Praise for Acquired For Development By. . .

'Reaches the parts of Hackney Iain Sinclair doesn't reach.'

– Stewart Home

'A beautiful, lucid insight into life in one of the most diverse communities in Britain. Revealing, witty and moving.'

– Owen Jones

'A literary dolly mixture and a superb collection of original writing about London’s most fascinating borough. This is Hackney without the hackneyed, and a must-read for anyone who cares about the area.'

– The Londonist

'With this collection, editors Gary Budden and Kit Caless aim not only to depart from the official version of events propagated by the pro-regeneration camp, but also to steer away from the already well established counter-narrative.'

– Litro

'From its first electric crackle, Acquired For Development By . . . galvanises the landmarks of Hackney on the page.'

– Hackney Citizen

'George Orwell himself – who used to live in the nearby Islington before it succumbed to gentrification – would have endorsed the idea with zeal.'

– 3:AM

'Acquired For . . . is a chorus of rich and diverse east London voices. The collection neatly pinpoints some of the most critical tensions in modern urban life – tradition versus innovation, the real versus the perceived, the modern versus the post-modern – and sees how these play out in a borough perceived as both lawless and cool.'

– Sabotage Reviews

' . . . a collection of literary snapshots of an area in transition: from slums to desirable residential area, alternative lifestyles to urban asylum, gateway to the Olympics to disquieting future worlds.'

– Neon Magazine

'Acquired for Development By . . . sounds out the many voices of the borough, celebrating its urbanity, cultural tensions and traditions and the future that now lies wide open.'

– The London Word

'The first book from Influx Press is as cacophonous as the city it analyses. Acquired For Development By . . . is a collection of new writing with Hackney as its theme and muse, a place that has become emblematic of gentrification.'

– Planet Notion