Ali J Prince

Who is Ali J Prince?

Ali J Prince was born in south-east London and is of Irish heritage.

Her father died when she was 7-years-old and she was later sent to a school for difficult/maladjusted children.

Here, she began writing and drawing compulsively before leaving as soon as she was legally allowed which was at 15-years-old as her birthday is in August.

She began working immediately and endured a copious number of low-paid and exploitative jobs as well as experiencing sporadic homelessness and life in and out of hostels.

After being scouted in the street, she was able to gain a little security by modeling custom, vintage and handmade-to-order lace wedding dresses for several retro-style outlets. She was able to travel for the first time and enjoyed a very happy time in the unusual settings in which these shoots were often staged.

She continued writing and eventually, entered a competition with Spread the Word which she won resulting in a meeting with two literary agents.

Although nothing came from the meetings, Ali was encouraged by one agent in particular and her great enthusiasm for what she considered was a uniquely persuasive voice.

Ali went on to write her first book: Digital Scum which is also sometimes published as Dead Mabel or Anemone with varying endings and cut or added scenes.

Surefire Press editor Erica Nielson added it to her 2019 read list and wrote the following review:

“We surely have a need for real presences, with us in flesh as well as in spirit. Ali has fully imagined the ethos of the kids who prowl its back alleys, eventually prowling the real alleys in which the protagonist longs for physical union with unplugged flesh and blood”

Monica Stein of Cactus Flower Press wrote: “ The tone is synaesthesic, bizarre and rampaging with curiously absurd yet crystalised clarity of thought by the obscure and exhilarating Ali J. Prince”

Ali has gone on to write several books and perform vocally, both her works and others such as John Milton’s Paradise Lost in which she played both Eve and Sin and also the Iliad in which she played Artemis and Aphrodite.

She is also involved in a number of musical projects, most visibly as front woman for nomadic psychedelic project “Psychic Circus”

She is a very vocal advocate for fair treatment of animals and has volunteered with animal rescue services for the past 9 years.