Acts of Desperation
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Exit Father
Mai Nardone
‘He was a tossed coin, two faces alternating to catch the light.’
A story by Mai Nardone.
The Great Mistake
Jonathan Lee
‘The first attempt on the life of Andrew Green had occurred on Thanksgiving Day in 1873.’
An excerpt from the new novel by Jonathan Lee.
Granddaughter of the Octopus
Rémy Ngamije
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize for the region of Africa.
People Who Live Here
Holly Pester
‘Another man dithering around six foot two had recently moved in.’
A story by Holly Pester, author of Comic Timing.
The Woman in the Purple Skirt
Natsuko Imamura
An excerpt from The Woman in the Purple Skirt, which won the 2019 Akutagawa Prize.
Breast or Tooth?
Tishani Doshi
‘A breast just casually hanging around, being a functional exocrine gland, enjoying the sun? Impossible.’
Tishani Doshi on women’s rights in India.
Notes on Craft
Kjersti A. Skomsvold
Kjersti A. Skomsvold on writing The Child, a book on motherhood and grief.
Notes on Craft
Jonathan Lee
The author of The Great Mistake discusses the importance of opening lines.
Dead Souls
Sam Riviere
‘The uproar was immediate. Criticism and condemnation rose on all sides.’
Sam Riviere on publishing’s deal souls.
The Child
Kjersti A. Skomsvold
Translated from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken, an excerpt from The Child by Kjersti A. Skomsvold.
If You Kept a Record of Sins
Andrea Bajani
‘It’s like a second gestation, like entering the world a second time.’
An excerpt from Andrea Bajani’s novel If You Kept a Record of Sins, available from Archipelago Books. Translated from the Italian by Elizabeth Harris.
Second Place
Rachel Cusk
‘I stepped around as joyfully as a faun in a forest on the first day of creation.’
An excerpt from Rachel Cusk’s new novel.
A Song About Singularities
Jack Underwood
‘Precious things, even those given to me lovingly, feel like a test.’
Jack Underwood on poetry and black holes.
Mr Brown, Mrs White and Ms Black
Kei Miller
‘Yes, Ms Black. Mrs White and Mr Brown have arrived.’
An new essay by poet Kei Miller, from his forthcoming collection.
Orientation
Ben Pester
‘Graham is telling the woman that he is Orientating you. The woman in the blue cardigan looks at you and nods very solemnly.’
A story from Ben Pester’s Am I in the Right Place, available now from Boiler House Press.
Introduction
Valerie Miles
‘We wanted work of the imagination. Fiction. Consciousness captured on the page.’
Guest editor and co-founder of Granta en Español introduces the issue.
Inti Raymi
Mónica Ojeda
‘The children crossed the valley of ringing rocks, of bird bones, of fox feet.’
Fiction by Mónica Ojeda, translated by Sarah Booker.
Juancho, Baile
José Ardila
‘All of us connected by this kind of universal sunstroke.’
Fiction by José Ardila, translated by Lindsay Griffiths and Adrián Izquierdo.
Buda Flaite
Paulina Flores
‘And there was our protagonist, ambling along through Reyes Park with unhurried steps, but still never losing that fixa.’
Fiction by Paulina Flores, translated by Megan McDowell.
Dengue Boy
Michel Nieva
‘Where his mother had surely hoped for a sweet little mouth, Dengue Boy had misshapen flesh bristling with maxillary palps.’
Fiction by Michel Nieva, translated by Natasha Wimmer.
Capsule
Mateo García Elizondo
‘I wish I could entrust my life to a more solid structure, but whatever. It’s not like anyone gets to file complaints around here.’
Fiction by Mateo García Elizondo, translated by Robin Myers.
Uninhabitants
Gonzalo Baz
‘The day we moved into the neighborhood, the house next door was in ruins, it was an inaccessible, absent place.’
Fiction by Gonzalo Baz, translated by Christina MacSweeney.
Kingdoms
Miluska Benavides
‘The day of the explosion, Bautista made his way through the camp as he had the previous days, months and years.’
Fiction by Miluska Benavides, translated by Katherine Silver.
Travellers Inside the Marquee
Eudris Planche Savón
‘Katherine Mansfield has just stolen my chance to begin a conversation.’
Fiction by Eudris Planche Savón, translated by Margaret Jull Costa.
Insomnia of the Statues
David Aliaga
‘Montreal was becoming smudged with snow and night.’
Fiction by David Aliaga, translated by Daniel Hahn.
Sea of Stone
Aura García-Junco
‘Statues fill the entire avenue; they cover the pavement once meant for cars.’
Fiction by Aura García-Junco, translated by Lizzie Davis.
Our Windowless Home
Martín Felipe Castagnet
‘It was important to touch them, a ritual to wake them up and keep them alive.’
Fiction by Martín Felipe Castagnet, translated by Frances Riddle.
Ruins in Reverse
Carlos Fonseca
‘I couldn’t remember the dates, so anything was possible.’
Fiction by Carlos Fonseca, translated by Megan McDowell.
Borromean Rings
Andrea Chapela
‘If I could make just one call, I’d dial the bar in Madrid.’
Fiction by Andrea Chapela, translated by Kelsi Vanada.
The New Me
Andrea Abreu
‘Needy text messages did not mesh with my new personality.’
Fiction by Andrea Abreu, translated by Julia Sanches.
Nobody Knows What They’re Doing
Camila Fabbri
‘In that instant my sisters were two animals about to work some shit out.’
Fiction by Camila Fabbri, translated by Jennifer Croft.
The Color of Balloons
Dainerys Machado Vento
‘None of these people give a shit that a flock of birds is going to choke to death on those balloons, be they pink or blue.’
Fiction by Dainerys Machado Vento, translated by Will Vanderhyden.
