fiction

Behind the Bestseller: what makes a book a success? Bestselling author Sam Blake talks to authors, editors, publicists and agents to find out exactly what that magic ingredient is. This week, Sam Blake chats to Catherine Ryan Howard, an…

The man opposite me relaxes into his call as the train leaves the station. I stare directly into his face, willing him to hang up. He acknowledges me by shifting his gaze to stare out the window, while his mockney accent booms around the…

Some of the most powerful books for and about teenagers take the form of a diary: Adrian Mole, I Capture The Castle, Go Ask Alice and even The Color Purple (although that spreads beyond the teenage years). So begins Máire Zepf's…

Ribs Shannen Malone They would not speak of it tomorrow. Lucy thought this as she walked to work in the morning, the shiny sound of her tights rubbing together at the thighs finding her ears. She picked at a loose flap of skin at the…

***CONTENT WARNING: Suicide*** Today is the day I commit suicide. It has to be today. It's Rebecca's anniversary. I have to top hers. "Alone...sleeping pills...overdose". She died as she'd lived, a cliché. Her romance novels were…

Dear Richard, Remember that pact we made? Signed and sealed with spit-slicked hands. Time’s up. I’ve decided to keep it. It’s weird of me to write a letter, I know. Why not just text, or even an email? I’m writing you a letter the…

Before her there were others.  After, there will be more.  Right now there are plenty.  Plenty.  Causing his head pain.  ‘She won’t shut up, man.’  Gunner’s voice down the phone is like a knife stabbing his head.  He feels the hotness…

The best thing about the Prozac was that it made her not want to drink. The worst thing about the Prozac was that it made her not want to drink. Priscilla would’ve called her situation a catch-22 if she didn’t fucking hate Joseph Heller.…

7 minutes. You can have your first sexual experience in 7 minutes – 7 minutes in heaven – that’s what they tell you. Does every cigarette take away 7 minutes of your life? Can a headless cockroach really survive for up to 7 minutes after…

This is an episode about who we are as humans. And, more importantly, where we are going. About a future in which technology and biology have merged in ways that are in equal part fascinating and terrifying. A future of unparalleled…