The Stand
This month, Dawn and Alan are joined by Dr. Andrew Tate and Dr Jenn Ashworth to discuss Stephen King's epic tale of the destruction of the world - The Stand. Dr Andrew Tate's research focuses on the intersections between literature, theology and aesthetics. He has two primary historical interests: nineteenth-century writing and its relationship with theological debates and contemporary fiction in relation to the sacred. Recent published work in this field includes journal articles on Ruskin and the Psalms and a book chapter on Decadence and the Bible. He co-chairs the Ruskin Research Seminar and contribute to the Gladstone Centre's regular colloquia and conference programme. My next Victorian project will develop my previous work on the Psalms with reference to Hopkins, Tennyson and Dickens. Two of my books, Contemporary Fiction and Christianity (Continuum, 2008) and, co-authored with Arthur Bradley, The New Atheist Novel (Continuum, 2010) have focused on late twentieth-century and early twenty-first century narratives. He edited a special double issue of The Year Book of English Studies on religion and literature (2009) and co-edited Literature and the Bible: a Reader (Routledge, 2013). He has recently published a monograph on Twenty-First Century Apocalyptic Fiction and is working on another on the figure of Jesus/Christ in post-millennial narrative. Dr Jenn Ashworth's main areas of interest are long prose fiction and the short story. Her recent work has concentrated on the unreliable or limited narrator and on LDS fiction. She have recently completed a novel in the first person omniscient point of view that engages with ideas about healing, transformation, haunting and masculinity. New areas of interest include gaming and interactivity, digital storytelling projects and narrative and new media more generally. She is also interested in writing industries and new routes into publication for writers, collaborative work, and the way writers and other creative practitioners work together. With this in mind, in 2013 she co-founded the writers' and artists' collective, Curious Tales, which allows practitioners to work together to create, produce and deliver creative works. So far they have published the illustrated anthologies: The Longest Night: Five Curious Tales, Poor Souls' Light: Seven Curious Tales, Bus Station Unbound, The Barrow Rapture and Congregation of Innocents: Five Curious Tales. She recently published the Fell, set on the Lancashire coast. Title music is copyright of the London Symphonic Orchestra. Baby Can You Dig Your Man comes from the mini series of The Stand, and Jungleland is the property of Bruce Springsteen.