Power sits at the centre of human stories — political, personal, spiritual — and yet no two people experience it in quite the same way. To speak of power is to speak of contrasts: the power to command, and the power to refuse; the strength of empire, and the quiet resilience of the individual. It can be a current that flows through institutions, or a spark that flickers inside a single act of courage.

In this anthology from the University of Gloucestershire Creative Writing programme, writers and artists explore power in all its forms: its allure, its cost, its abuses, and its possibilities. Each piece offers a different lens, inviting you to question where power resides — and what it truly means to hold it.