Granta 136

Published in book form four times a year, Granta is respected around the world for its mix of outstanding new fiction, poetry, reportage, memoir, photography, and art.

What leads us to accept a particular belief, credo, or fact? What's the difference between conviction, groupthink, and madness? And when should we start asking questions? This issue of Granta looks at cults, faiths, and ideologies, and asks how they turn us into followers. Miriam Toews on shunning, pacifism, and her youth in a strict Mennonite community; Matilda Gustavsson on teenage Christian groups, faith healing, and speaking in tongues; Lauren Baldwin on growing up with the Children of God; Andrea Stuart on the feminist porn industry; Shalom Auslander on Orthodox Judaism; and Roberto Saviano on hiding out from the Italian mafia - along with new writing from Tim Adams, Lauren Baldwin, Emma Cline, Sam Lipsyte, Gwendoline Riley, Aatish Taseer, Adam Thorpe, and many more.

Sigrid Rausing is editor and publisher of Granta magazine and publisher of Granta and Portobello Books. She is the author of "History, Memory and Identity in Post-Soviet Estonia: The End of a Collective Farm" and "Everything is Wonderful," which has been translated into four different languages.