Giving voice

Congratulations to Benjamin Myers, whose book Under The Rock has earned him a place on the Portico Prize nominations list - where he finds himself in the familiar company of his wife Adelle Stripe (for Black Teeth And A Brilliant Smile). I haven't read either Under The Rock or his latest novel, The Offing, but The Gallows Pole certainly left a lasting impression.

Last year, Myers and Stripe were commissioned to produce responses to Martin Parr's Return To Manchester exhibition (which I saw and reviewed back in the spring). Here's Myers performing Salford 1986, the superb monologues and dialogues he wrote inspired by the images from Parr's Point Of Sale series. He brings the photo's subjects to life, often comically, though the pieces are never far from taking a darker turn.

As someone who finds it incredibly hard to write creatively from scratch and who has been falling increasingly in love with photography in recent months, I'm tempted to follow Myers' lead and try my hand at something similar.