A Great Love Affair
In her essay, JEMMA DRAYCOTT shows us how her love of Hanan Al-Shaykh’s short stories developed, as she guides us through ‘The Scratching of Angels’ Pens’.
Panos Karnezis’ Little Infamies
In her essay, GINA CHALLEN recommends Panos Karenzis’ collection of short stories Little Infamies: ‘a collection of nineteen gently interlinking tales all set in a fictional village in rural Greece…’
This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
‘The writing is raw and at times the language is coarse and graphic, but it is ultimately so real that it cannot be written in any other way.’ RUBA ABUGHAIDA recommends Junot Diaz’s collection This Is How You Lose Her.
The Exclamation Mark
In his essay, DAN POWELL recommends Anton Chekhov’s short story collection The Exclamation Mark, and discusses how the playful stories take us on a journey of a writer finding his voice.
Stella Duffy’s ‘To Brixton Beach’
CARINE OSMONT recommends ‘To Brixton Beach’ by Stella Duffy: ‘It does away with plot and action and tells of a day at the Lido, Brixton’s open-air swimming pool…’
Another Brandy
‘For many, myself included, it is the short stories, out of all his works, that remain the most memorable.’ JASON CLIFTON recommends Ernest Hemingway’s ‘A Clean, Well-Lighted Place’.
Lick My Words
In her essay, EVER DUNDAS introduces us to ‘The Erl-King’ by Angela Carter: ‘I haven’t come across another writer who makes me feel such joy when I read their work. She weaves a spell, pulling you into her dark, beautiful and perverse worlds.’
Screwtop Thompson by Magnus Mills
In his essay, EAMONN GRIFFIN looks at how Magnus Mills’ work is ‘characterised by its constraints: Englishness, routine, lack of information, anonymised male narrators, potentially comic situations with an unfolding atmosphere of unease…’
Finding Short Stories Within a Novel
In her essay on Carol Shields’ The Stone Diaries, RUBA ABUGHAIDA discusses the short story elements of this award-winning novel: ‘…a series of Russian nesting dolls, with the stories nesting within each other, yet each one still capable of standing on their own…’
2013 Feature Writing Competition
We are delighted to announce that the 2013 THRESHOLDS Feature Writing Competition is now open, with a first prize of £500 for the winning essay in each category – Author Profiles and We Recommend.