Distancing: Short Stories by New Bristol Writers

K.M. Elkes, Hollie Richards, Grace Palmer

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These pieces were all written on the Comma Press Short Story Course facilitated by K.M. Elkes at the Greenhouse in Bristol. The group met once a month for six months. Each session involved some critique from peers and the tutor of their own work, a close look at examples of stories from other writers as well as theory and practice of the craft. The American author Annie Proulx once ‘I find it satisfying and intellectually stimulating to work with the intensity, brevity, balance and word play of the short story.’ The writers who gathered each month for the Bristol course during 2019 and the early part of 2020, hopefully found the same interest and excitement in tackling the form, learning about its beauty and its intricacies, its light and shade. The result of their efforts is an anthology that showcases a wide range of styles, tones and voices. There is humour – something often overlooked in short fiction. There is magical realism. There are people coming to terms with loss, profound change and new realities. There is the dark pleasure of Gothic horror storytelling. And yet, much like the city of Bristol itself and the West Country where these writers live, there are common threads that bind these disparate stories together, not least – paradoxically – the idea of distance and the difficulties of connection and communication. These stories were mostly written in the run up to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. Perhaps they show a remarkable foresight, or perhaps they demonstrate that part of the human condition that the short story can reflect so well, is the struggle to connect and come together.

61 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 13, 2020