, furry backside onto the carpet, unfurls a leg like a pole dancer and, with a Barbie-pink tongue, begins licking its crotch.

Her phone buzzes with comments about the tail: SooOOooOOoo fluffy. Swish swish bish. Feather boa fierceness.

Ash scowls. She’s cultivated a charming online presence for the cat, but, like a stage-mother, lip curling while clutching a vodka martini in the wings, she’s growing to resent her ungrateful offspring.

She bats one of the cat’s toys towards it. The animal watches as the ball travels beyond its reach. Its uninterest is palpable. Then, for reasons only known to itself, it decides to chirrup, twist onto its back and writhe shamelessly. Ash dutifully switches on her phone’s camera and starts snapping. She then spends the next thirty minutes deciding which filter best accentuates the animal’s emerald-flecked eyes.

Then, something incredible happens. Dazed, she holds out her phone as if to show the cat her screen. She reads the notification aloud, every word soaked in incredulity.

‘Jenna has liked your image.’

It appears Ash’s ex has chosen to keep in contact with the cat.