Haunted Writing : Storytelling from the Borders of Fiction and Nonfiction

Exploring current debates in creative writing about the borders between fiction and creative nonfiction, this collection of essays draws on concepts of the uncanny and hauntology to challenge, subvert and transgress the boundary between forms. Hauntology, as originally defined by Derrida, challenges the certainties of ontology, in a similar way to debates about truth in creative nonfiction; by bringing together authors that undermine the fiction/nonfiction binary, Haunted Writing considers the ways in which real events and experiences haunt writers as they craft their work. Offering insight into how the past – both personal and historical – is experienced and understood in the present, this book includes writing from a diverse group of established and emerging authors who situate their work on genre boundaries and discuss their own creative practice to show how their writing ‘haunts’ real events.

With essays covering a range of ideas from subjectivity, intersectionality and challenging dominant versions of history, to braiding personal and researched stories, playfulness, experimentation and creating stories from archival documents, this beautifully written collection intervenes in contemporary discussions in creative writing and culture surrounding ownership, appropriation and ethics. Bringing a fresh voice and new perspectives to ever-present questions within creative writing, Haunted Writing uncovers how the past is a spectre that disrupts contemporary writing.