In December 1979, Kazuo Ishiguro submitted a short story to Granta editor Bill Buford. Ishiguro was then studying for his Masters in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. Malcolm Bradbury suggested that Ishiguro submit his story to Buford. Although ‘Getting Poisoned’ was never published by Granta, Ishiguro was named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists in 1983. Today he is widely regarded as one of the greatest living English-language writers. We publish the letter that accompanied Ishiguro’s story below. (Read a larger version of the letter here.)

Click here to read more Letters to Granta

In late 1980, Fay Weldon and Bill Buford, then editor of this magazine, discussed Granta 1, new American writing and gender politics. (Read a larger version of the letter here.)

The story about ‘women in a black hairdressers’ was written by J. K. Klaven and eventually appeared in Granta 3: ‘The End of the English Novel’.

Fay Weldon is the author of over twenty novels and five collections of short stories. Her most recent novel, The Stepmother’s Diary, is published in hardback by Quercus. She lives in London.

Kingsley Amis (1922—1995) was an English novelist, poet and critic. Regarded as one of the comic masters of the twentieth century, his books include Lucky Jim, Take a Girl Like You and The Old Devils.

Writing to one of Granta’s first assistant editors in 1979, Amis declined an invitation to appear in the magazine.