A new anthology of short fiction is set to be released in June this year, featuring stories from two of Europe’s leading writing prizes.

With work drawn from the past five years of both the Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize and the Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize, 22 Fictions is described as “a celebration of innovative, genre-bending short fiction”.

The collection will feature ‘Damsons’ by N G F Clark – a meditation on the transience of place, community and memory – which was named Runner Up in the Desperate Literature Prize 2023. Competition judge Mariana Enríquez praised the story’s quiet details, which “shape a text approaching folk horror, where innocence conceals an ancient rite brimming with potent menace.”

“A collection of innovative short fiction from 22 of the most exciting writers currently working in the form.”

Desperate Literature

In 22 Fictions, 11 pieces from each programme will be brought together for the first time. This is the first collaboration between the two prizes, and the first collaboration with CHEERIO as a partner publisher. The anthology will be published on 19 June 2025, edited by Kate Ellis and Robert Loyko-Greer.

A curated selection drawn from the first five years of the two indie bookseller-run projects, these 22 Fictions celebrate the energy and diversity of short fiction writing today, pushing the boundaries of the form into new territory and bringing together a radical new generation of writers from across the globe.

“If 22 Fictions is an argument for the short form, it is winning. A book worth studying.”

Isabel Waidner

The collection will be foregrounded by essays from authors Wendy Erskine and Joanna Walsh, who are both former judges of the prizes. 22 Fictions will contain work from Shola von Reinhold, Leeor Ohayon, Tom Benn, Alice Haworth-Booth, N G F Clark, Danielle Giles, Francesca Reece, Melody Razak, Mariana Roa Oliva, Giovanna Iozzi, Suey Kweon, K Lockwood Jefford, Katie Hale, Max Lury, Jay Gao, Aoife Inman, Andrea Mason, Aisha Phoenix, Isha Karki, Jack Houston, Siri Katinka Valdez and Rajasree Variyar.

22 Fictions releases on 19 June 2025.