Viva Survivors Select 15

It’s release day for The Questions Issue, the latest and penultimate issue of Viva Survivors Select!

You can find The Questions Issue on my Payhip store now. For this issue I wanted to explore viva questions: what they’re like, how you can engage with them, prepare for them and what to do in a range of situations that people worry about. This zine feels like a different perspective on many other topics that people consider for the viva. Expectations, prep, worry and feelings, confidence – everything’s connected but it depends on where you put your focus.

The Questions Issue contains twenty curated posts from the Viva Survivors blog archive. I have also written two new pages of viva help! In the first I give my responses to some of the most frequently asked questions I get about the viva. I’ve delivered over 500 sessions to 10,000+ PhD candidates – I’ve been asked a lot of questions! In the second new page I also share seven questions I think will help any PhD candidates as they get ready for their viva.

Once again I’ve created all of the art for this issue with my trusty iPad and digital art app. There’s no AI: it’s all me playing, experimenting and having fun as I explore this new medium for myself. I hope it gives a smile and helps you engage with and enjoy the issue.

Viva Survivors Select 15, The Questions Issue, is out now for £3. If you like the blog, want more help and want to support what I do then please consider buying Viva Survivors Select. If it helps you then please pass on details of The Questions Issue and Viva Survivors Select to anyone you know who is looking for viva help.

Thanks for reading!

Nathan

PS: the final issue of Viva Survivors Select – rather appropriately titled The Final Issue – is due out on Wednesday 18th November 2026. It’s been lovely to share so much of the blog through these zines over the last year-and-a-half – and I’ve got something very special planned for this last issue 🙂