Drilling for Water
‘A story for our times, ‘Hard Times’ by Ron Rash should be required reading for politicians…’ KATH McKAY recommends the heartbreaking writing of Ron Rash.
The View from the Mailbox
In this essay, PATRICK YARKER learns something from ‘The Lesson’ by Toni Cade Bambara: ‘A college graduate, Miss Moore has returned with her knowledge, her sober clothes and her undisuadable dedication, to the streets of late-60s Harlem to help educate the next generation, much to its irked disdain…’
In Your Dreams
JULIET WEST ponders the role of women in George Saunders’ latest collection, Tenth of December: ‘I marvelled at the breakneck prose, the dark humour, the searing satire on Western consumerism. Yet, as I read, I began to experience an increasing sense of unease. At times, I felt as if I had landed in the fantasy world of a deviant male adolescent…’
Where Are You Helen Harris?
STEPHEN DEVEREUX searches for Helen Harris, a quiet revolutionary in short story writing: ‘Short stories have characters, right? This one doesn’t. And one of them is the central character, yes? Not in this story. And short stories have plots, don’t they? Well there’s a plot of sorts, I suppose…’
2014 Competition Winner
We are delighted to announce the results of the 2014 THRESHOLDS International Short Fiction Feature Writing Competition…
Under Witness Protection
ANUSHREEE NANDE gets under the skin of ‘Witness Protection’ by Guy Ware: ‘The narrative revolves around Henry and Stella, and their seemingly routine life that hides secrets, lies and, possibly, violence…’
On My Travels
VICKI HEATH examines Once Upon a Time There Was a Traveller, the 2013 anthology of Asham Award-winning stories: ‘As I read, I considered each story carefully, wondering what made these particular pieces stand out for the judges…’
Do You Need to Keep a Notebook?
Short story writer, novelist and creative writing lecturer SALLY O’REILLY ponders the writer’s notebook: ‘For most writers, a notebook is the closest thing we have to an artist’s sketch book, and the equivalent of a studio…’
Flame Lurid
STEPHEN DEVEREUX explores the enigmatic world of D.H. Lawrence’s short story ‘Fanny and Annie’: ‘It is, I would argue, one of the best short story openings in English. What does it tell the reader? Nothing. And everything…’
Darkness and Light
‘…the characters express themselves in broad Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire Coalfield. However, it is not so much the language, but the use of language that excites me…’ MIKE SMITH takes an insightful look at the use of language in D.H. Lawrence’s short story ‘Odour of Chrysanthemums’