University students publish fifth anthology of original stories

Why it matters: Work: An Anthology of Original Suffolk Stories celebrates the county's people and places whilst giving students important experience in writing to commission, from ideas through to drafting, rewriting and editing.

The details: Each story in the anthology connects to a specific Suffolk location, including muddy potato fields in rural Hitcham, a village community fighting to save a local pub in Somersham, a work-weary woman navigating the weekly Ipswich market and George Orwell's wife attempting domestic bliss in Southwold.

The collection includes a foreword by award-winning novelist, poet and critic Ashley Hickson-Lovence, a Senior Visiting Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Suffolk.

The anthology also features the longlisted and winning stories for the 2025 Student New Angle Prize Writing Awards, a competition which runs alongside the prestigious New Angle Prize for Writing and the Creative Suffolk Author Award sponsored by the university.

What they're saying: Ben Collins, a primary school supply teacher who contributed to the anthology, said he was inspired to join the course after reading stories in a previous anthology, Suffolk Folk.

"I wanted to write stuff that I wouldn't have written if I hadn't been on the course, and I probably wouldn't have written about work," he said.

"Suffolk isn't one of those places that you feel is in the wider consciousness, but there is so much going on that people aren't aware of. That is something really appealing about the anthologies – they are promoting our county."

Ashley Hickson-Lovence said: "As a reader, you feel as though you're being guided through the streets, fields, factories and coastlines of Suffolk. These writers offer windows into different lives and different labours, all set within landscapes that feel real and recognisably local."

University of Suffolk

The bigger picture: The latest book follows successes in the previous anthology series, which has resulted in writers performing their stories on BBC and community radio. The books and stories have also featured on social media and podcasts, with a readership spanning across Europe and as far away as New Zealand.

Dr Lindsey Scott, Course Leader for MA Creative and Critical Writing, said: "This fifth anthology celebrates both continuity and renewal – the enduring creativity of our students and the evolving stories of Suffolk's people and places."

For context: The university's first anthology, Suffolk Folk, was released in 2021 and explored the county's myths and folktales for a contemporary audience. In 2022, that was followed by Suffolk Arboretum, which took inspiration from Suffolk's trees and woodlands, before the county's waterways were immortalised in 2023's Suffolk Reflections. Last year, Suffolk Haunts hit the bookshelves, sharing ghostly tales and local superstitions.

Graduates of the MA Creative and Critical Writing course have gone on to successful careers, including publishing debut novels, studying PhDs and heading into the creative industries. Previous writers have also been shortlisted for prestigious awards, including the Women's Prize Discoveries Award and the Escalator New Writing Fellowship at the National Centre for Writing.

The bottom line: The anthology series continues to nurture new literary voices whilst celebrating Suffolk's stories, giving students real-world publishing experience and showcasing the county to readers across the world.

Work was released on Friday, 3 October, and is available in national and local bookshops as well as online.