Koushik Banerjea, London Independent Story Prize 3rd Round 2024 Finalist, Short Story, 'Short Circuit'

London Independent Story Prize 3rd Round 2024 Finalist, Short Story, 'Short Circuit', Koushik Banerjea

Can you please tell us about you and your daily life?

I’m lucky enough to get time to write every day, so I try to do that. It’s like working a muscle really – you don’t want to leave it too long else there’s always the danger of atrophy. Up until quite recently I was a carer, which meant I had to be very disciplined about the writing as there were limited opportunities to do so in any given day. Prior to that, as a youth worker, though my days were filled with stories they tended to lurch from one crisis to the next leaving little time for anything else. Mercifully my life now is considerably calmer. I share my home with a couple of wonderful cats, both formerly homeless. Intriguingly they seem to know whenever I’ve got work to do as one or other of them will usually keep an eye on me while I’m sat at my desk hopefully not gazing at a blank screen. To borrow a phrase neither of them would especially appreciate, there’s no pulling the wool over their eyes.

When and how did you get into writing?

I’ve always had a head full of stories. I suppose it was inevitable that some of them would eventually spill over onto the page. To begin with it was just boredom that was the driver. My early schooling was an odd mixture of dull and dangerous – dull because the teachers were hopeless, and dangerous because of where the school was (on a notorious housing estate) and who most of the pupils were (budding racists from largely dysfunctional families.) So you can see why the school library, an oasis of relative calm, was so appealing to a little kid who preferred books to brawling but, to riff on the Beasties, would happily fight for his right to be bookish. As much as any of the actual books in there, it was the peace and quiet I craved, though I did love it when I found an illustrated book of Indian tales and legends in there, and its African counterpart. The stories contained within felt so far removed from the south London I knew in the 1970s, and that was a thrilling feeling. In the first place though it was actually my Ma, rather than any of my teachers, who taught me to read and write, and to love books. Like a lot of immigrant mothers, she was the glue that held everything together, and I think it’s fair to say that I wouldn’t be a writer now were it not for her.

Of course that desire to write isn’t just down to boredom. I loved the limitless possibilities of fiction, of conjuring up worlds where maybe, just maybe, the same rules didn’t always have to apply. For instance, as with Junot Diaz’s ‘The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao’, where a nerd could certainly be king for a day…or more. Also, growing up at the same time as the earliest books by Salman Rushdie and Hanif Kureishi were starting to hit the shelves was particularly exciting for me. What they described in both their fiction and essays was a world I already felt I knew a little, but which rarely, if ever, saw the light of day within the publishing mainstream. It was sharp, coded, and an explosion of colour against the standard monochrome palette. And it was unapologetic in the tilt of its jaw. I loved that! Just as inspiring for me was a film like ‘Sexy Beast’ (Jonathan Glazer) which takes a story you think you know – the classic ‘one last job’ heist movie – and does something very different with it. After all, why would you want to tell the same story that’s already been told a thousand times before? Anyway, those are some of the formative influences which hopefully explain a bit about how I got into writing. As for my own work I’ve been fortunate enough to see two of my novels published so far. ‘Another Kind of Concrete’ (Jacaranda, 2020) and Category Unknown (London Books 2022). The manuscript for a third novel, ‘Animal Nightlife’ placed second in the 2023 Novel London competition, but is still waiting for some love from the right publisher (hint hint.)

How often do you write? Do you have a writing routine? And what inspires you to write?

As I might already have mentioned, I do try to write something every day, even if it’s just gibberish that might well need deciphering later. That routine usually involves getting up early, some calisthenics to get the blood coursing, and a pot of tea, well, just because it’s tea and I guess we all have our weaknesses. I read a lot, and actually that’s a crucial part of my routine. Reading, studying the form, making notes, playing around with ideas in my head. At some point it all starts to spill over onto the page as if some ignition key has been turned. But even when it doesn’t and everything’s a bit mangled, there’s usually something there that can be rescued from the wreckage. And I suppose that counts as writing too. As to the question of why do it? Well the answer to that is fairly straightforward, at least for me. I write because it’s a compulsion which, if neglected, would make me listless and deeply unhappy. Writing brings me joy. The notion that my words might actually engage other souls too is both thrilling and humbling.

How does it feel to have your work recognised?

I think that recognition, in whatever shape or form, does make a difference. Speaking personally, irrespective of outcome I would write anyway. That said, writing can be quite a solitary pursuit, and sending stories out to competitions, magazines etc all too often feels like a shot in the dark. Feedback is scarce and frequently non-existent, and there are times when the work itself seems to have disappeared into some literary Bermuda Triangle, which is genuinely dispiriting. From my own experience the recognition each time is an absolute tonic, staving off despair and hopefully broaching wider conversations about the work and its first tentative steps in a bigger world. Long story short it feels wonderful to be heard, seen and read.

What's the best and most challenging thing about writing a Story?

One of the trickier challenges about writing a short story, I think, is in fighting the urge to concertina all its narrative notes inside a much smaller canvas than, for example, a novel might allow for. I have to remind myself to let the story breathe, but at the same time be confident in the rhythm and pacing of its sentences. Harder than it sounds. Finishing a story and sensing that those principles have been observed in the course of its telling is a joyous feeling. As is the occasional surprise that leaps from whatever writerly sublime as might exist and onto the page to begin with. The finished story might well be very different from how the writer first envisaged it. To me at least that’s a journey worth embarking upon.

How did you develop the idea for your LISP-selected story? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it?

The story behind the story I guess would have to be my Ma. Like the central protagonist of ‘Short Circuit,’ she too was a widowed grandmother, and a Partition refugee (from the Partition of India in 1947) who had remade her life from the ground up in London. Both characters also shared a love for the omnibus edition of the Australian soap ‘Neighbours,’ and hated any kind of disturbance while they were watching. I looked after my Ma during her last years, and the idea for the story started to take shape during that period, when her body was wracked by illness but her mind remained sharp as a tack. She also had a really good sense of humour and I thought it might be interesting to explore in fiction that very different worldview that many older folks can have to their own children, particularly when forged in the cauldron of seismic historical upheaval, as was the case with Partition. An apparently small, modest life in London turns out to be a sweeping epic. The story tries to do justice to some of those points of friction, and of no return. Like its central character, the story itself has been through several iterations over the past couple of years, which is also now how long it’s been since my Ma passed away.

Can you please give us a few tips about writing a Story?

Don’t be shy, get the words down on the page, and at least to begin with try not to overthink it as this might hamper the flow. Later on you can always go back to earlier drafts to fine tune and shape the prose in a way you feel more happy with. The sentences don’t need to be perfect when they first emerge. So don’t worry at all if they seem in any way raw or lacking in finesse. Unless you’re a genius, or very lucky, it’s almost certain that your first draft won’t be your last. Above all have fun telling a story that you want to tell, because if you don’t, it’s unlikely anyone else is going to have much fun reading it!

What's the best thing and the most challenging thing about competitions?

Competitions are really useful, I think, for several reasons. Firstly, they can be a handy motivational tool in getting any writer to focus on a particular piece of work, especially if it has lain dormant for a while, or perhaps needs reworking to more closely align with certain themes which any given competition might specify. This reworking element can be quite tricky but is ultimately a worthwhile exercise. It has the potential to breathe fresh life into the work, and of course there’s always the possibility of success with the various forms of validation and the opportunities that might bring! Alternatively, the competition itself might inspire a completely new piece of writing, which is never a bad thing. They’re also just a good way of hopefully getting fresh eyes on your work.

Lastly, do you recommend the writers submit to LISP?

Absolutely! What are you waiting for?!