ENCORE: A Visit from Saint Nicholas

Happy Holidays! This year, we're revisting our first ever Christmas Episode from 2021. We are reading the timeless festive poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas, more commonly known as 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, and comparing it with a short story based on the classic narrative, by James Thurber. Curl up with a cup of mulled wine and enjoy our musings on Santa Claus, sugarplums and the demise of the kerchief. Link to Stories: A Visit from Saint Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore (or by Henry Livingston Junior) A Visit from Saint Nicholas (In the Ernest Hemingway Manner) by James Thurber Further Reading: ‘Twas the night before Christmas’ helped make the modern Santa – and led to a literary whodunit

This week we are reading "Caturday" by Emma Brankin and we are THRILLED to be joined by the author herself to discuss the story, and her brand new collection Attention Seekers, which is available now. Caturday follows the story of Ash as she navigates a complicated relationship with her ex and the cat they once shared, who has become an internet sensation. Attention Seekers is Brankin's darkly comic debut collection, bringing to life characters as they stuggle with their identity, their place in the world, and the lure of the spotlight. The author has made the story available for free on her website here. Caturday was first published in So To Speak Journal. Buy Attention Seekers in your local bookshop or online retailer and follow Emma Brankin (and her cat!) @sabre_reads Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shortsthepod Produced & edited by Alex Crowson

This week we’re reading Taylor Swift, a piece of flash fiction by Hugh Behm-Steinberg, published by Gulf Coast Mag. In the alternate reality of the story, our narrator buys several Taylor Swift clones, whom they use to deal with their emotions over their next door neighbour and friend Tina. As the story progresses, we ask questions over the extreme commodification of celebrity, and the incomparable power of human connection. Link to story: https://gulfcoastmag.org/journal/28.2/2015-barthelme-prize-winner-taylor-swift/ Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shortsthepod Produced & edited by Alex Crowson

This week, we're reading "Ophelia" by Breanne McIvor. It was published in April 2017 on Adda,  the online literary magazine of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Ophelia is a story about a young man who falls for a woman in the cast of a play he is in. As he prepares for a coffee with her - which could be their first date - he realises the distance between them, and decides he can’t go through with it. This is a story about class, about race, and how to navigate who you are. Link to story: https://www.addastories.org/ophelia/ Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shortsthepod Produced & edited by Alex Crowson

This week, we're reading “How To Be An Other Woman” by Lorrie Moore which was first published in 1985. The story is told from the perspective of Charlene, a secretary, who has an affair with a married man. One of the most famous examples of second person narration, How to Be an Other Woman follows Charlene as she navigates her identity from carefree mistress to jealous rival. Link to Story (you need to read both parts!) Part 1 Part 2 Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shortsthepod Produced & edited by Alex Crowson

This week, we're reading “The Heart In The House” by Aaron Muller. It was published in 2022 in Cold Signal magazine. Part comedy, part horror, this story is a surrealist dive into a woman’s relationship with the house she recently purchased, which appears to be alive. Link to Story: ⁠"The Heart in the House" by Aaron Muller Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shortsthepod Produced & edited by Alex Crowson

This week, we're reading “The Lazy River” by Zadie Smith. It was published in December 2017 in the New Yorker. In this story, a group of British families go on holiday at an all-inclusive resort in Southern Spain. This simple premise belies extraordinary metaphors about life, materialism, and inequality. Link to Story: "The Lazy River" by Zadie Smith Link to the author reading the story: Zadie Smith Reads "The Lazy River" Instagram: @shortsthepod X: @shortsthepod Produced & edited by Alex Crowson

Merry Christmas and Welcome to Season 3 of Shorts! This season, we're kicking it off with our annual Christmas episode, and we're reading, "A Childs Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas. Written and recorded in 1952, this lyrical, alliterative, poem follows a boy's antics through Christmas Day. We recommend reading and listening to this poem, as Dylan's Welsh accent brings it to life. Link to Poem: "A Child's Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas Link to Recording: "A Child's Christmas in Wales, a Story" X:@shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepod Produced and edited by Alex Crowson

A special Christmas episode! For the second year in a row, we're reading a Christmas classic. This year, we dive into, "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, first published in December 1905. The Gift of the Magi tells the story of the young married couple Della and Jim, and their struggle to find meaningful Christmas gifts for each other when money is tight and time is short.  Link to story: "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Alex Crowson

This is a bitesized edition of Shorts - special bonus episodes where we will be focusing on very short short stories (also known as flash fiction!) Today we are reading "Who am I" by Amanda Olive Amoah which was published in Flash Fiction Ghana in 2015. In this story, our narrator wakes up and discovers she doesn't know who she is. Throughout her day, she cycles through a routine marked by reminding and forgetting. Link to story: "Who am I" by Amanda Olive Amoah  Twitter: @shortsthepod Instagram: @shortsthepodcast Sound editing & mix by Alex Crowson