In the 1990s Sarah Champion edited four bestselling anthologies that went beyond being merely collections of short fiction to become pop cultural phenomena with accompanying CD soundtracks and club nights. They have been translated into French, German, Italian, Greek, Japanese, Hungarian and Russian.
Among the 70-plus writers who have written stories exclusively for Sarah's collections are Irvine Welsh, Alex Garland, Bill Drummond, Will Self, Alan Warner, Jeff Noon, John King, Grant Morrison, Esther Freud, Douglas Coupland, Neal Stephenson, Poppy Z Brite and Robert Anton Wilson.
Sarah Champion's 1997 collection of "chemical fiction" Disco Biscuits (Sceptre) came out of nowhere to become the UK's best-selling anthology of short fiction of all time racking up sales of 60,000 within weeks. It was followed by Disco 2000, a now cult book capturing pre-millennial themes of apocalypse and hedonism.
Shenanigans, a collaboration with Dublin's Donal Scannell, smashed Irish literary stereotypes with its tales of contemporary Ireland after dark. It topped the Irish bestseller list for weeks and caused a mighty stir.
Meanwhile, Fortune Hotel (Penguin) took a different turn. Inspired by Sarah's chaotic adventures in South East Asia, it was selection of exclusively-written "twisted travel stories" that also sought to shake up a conservative genre.
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Fortune Hotel (Penguin)William Sutcliffe * Douglas Coupland * Simon Lewis * Will Self * John King * Emer Martin * Geoff Dyer * Esther Freud * Toby Litt * Jean McNeil * Emily Perkins |
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Shenanigans (Sceptre)Mike McCormack * Colum McCann * Julian Gough * Jo Baker * Emer Martin * Colin Carberry * Olaf Tyaransen * Joe Ambrose * Lana Citron * Colin Murphy |
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Disco 2000 (Sceptre)Neal Stephenson * Robert Anton Wilson * Douglas Coupland * Nicholas Blincoe * Grant Morrison * Poppy Z Brite * Steve Aylett * Bill Drummond * Martin Millar * Courtia Newland |
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Disco Biscuits (Sceptre)Irvine Welsh * Alex Garland * Alan Warner * Martin Millar * Jeff Noon * Douglas Rushkoff * Two Fingers * Q * Kevin Williamson * Gavin Hills * Charlie Hall |
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French
German
Italian
Greek