What begins as a conflict between two educators becomes a social project of gendered erasure and ideological conquest, when Mr. Vale, newly appointed principal of St Edith’s, rises to power, dismantling social and political morality in his mission to rid society of its mediocrity.
Bold, chilling and unflinching in its portrayal of tyranny, Capitol V is a novel about the violence of silence, the fragility of truth, and the machinery of control that sustains authoritarian power. It is a work of political and moral urgency that questions what happens when the state not only censors ideas, but the ability to voice them.
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Over the course of 2025, a select group of young writers was invited to take part in a year-long writing program at Story Factory. Their goal was to produce a fully realised novella. This is one of the novellas produced in these workshops.