No great fish works alone, and the same goes for the Eel. As
C.E.O of the River Humber, some of the Eel’s notable minions are her Editorial
Small Fry. They act as Eel’s on-land representatives because the Eel finds
getting from A-Z a little problematic if there is no one to carry her to her
destinations in a fish bowl.
Meet the Eel’s Small Fry!
Editor In Chief:
Nicky Ellam
By day, Nicky studies for an English
Literature degree at The University of Hull, UK. When she is not wreaking havoc on campus, Nicky co-hosts a
monthly spoken word open mic based in Hull called ‘Fresh Ink’. She also writes
poetry and short stories. Her work has appeared in the UK, the US and
Australia.
As the Eel’s Editor In Chief, Nicky works very closely with
the Eel deciding on which pieces of work to accept for the Eel’s issues as well
as the Eel’s site which she also maintains. She deals with all of Eel’s queries
and also puts the issues together so they can be sent off to be proof read.
The Eel’s
Squidoctopus: Ashley Fisher
Before you ask the answer is no, this is not a pun on the
general fish theme. Fisher is honestly his surname. Although not an editor because the Eel and
Nicky are very territorial when it comes to their submissions, Ashley is an
integral member of the Eel’s Small Fry nonetheless. The Eel met Ashley when he
was illegally hunting for pike in the Eel’s seaweed patch, and was so impressed
by his clever fish brains she decided not to electrocute him for trespassing.
Instead, the Eel decided to punish him by committing him to a lifetime of
employment for which he receives no monetary payment. Although this dubious
meeting initially forged a hostile relationship based on, ‘This estuary aint
big enough for the both of us’, it soon developed into one of friendship and a
meeting of minds. Consequently, the Eel decided to make him an honorary piscine
species by dubbing him The Squidoctopus – Squid because he spits ink at paper
which results in the Eel’s issues being printed, and octopus because of his wonderful
ability to multitask.
Ashley Fisher was born in South Cumbria and has a B.A. and
an M.A. from The University of Hull. When he isn’t working for the Eel, Ashley
edits a blogzine called Humber Pie and
a printed zine called Turbulence. He
also writes poetry, and has had numerous poems published in the UK and the US,
which he performs all over the country. Ashley founded the monthly spoken word open mic night ‘Fresh Ink’, which has was part of Hull’s Humber Mouth Literary Festival in July 2012.
The Eel’s Proof
Reader: Angry Fish.
Angry is Eel’s distant
relative from warmer climes. Although only distantly related, Angry has a close
relationship with the Eel due to their shared dislike of patriarchy and D.H.
Lawrence. Due to this friendship, he is the only fish in the world who is
allowed to criticise the Eel’s lifestyle by telling her he thinks she should
eat more plankton and less litter. Angry
classes himself as a feminist and is a Guardian reader. He is lazy and usually
in a bad mood because he would like to write but finds his fins aren’t always
up to it. (He does however take a mean picture, and the Eel gratefully
acknowledges him for the picture of Nicky). His bad moods are often exasperated
by the Eel summoning him to her Fish Quarters whenever she needs her issues
proof reading, and he only agrees to it because the Eel knows everything
about his shady past – including the name of his species, which he is
slightly ashamed of.
