[Working Title] is an original play by Alys Key and Oscar Owen , which was shortlisted for the inaugural Fluff Shorts competition, judged by Fluff Productions Theatre Company. It was written in response to the theme 'No More Page 3'. The play follows two writers, Emma and David, as they attempt to collaborate on a play which they are writing about No More Page 3. The writing process gives rise to arguments, creativity, and unbridled surrealism. A comedy with a real message at its heart, [Working Title] made it to the final 6 entries out of a high volume of submissions and the judges "really enjoyed" reading it.

(published in Newbooks Magazine ) Jacqueline, a young Liberian woman, has escaped with her life and little else from the aftermath of Charles Taylor’s regime in her home country. The book follows her as she fends off starvation on a Greek island. On the surface it’s a simple story, but the present is interwoven with Jacqueline’s memories of her family, her lover, or her schooling in England. This is Maksik’s second novel. When I read his first novel, You Deserve Nothing , I loved it so much that I would randomly read passages out to friends and write down favourite lines in a notebook, so in truth I’m already rather biased in his favour. In fact, I don’t believe I would have given this book a chance based on the description alone, purely because I wasn’t sure what to expect. As it turns out, I’m glad I was already aware of the writer, because I might never have read A Marker to Measure Drift otherwise, and it really is an excellent novel. Each sentence feels intensely crafted, hitting the right tone in what seems like the most concise way possible. At times, particularly in the first few pages, some...

(originally published in The Oxford Student 01/05/14 ) There’s a moment in The September Issue (a feature-length documentary following the production of US Vogue’s September edition) that always makes me an odd mixture of happy and concerned. Whilst shooting couture against the backdrop of Versailles, one member of the team arrives on set with a box of luxury strawberry tarts; huge, colourful, professionally-created treats, presumably from the most expensive patisserie in Paris. The camera catches the model – a ‘sample-size’ (i.e. usually US size 2/UK size 6) woman encased in thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing, jewellery and make-up – taking a rather guilty-looking bite out of one of these. The sheer delight on her face at this moment always makes me smile, but then I bite my lip and wonder: how often does she allow herself something like this? And will she be skipping any meals later to make up for this? Perhaps these are prejudiced assumptions, based on the scare-mongering articles which pop up from time to time, prompting designers and editors to swear that they don’t endorse size zero, eating cotton wool, or anything else which they’re accused of encouraging. In fairness, many magazine editors have...