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Maybe the Birds
A collection of 14 speculative and realist short stories exploring female lives and experiences.
After the apocalypse destroys most life on Earth, a woman makes artificial bird voiceboxes to try and keep birdsong alive. A young female vampire uses her knowledge of mirrors to save her village from the creature who turned her. A woman haunted by her past feels that the robins she has always loved are no longer her friends. These fourteen stories, largely speculative in nature, consider what happens when the world is no longer as it used to be—whether it be the postapocalyptic future, the paleolithic past, or the dark north of the present.
A. J. Ashworth’s second collection features "Leather" from Best British Short Stories and explores themes of love and loss, family and foe, as well as moments of disconnection and connection with those closest to us. All are interested in what it means to be alive in very difficult times.
After the apocalypse destroys most life on Earth, a woman makes artificial bird voiceboxes to try and keep birdsong alive. A young female vampire uses her knowledge of mirrors to save her village from the creature who turned her. A woman haunted by her past feels that the robins she has always loved are no longer her friends. These fourteen stories, largely speculative in nature, consider what happens when the world is no longer as it used to be—whether it be the postapocalyptic future, the paleolithic past, or the dark north of the present.
A. J. Ashworth’s second collection features "Leather" from Best British Short Stories and explores themes of love and loss, family and foe, as well as moments of disconnection and connection with those closest to us. All are interested in what it means to be alive in very difficult times.
224 pages, Paperback
Published October 21, 2025
3 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Ashworth
6 books11 followersA. J. Ashworth is a prize-winning writer whose debut collection of short stories, 'Somewhere Else, or Even Here', was published by Salt Publishing after she won their Scott Prize.
She has previously had stories published in magazines such as Tears in the Fence, The Warwick Review, The View From Here and more. She has also been longlisted/shortlisted in competitions including the Willesden Herald International Short Story Competition, the Short Fiction Competition and Fish Short Story Prize.
The collection was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and longlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize. She is the recipient of Arts Council England funding as well as a K. Blundell Trust Award and Authors' Foundation Grant from The Society of Authors. She is the editor of 'Red Room: New Short Stories Inspired by the Brontes' and has a PhD in creative writing. She is currently working on a second collection of short stories.
Praise for 'Somewhere Else, or Even Here':
'A. J. Ashworth's first collection of short stories displays impressive versatility. She treats each of her characters to their own narrative timbre - and the stories do not progress so much as accrue, collecting incidental detail that enriches the scenarios without pointing towards their resolution.' TLS.
'Success in the short story genre, to my mind, is contingent on the dexterity with which the author wields the primary tool at his or her disposal: the scalpel. A. J. Ashworth does so with the delicacy and precision of the surgeon. Here are fourteen stories from which every irrelevance has been excised, to provide a ruthlessly fine focus on the minutiae that matter...In this collection of short stories Ms Ashworth has peered through life’s keyhole and found all-too-human characters confronting the familiar and the beguiling, creating a series of coruscating cameos that sparkle with simple honesty and intelligent insights. These stories are impeccably crafted and easy to read, and a useful collection for dissection by the reading group.' John Oakley, Newbooks.
'Dark, witty, delicious stories with flashes of terror and tenderness.' Maggie Gee.
'A. J. Ashworth is a writer who creates worlds in a few sentences, and universes in a few pages. She explores our underlying loneliness in all its myriad guises with a steady eye and with great tenderness, whilst investing the everyday with a freshness that comes from a real gift for observation and a delight for language. The stories here really are shooting stars – ‘brilliant sparkling scratches’ against the night. A very gifted writer. One to watch without a doubt.' Vanessa Gebbie
'With beauty, poise and fearlessness, A. J. Ashworth creates worlds that are chillingly real, exploring the raw human need for attachment and the fear of closeness in a way that is both tender and haunting. She is a fierce new talent.' Simon Van Booy.
