22 Fictions New Writing from Desperate Literature and Brick Lane Bookshop

by Kate Ellis (Editor), Robert Loyko-Greer (Editor), Wendy Erskine (Introduction)

A curated selection drawn from the first five years of two indie bookseller-run projects—Madrid’s Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize and London’s Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize—these 22 Fictions feature Purim celebrations, multiple Stuart Halls, a kidnapping, an aeroplane fleeing a volcano, gender injustice, a chicken shop menu, climate change, a shaved horse, activism, 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.

Featuring 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, Rajasree Variyar.

Foreword by Joanna Walsh and an introduction by Wendy Erskine, former judges of the two prizes.

324 pages, Paperback

Published June 19, 2025

About the author

Kate Ellis was born and brought up in Liverpool and she studied drama in Manchester. She worked in teaching, marketing and accountancy before first enjoying writing success as a winner of the North West Playwrights competition. Crime and mystery stories have always fascinated her, as have medieval history and archaeology which she likes to incorporate in her books. She is married with two grown up sons and she lives in North Cheshire, England, with her husband. Kate was awarded the CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY award in 2019

Reviews

[Ben Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

some hits, some misses. a few stories really blew me away and some i didn’t rock with so hard. but a good mix, it’s always nice to see the work from new voices