I have a new short story up at the Fairlight Books short story portal. Fairlight are a fantastic publisher and use their short story portal to promote and support new writers and I am really happy to be a part of it.

This story almost featured my first ever sex scene, but it got cut in the edit. Maybe next time.

The York Journal is an excellent new literary journal here in the UK, and I have a story upcoming in their second issue, due out in mid-December and available for pre-order now.

If you order before the end of November and use the code WINTERISSUE1 you can get a 15% discount.

My piece is about a young art student, an exploded house, and a hidden sexuality straining against its constraints.

Order it here.

I have a new short story up at Belle Ombre called Potholes. Belle Ombre is one of my favourite lit mags, there is so much good writing there and I often stop by to see what is new. This is my third piece that I have published with them and it’s always nice to see my work alongside such good company.

Potholes is a flash fiction piece – not a form I often use – about a man reflecting on the effects of being ignored during a wintry taxi ride home.

The latest short story anthology from The Fiction Desk, ‘Houses Borders Ghosts’ is out now, and features a new short story from me, ‘The Heart of Everything Young’.

This is the 14th volume of short fiction from The Fiction Desk and is a beautifully presented paperback, available directly from The Fiction Desk, but also to order from Waterstones and on Kindle from Amazon.

This anthology was delayed, like so many things, by the pandemic, but working with the editor, Rob Redman, on revisions and getting it ready for publication was a welcome distraction from everything that has been happening. Rob is a fantastic, fastidious editor, and I’m really grateful for the work that he put into it.

My story, The Heart of Everything Young, is set during the real-life fuel crisis that brought the UK to a standstill in September 2000, and focuses on two young losers as they fail to get their humble ambitions off the ground. I had the idea for this story more than twenty years ago, when I went out to buy cigarettes and found an enormous, angry queue for the petrol pumps. It took me a while to finally get around to writing it, but I’m pleased with how it eventually turned out.

Issue 12 of The Wax Paper featuring my story ‘What is Proper to Stones’ is available now. This story was originally featured in The Nottingham Review, but has found a new home in this beautifully presented publication.

You can get a copy from here.