Acquired for Development by.: A Hackney Anthology

Twenty-five writers, twenty-five different perspectives on the rapidly changing London Borough of Hackney. From gentrification to supermarket sandwiches, Turkish Alevism to inner-city river living, middle-class civil war to pylon romance, Acquired for Development By captures an alternative, insightful and bizarre take on modern London life. Featuring work from: Lee Rourke, Gareth E.Rees, Siddhartha Bose, Molly Naylor, Sam Berkson, Gary Budden, Kit Caless, Gavin James Bower and more.

'This book reaches the parts of Hackney Iain Sinclair doesn't reach.' - Stewart Home 'A literary dolly mixture and a superb collection of original writing about London's most fascinating borough. This is Hackney without the hackneyed, and a must-read for anyone who cares about the area.' - The Londonist 'From its first electric crackle, Acquired For Development By - galvanises the landmarks of Hackney on the page. Short stories, journalism and poems cross paths as the flow of images takes you from a homely borough to the fringes of what you know via a future Dalston you'll never visit.' - Hackney Citizen ' - the anthology exhibits a solid kernel of realism about Hackney in the 21st century, making it an invaluable document of record and reflection.' - Ken Worpole 'Taken together, these pieces reveal an original cultural history and a leftfield psychogeography of the borough - and an unsettling blueprint for its future.' - Sabotage Reviews '2012 continues to be a bumper year for London books. From the addictive and moving testimonies of Craig Taylor's Londoners to the neo-Dickensian city epics of John Lanchester and Zadie Smith, addicts of London literature are spoilt for choice. Acquired for Development by is a worthy addition to this canon, an exuberant and provoking exploration of our yesterdays and our tomorrows as revealed by our present.' - Planet Notion