Kaggsy’s and Lizzy’s fifth annual celebration of Indie publishers in the UK is a regular reminder to celebrate the independent voices in this industry. All month, I’ve been reading with this event in mind, and I am finishing just in time to contribute. Today, with some discussion of six
Abi-Nakhoul, Atwood, Brinkley, Graves, Kemick, Nunez, Segal Short Stories in October, November and December Whether in a dedicated collection or a magazine, these stories capture a variety of reading moods. This quarter, I returned to three familiar writers and also explored four new-to-me story writers.
Some people put a lot of stock into their first read of the year, selecting it as a reflection of the coming year’s goals, like other people choose a word (or words) to represent the year ahead. Partly because I’m a moody reader, with an unwieldly stack including many
Just yesterday I was commenting to a friend that my reading of late has felt rather disheartening. Some beautiful writing, and vitally important stories, but it was taking a toll. It reminded me that there’s been other reading in my stacks in recent weeks that could serve to balance.
When I think about novellas I’ve enjoyed this year, I recall Poulomi Sanyal’s Colour Me Confounded (2017) and Kerry Trautman’s Irregulars (2023), their settings soaked with the ambiance of their main characters’ workplaces, whether a boardroom or a diner. And I think about Helen deWitt’s The English Understand Wool
