The new anthology of stories from two of Europe’s leading independant fiction prizes, 22 Fictions, is published today.

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 celebrates the energy and diversity of short fiction writing today.

The new 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.”

With introductory essays from authors Wendy Erskine and Joanna Walsh – former judges of the prizes – 22 Fictions contains eleven stories from each prize programme. The full contributor list includes:

• 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
• Rajasree Variyar

These diverse stories feature Purim celebrations, multiple Stuart Halls, a kidnapping, gender injustice, an aeroplane fleeing a volcano, a chicken shop menu, climate change, a shaved horse, and much besides, all the while roaming from a Cornish farming village to a Paris basement, a hotel bar, an island with a steep hill, a location deep within the internet, a family dinner table and further.

Edited by Kate Ellis and Robert Loyko-Greer, this is the first collaboration between the two prizes, and the first collaboration with CHEERIO as a partner publisher.

A curated selection drawn from the first five years of the two indie bookseller-run projects, these 22 Fictions push the boundaries of the short form into new territory and bring together a radical new generation of writers from across the globe.