'Winner of the 2011 Scott Prize. Short story writers have the enviable job of having to create characters and situations in just a few pages and A. J. Ashworth performs this amazing feat, seemingly, effortlessly making her short stories a real joy to read. This is a sublime, award-winning collection of short stories that would make an exciting and alternative selection for a reading group.' Lovereading.
She has previously had stories published in magazines such as Tears in the Fence, The Warwick Review, The View From Here and more. She has also been longlisted/shortlisted in competitions including the Willesden Herald International Short Story Competition, the Short Fiction Competition and Fish Short Story Prize.
The collection was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and longlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize. She is the recipient of Arts Council England funding as well as a K. Blundell Trust Award and Authors' Foundation Grant from The Society of Authors. She is the editor of 'Red Room: New Short Stories Inspired by the Brontes' and has a PhD in creative writing. She is currently working on a second collection of short stories.
Praise for 'Somewhere Else, or Even Here':
'A. J. Ashworth's first collection of short stories displays impressive versatility. She treats each of her characters to their own narrative timbre - and the stories do not progress so much as accrue, collecting incidental detail that enriches the scenarios without pointing towards their resolution.' TLS.
'Success in the short story genre, to my mind, is contingent on the dexterity with which the author wields the primary tool at his or her disposal: the scalpel. A. J. Ashworth does so with the delicacy and precision of the surgeon. Here are fourteen stories from which every irrelevance has been excised, to provide a ruthlessly fine focus on the minutiae that matter...In this collection of short stories Ms Ashworth has peered through life’s keyhole and found all-too-human characters confronting the familiar and the beguiling, creating a series of coruscating cameos that sparkle with simple honesty and intelligent insights. These stories are impeccably crafted and easy to read, and a useful collection for dissection by the reading group.' John Oakley, Newbooks.
'Dark, witty, delicious stories with flashes of terror and tenderness.' Maggie Gee.
'A. J. Ashworth is a writer who creates worlds in a few sentences, and universes in a few pages. She explores our underlying loneliness in all its myriad guises with a steady eye and with great tenderness, whilst investing the everyday with a freshness that comes from a real gift for observation and a delight for language. The stories here really are shooting stars – ‘brilliant sparkling scratches’ against the night. A very gifted writer. One to watch without a doubt.' Vanessa Gebbie
'With beauty, poise and fearlessness, A. J. Ashworth creates worlds that are chillingly real, exploring the raw human need for attachment and the fear of closeness in a way that is both tender and haunting. She is a fierce new talent.' Simon Van Booy.
'Winner of the 2011 Scott Prize. Short story writers have the enviable job of having to create characters and situations in just a few pages and A. J. Ashworth performs this amazing feat, seemingly, effortlessly making her short stories a real joy to read. This is a sublime, award-winning collection of short stories that would make an exciting and alternative selection for a reading group.' Lovereading.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 10, 2026
This is a beautifully written and deeply moving collection.
The ideas are striking and original: a woman preserving birdsong after the end of the world, a young vampire using mirrors to save her village, a woman whose beloved robins no longer feel like friends. Yet these concepts never feel like gimmicks—they are powerful metaphors for loss, identity, and survival.
What makes this book special is its emotional intelligence. Even in the most fantastical settings, the stories remain grounded in human truth, empathy, and quiet beauty. Lyrical, haunting, and thoughtfully crafted, this is a collection that stays with you long after the final page.
The ideas are striking and original: a woman preserving birdsong after the end of the world, a young vampire using mirrors to save her village, a woman whose beloved robins no longer feel like friends. Yet these concepts never feel like gimmicks—they are powerful metaphors for loss, identity, and survival.
What makes this book special is its emotional intelligence. Even in the most fantastical settings, the stories remain grounded in human truth, empathy, and quiet beauty. Lyrical, haunting, and thoughtfully crafted, this is a collection that stays with you long after the final page.
Displaying 1 of 1 review