Hi Marek. It’s great to have you back again after featuring your short story on our site, Living on Credit. You really hit the mark with your contribution for the anthology. We’re very thankful for you being a part of this. To help our readers get to know you a bit more, can you tell us a little a bit about yourself?

My name is Marek Z. Turner and I’m a writer based in the East Midlands of England. I’ve been writing for a few years now and am still very much learning the craft.

Back in 2021 I was a finalist in the Amazon Publishing (UK) / Capital Crime New Voices Awards, and currently have two books published as well as a range of non-fiction articles and booklets primarily focused on horror films.

Foodbanks have become a part of our life. What started as a means to support those in financial difficulty has now turned into a long-term lifeline for many. Do you think that we will ever be free of them, or do you believe they will be here to stay?

Unfortunately, in both the short and medium term, they are here to stay. Because of the economic situation the country finds itself in, they have not only become a necessity for some, but have also become an adopted part of government strategy. One only has to look at the rhetoric of the current Conservative government who boast of the increase in food banks as a social positive to see that either they have misunderstood the requirement for them and appropriated the community spirit of non-government affiliated individuals and groups, or, and is most likely, they have just decided to spin it for voters who don’t look beyond soundbites on MSM. After all, Labour didn’t care enough to give us this many food banks, did they?

Putting that facetious comment aside, the “Broken Britain” that David Cameron promised to fix as part of his 2010 election pledge has become a self-fulfilling prophecy as inequality is higher and social mobility lower, and we see those even in full-time employment struggling because of a systemic dismantling of services and rampant corporate greed, leading people to make tough choices. And for me, this will take decades to fix. And only if the next government decides they can and will tackle the problem.

Will we be free of them? Only when the cronyism and greed are routed out amongst the political elite.

Do you think it is down to the volunteers and fellow man to keep food banks going or should the government be doing more to intervene?

This is tricky to answer, as inherently I feel that the need for non-governmental support for people in specific circumstances (such as health, wellbeing, basics of survival) should be provided by the government as a service to the people. Some will bleat on about the tax and affordability, but this isn’t about welfare this is about giving everyone the opportunity to have a firm basis to build their lives upon and something such as nutrition has been proven to affect a whole myriad of factors including education, behaviour, health and so on.

Not only is this a basic human need, but in terms of capitalism, it will also benefit productivity by ensuring less sick days and better educated workers. Therefore, even the most heartless, arrogant or ignorant should be swayed by the need to ensure people are fed, healthy and treated with dignity. Although, if people were healthier and more stable, then they might question the crap spouted by Gullis and 30p Lee and see where the actual problems lay.

The volunteers who keep food banks going, at personal cost to themselves, in terms of time, money, stress, are the real heroes and are real patriots who have stepped up to do what our own government and monarchy clearly have no interest in doing. But they shouldn’t have to.  

Here at Urban Pigs Press we believe that the indie writing scene is an incredible place of support. From fellow writers to zines and indie presses. Who is your favourite writer in the indie community and why?

I’m not sure if I could pick a single favourite writer, but I would say that everyone needs to check out the short story ‘Eyes the deepest blue’ by Stephen J. Golds, which is the perhaps the best short story I have read. The ending was a piece of genius and made the hairs on my arms stand up. It’s rare that a story has such a physiological impact, but even as it crept towards its inevitable conclusion, like the protagonist I had to continue on until I knew for certain.

Beyond that, this year saw the release of the creepy little novella ‘Courier’ by Zoe Rosi which was a wonderful blend of awkward humour, obsession and loneliness and across multiple works Coy Hall is a writer whose talents far outweigh his sales figures… at least for the moment I hope. Finally, at the risk of rambling Rob Ulitski is doing some interesting things in the horror space and the progression from his body horror collection to his mad cow novel has been wonderful to see and I’m really looking forward to his next release which again looks to push things in terms of his ability and range.

Tell us about your latest work? Do you have any books you would like our readers to know about?

I’ve fairly recently become a dad for a second time, so my opportunities are limited and I’ve been working a lot more on developing my own skills through flash fiction and short stories for the past year and a bit. So much so that I’ve now got a backlog of novel ideas, which I’m hoping to pick one from soon to make a start on.

Although, I am just finishing up my short story collection based around the luckless burglar Gigi the loser, and that should be out around summer.

Otherwise, if you like creature feature horror, check out my Devon-based novel, Killerpede. To paraphrase the marketing for Spanish horror Pieces, “It’s exactly what you think it is.”

Or if crime fiction is your thing, my novel ‘The Eighth Hill’ is a slice of euro crime that is indebted to Scerbanenco, Carlotto and Lucarelli.

How did you first hear about Urban Pigs Press?

I think it was through following Punk Noir Press on social media, then discovering James Jenkins around the time the press was launched, and of course I read ‘Life in Dirt: Stories’, which really marked the press out as one to keep an eye on.

Great answers! Thanks, Marek. I’m really happy that we have got a brilliant bunch of well aligned people on board for this. We’re big fans of Stephen J. Golds here too. He’s also one of the most supportive people around. We’d be very interested in getting our hands on The Eighth Hill. We do reviews now and then and I think it will be a great fit.

“Cracks in the Concrete” showcases the desperation of a homeless protagonist whose morality is tested by the simple desire to survive.  

Read it in the Hunger anthology from the 7th of March.

Marek is a coffee fanatic, it was thanks to caffeine that he managed to become a finalist in the Amazon Publishing (UK)/ Capital Crime New Voices Awards 2021, and wrote Killerpede (Severed Press, 2022) and The Eighth Hill (Poliziotturner Press, 2023).
 He has also had non-fiction articles on horror and Italian cinema published by Diabolique, Scream Magazine and Weng’s Chop magazine, as well as having articles featured in booklets contained within home entertainment releases from 88 Films and Tetrovideo.

Social and web links: 

X – https://twitter.com/poliziotturner 

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/poliziotturner/ 

Website – https://poliziotturner.com/ 

Release date for the HUNGER anthology!

We have good news! The release date for the HUNGER anthology is set for the 7th March. Initial release will be through Amazon and Kindle but we hope to have physical copies in local book shops soon after. One place you can be sure to find this incredible collection will be Dial Lane Books in Ipswich. Andrew has been as much a part of this fantastic cause as all our contributors. We couldn’t be any more excited to share this with everyone. 23 different authors have given up their time and talent to help us make a difference to those in need and we are beyond grateful to each and everyone one of you. Jo Andrews has gone above and beyond to deliver us a cover that represents everything we set out to do. Cody Sexton has also contributed with an incredible piece of talent for our title page. We are both proud and humbled by the incredible efforts of everyone involved. Stephen J. Golds and Rob Jelly (BBC Suffolk) have also given their time to praise this darkly beautiful collection.

As part of our promotion for the anthology we will be posting interviews from the authors involved. Judging by some of the answers given already, I can confirm that we really have discovered a great bunch of humans in this anthology.

This book won’t put an end to poverty or hunger. Neither will it change the agendas of our politicians. But it will make a direct impact to a few of those we hope to represent. And for now, we’ll take it. So, please set that date in your calendar and help us to make that difference.

The Hunger anthology is a collection of 23 stories by 23 different authors. Tales of brutal reality, dark horror, gritty crime and dark humour sprawled out upon each page. Each story delivering a unique take on the prompt HUNGER. A true representation of some of the strongest talents within the writing community.

“A collection of stories that are as close to the bone in literary class as they are in their scathing analysis of a broken society.”

– Stephen J. Golds

Author of Say Goodbye When I’m Gone