Author Archives: fcmalby

F. C. Malby is a novelist, poet and short fiction author. Her debut novel, Take Me to the Castle, won The People’s Book Awards. She is a contributor to four print anthologies, and her stories and poems have been widely published internationally online and in print.

Dead Drop – 1 Year Anniversary Giveaway

Dead Drop was published a year ago today by Linen Press. To celebrate the one year anniversary of its publication, I’m giving away 3 free copies. Leave a comment on why you like to read thrillers and names will be drawn at random. #thrillers #thrillerbooks #amreading

A lyrical, daring thriller that hurls you into the dark world of art theft with unexpected insights. Stephanie Carty, author of Shattered

Malby’s novel proves once and for all that thrillers can be both hugely compelling and beautifully written. This is virtuosic storytelling, as vibrant as a Klimt painting, as lyrical as a Viennese waltz, as atmospheric as a Carol Reed film. I loved it. Jonathan P Taylor, author and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Leicester

An exquisitely written, poetic journey through the underbelly of Vienna’s artworld, Dead Drop is littered with secrets and laced with tension. F C Malby is a writer to watch! Jane Isaac, best-selling author of crime thrillers

Five Minute Literary Magazine – Forthcoming Publication

Five Minutes features micro-memoirs, hundred-word pieces about five minutes in a life. I’m thrilled to share the wonderful news that my short story, ‘Cellophane Wrapped,’ about the controversy and conscience around eating meat, has been accepted by Five Minute Lit and will be published in February 2024.

Reading team comments included “kept me thinking after” and “witty, relevant, well-written.”

They have also invited me to be an editorial reader for future submissions in 2024. I will share the publication once it is published at Five Minute Lit. You can read some of their micro stories online and read Karen Zey’s useful article, The Art and Craft of Writing Micro.

Woman in Gold

There has been much in the news in recent years regarding Nazi looted art from Europe during the Holocaust. It is also the subject of my thriller, DEAD DROP, published by Linen Press in October 2022. You can find out more in a conversation and Q&A with my publisher. Over 600,000 pieces were stollen from Jewish families, collectors and museums in countries that were occupied. It began in 1933 in Germany with the seizure of Jewish property and belongings and continued on during the Anschluss, where Austria was annexed by the Nazis in 1938. Around twenty percent of the art in Europe was looted by Nazi soldiers and, today, more than 100,000 pieces are still missing and have not been returned to their owners, or families. Efforts to recover paintings and other items have been stepped up through new art restitution laws.

Last night, the BBC aired the 2015 film, Woman in Gold, which follows the true story of Maria Altman, the niece of Adele Block-Bauer, who is the subject of Gustav Klimt’s portrait, Woman in Gold, which hung in the Belvedere Palace Gallery in Vienna, Austria. Altman fled to America with her husband, forced to leaving her parents behind, and the film depicts flashbacks to the arrival of Nazi soldiers in Vienna and the looting of art and property. The details, like her father playing the cello and the memory of Maria being given her aunt’s favourite necklace (also worn in the portrait), makes the film all the more poignant. Maria and her young lawyer fight for ten years for the paining to be returned, taking their case to the Supreme Court in America.

Pens of the Earth

Pens of the Earth want to publish a book of environmental stories & poetry, including mine, with the proceeds going to the Solent Seagrass Restoration Project. My story, Prolific, was published on their website and will be published in a collection by Pens of the Earth.

“Our writers have agreed to donate their work, which means that all profits from the sales of this book will go to the inspirational and essential Solent Seagrass Restoration Project.”

Please donate if you feel able. The video below gives you an idea of the project.

@EarthPens

Gboyega Odubanjo 

The literary community has felt the shock waves of the devastating and sudden loss of British Nigerian poet Gboyega Odubanjo, editor of poetry magazine Bath Magg and publisher at Bad Betty Press. He also supported the writing community through mentoring new writers. His work was published in Out of Time: Poetry from the Climate Emergency edited by Kate Simpson, published by Valley Press:

call it a love song.
i’ll get the bathtub ready.
i’m in. we in ceramic.
let’s say black. i’m bp
you’re shell. we all in.
we in the black. we both in
a barrel. call it a village.
we both in the pumping. the people
no get no nothing. no crabs in the river.
no periwinkles to pick. no day
de pas where they no dey cry
suffer dis kind suffer like dis. we no care
for them. i just want you to seep.
blacken my lot..

The Gboyega Odubanjo Foundation for low-income black writers is set to be launched by his family with the money.

The fundraiser, organised by his sister, Rose Odubanjo, described him as:

“Loved by many and widely recognised as a voice of his generation, 27-year-old Gboyega Odubanjo had received an Eric Gregory Award, New Poets’ Prize and the Michael Marks Award, and without doubt would have gone on to produce a lifetime of enduring work as one of poetry’s shining lights. An editor at Bad Betty Press and the poetry magazine Bath Magg, Gboyega gave support and mentorship to many developing artists; his contribution within the poetry community was invaluable, as was his friendship. Gboyega’s full-length debut collection of poetry, Adam, is forthcoming from Faber in Summer 2024. 

The family and friends of Gboyega Odubanjo are asking for the help of his community through community fundraising, the purpose of it is to support in his final arrangements and continue on his legacy. We are launching the Gboyega Odubanjo Foundation for low-income Black writers, with funds from this appeal also going towards the foundation. Gboyega always wanted to uplift and support his community, through mentoring young people, through gently praising someone at a poetry night about their star quality and through teaching in numerous places. His poetry and writing has been a beacon of light to many. 

We, the close friends and loved ones of Gboyega, express our profound sadness and grief at the loss of one of our brightest and most talented stars. Gboyega was the source of incredible joy and laughter for all of us, and we are utterly heartbroken to hear that his life has been so suddenly cut short. Over the past few days, we have been working tirelessly to ensure his name and image remained visible to members of the public across the UK. We would like to thank everyone who helped in the mission to bring Gboyega home safe; all those who shared the callout, sent in information, and went out searching. Your support has meant the world to us in this incredibly difficult time. 

Gboyega was inimitable. He will be remembered as a brilliant poet, inspiring friend, son and brother. He was incredibly talented; someone we will remain in awe of. He was a friend to everyone and anyone, so often befriending complete strangers. We will cherish his loud laughter, his sharp intellect and his love, all which will continue to keep warm the hearts of his friends, family and poetry community.

Gboyega was inimitable. He will be remembered as a brilliant poet, inspiring friend, son and brother. He was incredibly talented; someone we will remain in awe of. He was a friend to everyone and anyone, so often befriending complete strangers. We will cherish his loud laughter, his sharp intellect and his love, all which will continue to keep warm the hearts of his friends, family and poetry community.”

Donate to fundraiser.