22 Fictions

Launched in 2017 and 2018, the Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize and the Brick Lane Short Story Prize have produced two of the most interesting bodies of short fiction published in recent years. Started as DIY publishing projects by booksellers in the independent bookshops of London and Madrid, the annual collections from both prizes quickly became cult artefacts - containing new voices that pushed at the boundaries of form, shape, and storytelling itself, while carrying an internationalism and imagination that defied the conservatism of the decade. Compiled here for the first time as a collaborative anthology, 22 Fictions features some of the most exciting work selected from the formative years of both prizes. The 22 short stories will be accompanied by positioning essays by Joanna Walsh and Wendy Erskine, former judges of the two prizes with very meaningful and impactful links to the world of independent publishing.