The
best The Mountains of Mars & Other Stories
The
winning story, 'Mountains of Mars', by Marc Phillips makes a great title
to the Anthology, and the story, full of understated tension, kicks
the book off wonderfully. Second, Jo Campbell's story, 'In the Desert',
is surely a woman's story, of loss late in life and the possibility
of redemption. I'll be re-reading this one in my middle-age.
I'm pleased that the judges selected two of Barry Troy's stories 'A Life', insightfully written, about a teenage girl whose mother has left her to cope with a drunken father and a house-full of kids, and in third place, 'Booker Night in Baggot Street' hilarious a most unlikely discussion develops in a Dublin pub while watching the Booker Prize on TV. It would make a great play.
It's refreshing to have so many
humorous stories in the Anthology.
It's difficult to write successful
comedy but Tomás O'Beirne
succeeds in his eccentric story
'The Missing Taxi Man'. So too does
Caroline Koeppel in her story, 'How
to Kill a Latin Teacher', which
left me with the eerie feeling that
I may have missed an opportunity
with my own Latin teacher! Selma
Dabbagh's story, 'Beirut-Paris-Beirut',
was simply masterful. And Mary Leland's
'Skin Song', a sensual tale told
from the point of view of Geraldine,
a young girl observing her mother's
intimate relationship with the music
teacher, and her own parallel coming
of age, is erotically atmospheric,
beautifully paced and unfolds with
a timeless quality that had me totally
absorbed.
Edited by Clem Cairns
Contents:
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You can view some of the stories from this book in our Short Stories to Read Online page
The Mountains of Mars - Marc
Phillips
In the Desert - Jo Campbell
Booker Night in Baggot Street -
Barry Troy
Postcard From New York - Tom
Murray
Read
this story in Short
Stories to Read Online
How to Kill A Latin Teacher - Caroline
Koeppel
Believe It - Brian Tiernan
Read
this story in Short
Stories to Read Online
Beirut-Paris-Beirut -Selma
Dabbagh
Vanilla - Jessica Wells
Tommy the Voice - Paul Basset
Davies
The Butterfly Slippers - Rebecca
Smith
Read
this story in Short
Stories to Read Online
Opening the Door - Rebecca
Bryant
God's Fingerprint - Rob
Pateman
A Life - Barry Troy
The Plan - Anthony M. O'Sullivan
The Guards Come to the House - Hugo
Kelly
Poor Cow - Tessa Green
At the Intersection of Heaven and
Hel - Susi Klare
A Typical Wednesday - Richard
Dunford
The Object of Desire - Jennifer
A Donnelly
Ambition - Clare S Birchall
The Missing Taxi Driver - Tomás
O'Beirne
Imaginary Friend for Hire - Paul
Bassett Davies
Bus - Kath McKay
Skin Song - Mary Leland
The Fish Anthologies
Novels & Other Titles
Short Stories to read online
Read online some of the winning entries from previous Fish Anthologies. These are examples of the calibre that win the Fish Short Story Prize. Short Stories to read online
Writing Short Stories
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