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Why melissamann.com and beatthedust.com?
This website exists to:- get new writing out into the world;
- support creativity and innovation in literature;
- share what's going down in the underground lit scene;
- entertain people through the power of words;
- celebrate the work of other creatives out there in the world doing inspiring things;
- provide cheap VIAGRA and fake ROLEX watches... okay, not really, am kiddin'.
Melissa who? Beat the what?!
Life sentence: Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire some time in the past; school and uni years spent collecting qualifications culminating in an MBA, Ph.D and a cycling proficiency certificate; fell into management consultancy, working first in Leeds then London; crippling boredom; resumed writing poetry and prose; went on a Pilates teacher training course; fell out of/with management consultancy; set up pilatesinthecity.com to try to get the inflexible and infirm of London to perform feats of derring-do; launched the freak show circus Beat the Dust, starting with a bearded lady and two vertically-challenged types with a fetish for wearing oompa-loompa outfits, followed soon after by the litzine in Oct 07, BTD TV in Apr 08, Beat the Dust Bookshop in Sept 08 and Beat the Dust Press in Oct 09.Writing CV: An aptitude for word play was apparent from the age of two when in her first game of Scrabble she managed to get 'turd' on a triple word score. Since then Melissa has successfully moved on to words in excess of four letters, proof of which is available in various print and online literary publications including The Loose Canon, Brand 06, Everyday Genius, Decongested Tales, The Book Club Boutique Newspaper and Fanzine, 3:AM Magazine, Dogmatika, Scarecrow, Succour Magazine, The Laura Hird Showcase, Zygote in My Coffee, Outsider Writers, Radgepacket, Six Sentences, Straight from The Fridge, The Beat, Parasitic 101, Open Wide Magazine, Savage Manners, litup magazine, The Smoking Poet, Heroin Love Songs Journal, Literary Tonic, Up the Staircase, Gold Dust, Red Peter, minimalbooks (translated into Polish) and Thieves Jargon. It can only be a matter of time, then before the Bradford Telegraph & Argus finally accepts a piece from her.
Melissa’s poetry collection, baby i'm ready to go was published in Sept 09 by Grievous Jones Press. Follow the links to read a selection of Melissa’s published and (a few exclusive) unpublished poems and stories. Failing that, head to your nearest bus shelter or public convenience.
Some of Melissa's stories have been short-listed and highly commended in various writing competitions - the Harpers & Queen/Orange Prize for Fiction short story competition, The Asham Award twice and the London Arts New Writing competition.
Melissa's lit gig tour t-shirt currently reads Norwich (Unthology 2 book launch event at the Norwich Literary Festival, Nov 11); Tokyo (Paint Your Teeth 5, Nov 09); Camden (The Special Relationship, Sept 10); The City (Unthank Books reading, June 11); Tufnell Park (Souther Still & Friends gig, Dec 10); Stoke Newington (Penpusher Magazine event at the Stoke Newington Literary Festival, Jun 10); Hackney (Talking the Broads reading series, Jun 10; London Lit Plus Festival event, Jul 07); Brighton (Sparks Flash Fiction night, Oct 08); Clerkenwell (Succour Magazine launch, Nov 08; 3:AM/Beat the Dust/Lost Elation Showcase – The Recession Session Live!, Apr 09; Beat the Dust/3:AM Love & Hate lit gig, July 09; Grievous Jones Press book launch, Sept 09); South Bank (iBrute gig with Malcolm Bennett & Tony White, May 11; Tate Modern's shambolic, highly pretentious pile of doggy-doo-doo aka the House of Fairy Tales, part of the UBS Openings Long Weekend, May 09); Shoreditch (Jonny Woo's Storytelling Night, Dec 09; Glitterbeast, Sept 09) and Soho (Grievous Jones Press book launch, July 11; Book Club Boutique, Jul 10, Feb 10 and Jun 09; B.E.A.T, Jan 10; Beat the Dust Press book launch, Oct 09).
Interests: Making stuff up, running (away being a particular speciality), gigs, flicks, reading, thinking up illnesses she’s about to die of, green cuisine (yep, if that dun't kill you nothing will!), vacuuming stripes in the carpet, comedy (the absurd, satire, sarcasm and toilet humour being particular favourites), ironing attractive creases down the front of her pyjama bottoms, making stuff up…
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