Spike Magazine [1] is an internet cultural journal which began in 1996, the creation of editor Chris Mitchell in Brighton, England. Updated monthly, its motto is "picking the brains of popular culture", though it tends towards the more intellectual end of the scale of this subject. The word culture comes from the Latin root colere (to inhabit, to cultivate, or to honor). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Chris Mitchell Chris Mitchell is an Australian journalist and is editor-in-chief of Queensland Newspapers. ... Brighton on the southern Sussex coast is one of the largest and most famous seaside resorts in England. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001... An intellectual is a person who uses his or her intellect to study, reflect, speculate on, or ask and answer questions with regard to a variety of different ideas. ...

The focus of the magazine is mainly literary, and it features an extensive and eclectic back catalogue of book reviews, all available from the site's front page. It also includes features on a variety of subjects (including cinema and politics), music reviews, interviews, and the ongoing "blog" journal Splinters which is usually updated at least daily (and which in turn joins five other leading UK literary blogs to form the "Brit Lit Blogs" conglomerate [2].) Politics, sometimes defined as the art and science of government[1], is a process by which collective decisions are made within groups. ... A weblog (usually shortened to blog, but occasionally spelled web log) is a web-based publication consisting primarily of periodic articles (normally in reverse chronological order). ...

Spike has had contributors from around the world over the years making for very varied outlooks. The general tone however tends towards the counter-cultural, controversial and left-wing, with a frequent championing of lesser-known authors. Nonetheless, Spike has managed to obtain interviews with a variety of big-name authors over the years, including J G Ballard, Will Self, Jeff Noon, Iain Banks,Hubert Selby Jr, Gitta Sereny, P J O'Rourke, Quentin Crisp,Nick Hornby and Julie Burchill. In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... James Graham Ballard (born November 18, 1930 in Shanghai) is a British novelist. ... Will Self Will Self (born September 26, 1961) is an English novelist, reviewer and columnist who was educated first at University College School but later at Exeter College, Oxford. ... Jeff Noon Jeff Noon (born in 1957 in Droylsden, England) is a novelist, short story writer and playwright whose works make extensive use of wordplay and fantasy. ... Iain M. Banks at 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005 Iain Menzies Banks (born on February 16, 1954 in Dunfermline, Fife) is a Scottish writer. ... Hubert Selby, Jr. ... Gitta Sereny is a Hungarian-born British biographer, historian and journalist. ... P.J. ORourke Patrick Jake ORourke (born November 14, 1947) is an American political satirist, journalist, and writer. ... Quentin Crisp For the writer of supernatural fiction, see Quentin S. Crisp Quentin Crisp (December 25, 1908 – November 21, 1999), was an English writer, artists model, actor and raconteur known for his memorable and insightful witticisms. ... Nick Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English novelist and essayist who lives in Highbury, Islington (London). ... Julie Burchill (born July 3, 1959 in Frenchay, a suburb of Bristol) is a British journalist noted for her acerbic writing. ...

It contains separate sections devoted to news on Ballard, Noon, Self, and Irvine Welsh. Irvine Welsh, reading one of his new short stories at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Irvine Welsh (born Leith, Edinburgh, September 27, 1961) is a Scottish novelist. ...

The main current writers are Chris Mitchell, Steve Mitchelmore, Ismo Santala and Ben Granger. A book compiling some of Spike's best writing is currently being put together.

External links

• Spike Magazine
• Splinters

Independent Spike Media Profiles

• Good Web Guide overview
• British Council overview
• Writers Reign overview
• Zine-o-Rama overview
• Complete Review overview
• 33Max overview
• Faber&Faber overview
• Zeal.com overview