Hannah McDonald is a teacher and writer from Glasgow. She has been published in From Glasgow to Saturn, Stone of Madness, and SPAM. Her piece, ‘Thomas’, can be found in EPOCH Issue 01: Beginnings, available to purchase here.
Where do you find inspiration?
I take a lot of inspiration for my writing from my own past and from the histories of other people in my life – occasionally someone will tell me a story about something that happened to them and I won’t be able to get it out of my head until I write it down. My piece in Issue 1 is based around this idea of stories, and of childhood and the lies people tell you to protect you. I’m also obsessed with writing about people and the intimacies of long-term relationships, and I’m currently writing my first novel which centres around two teachers who have an affair.
Why do you write/create Creative Non-Fiction?
‘Thomas’ is actually my first official piece of Creative Non-Fiction, and I think the reason I became interested in writing in this genre recently was because I started reading pieces of CNF that really resonated with me. I used to have this misguided notion that CNF was self-obsessive and narcissistic, but then I started reading work that challenged that assumption. I was reading non-fiction that was engaging, thought-provoking and funny, and I wanted to emulate that experience for others.
What are you reading now?
I just finished Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie which was very enjoyable, and I’m about to start reading New Passengers by Tine Høeg. I’m also watching Trigonometry (which is a very intense TV show about three people who all fall in love) and I’m absolutely loving the polyamory vibes.
Where can we follow you and find your work?
You can read me in SPAM Zine, From Glasgow to Saturn, and in The Common Breath’s anthology ‘The Middle of a Sentence’. I also tweet nonsense @mcdonaldhanny.
Epoch Press is an independent press dedicated to publishing exceptional creative nonfiction.
We publish truth in ink.
