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Bitter North

Alexandra Tanner

‘Eight years in, Hal felt like another her, somehow.’

Fiction by Alexandra Tanner.

Lígia

Victor Heringer

‘Today, three years after I befriended him to see him die, the idea of losing Sr Mendes has left me all mixed up.’

A short story by Victor Heringer, translated by James Young.

Armance

Fleur Jaeggy

‘I don’t think much of the very silly, even gullible, person that I am.’

Fiction by Fleur Jaeggy, translated by Gini Alhadeff.

Honeymoon

Allen Bratton

‘On all sides he is surrounded by old people: jowly liver-spotted men in wrinkled suits, brown-toothed women in Thatcher drag, holding forth with tiresome decorum on coal imports, road safety, the economy of Northern Ireland.’

Fiction by Allen Bratton.

Cracked Plate

Nicola Dinan

‘Later that day, Emma had thought of Nina while Toby fucked her in bed. Isn’t that fucked? Thinking about the other girl he was fucking. Her friend.’

Fiction by Nicola Dinan.

Bed of Nails

Kathy Stevens

‘I should warn you, she said, ketchup on her chin, on the back of her hand. I like to have sex a lot.’

Fiction by Kathy Stevens.

The Material

Camille Bordas

‘Rehearsing in front of the mirror was for actors, according to them, not comedians. It was for vain people. A good comedian was the opposite of vain, they said.’

Fiction by Camille Bordas.

Aishwarya Rai

Sanjana Thakur

‘The shelter houses one hundred and fifty women who used to be or long to be or have no choice but to be Mothers.’

Fiction by Sanjana Thakur.

Dite

Reena Usha Rungoo

‘She collected stamps when she was younger, then switched to books, degrees, and – when she moved abroad – white lovers.’

Fiction by Reena Usha Rungoo.

The Devil’s Son

Portia Subran

‘He was prone to what he did call adventures, like if he had an irrepressible pull to wander every trace and tributary contained in Chaguanas.’

Fiction by Portia Subran.

What Burns

Julie Bouchard

‘Seven thousand forest fires are currently burning – fires which, under normal circumstances, would never even cross your mind.’

Fiction by Julie Bouchard, translated by Arielle Aaronson.

A River Then the Road

Pip Robertson

‘In good weather they went camping, meaning they slept in the station wagon with the seats down flat, in a car park at a forest or beach.’

Fiction by Pip Robertson.

Feminisms

Nikki Shaner-Bradford

‘We figured some facts might quell the speculation. It was our duty as friends to put her mind at ease.’

Fiction by Nikki Shaner-Bradford.

Brat

Gabriel Smith

‘There was a red patch, and what looked like a slightly raised piece of dead skin in the centre of my chest. Just to the right of where I assumed my heart was.’

An extract from Gabriel Smith’s novel Brat.