Hi Anthony

I’m sorry that you weren’t shortlisted for the vacant post here in Creative Writing. I know how much effort and emotional energy goes into a job application, and how disappointing it is not to get an interview. There was a strong field for this post and we carefully scored the applications in relation to each section of the job description. What held you back, I’m afraid, was your lack of qualifications. At least a Masters degree was needed for this post.

Lack of qualifications! Pooh. I have published more than twenty titles. I was invited to the University of Iowa as a Visiting Writer – not a course but a series of lectures successful writers from all over the world gave to the other visitors. I ran a fucking department for twenty years as a senior lecturer at UWIC. A masters! You must be joking.