‘The boys' eyes grazed the carpet and then each other guiltily. The youngest tried not to smile with shame.’
The mother woke to the sound of screaming. One of the sons was trying to take something from the other, and the youngest had found his lungs. She moved swiftly, past fatigue, throwing the robe over the places where she had been beaten, past the bedroom door, into the chill of the corridor, into the …
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‘I think there should be a National Service of Hospitality. The best way to see the true face of humanity is to serve it a plate of chips.’
Camilla Grudova on bad-mannered customers.
‘Anyone who has ever worked night shifts will understand the vertiginous feeling that comes with staring down the day from the wrong end.’
A.K. Blakemore on working nights.
‘I was constantly reading job ads, trying to find my holy grail – a job I could stand to do, and someone foolish enough to hire me.’
Sandra Newman on learning how to play professional blackjack.
‘I loved being a receptionist. What I loved about it was playing the part of being a receptionist.’
Emily Berry on being a temporary office worker.
‘Every part of you would swell, including your eyeballs, and no matter how much water you drank, you were always dehydrated.’
Junot Díaz on working for a steel mill.
‘There is a sense of carnival mingled with outrage, especially for us since this is our first demonstration.’
Ike Anya on universities, financial cuts and student protest.
‘I saw it all. Nobody here gives children ear, so I saw everything just by being quiet and doing like I dinor see.’
An extract from Dazzling by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ.
‘Trouble was awake – we didn’t need anyone to tell us.’
New fiction by Adachioma Ezeano.
‘It’s a story that happens to you once and then lives with you forever.’
An excerpt from Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde.
‘My life unfolded within the net effect of my father’s choices.’
Memoir by Emmanuel Iduma.
‘By the end of our journey together we had signally failed to understand each other, yet an unlikely, even unprecedented connection had formed.’
