HURRAH! Summer's here, and that means it's time for our annual Women & Girls special (click for Facebook event), where all the writers, protagonists and readers are female, and blimey do we have a (sometimes literally) foxy line-up for you! Six authors, from the US, Ireland, Australia and UK, write about witty bankers, hyper-connected dystopias, vulpine lovers, lonely Durham teens, Snow White gone wrong, and dating dilemmas of the giant spider. Continue reading

Shortly after he turns thirty-five, Tony decides to have his head frozen after he dies. Frozen isn’t the right word. Vitrified is the word, but he’s not really sure what that means. His whole body would have been preferable, but it is too expensive. Besides, he is confident the future scientists will be able to regrow his body using the cells from his head, like a seed grows a tree, or else he will be granted a robotic body with titanium bones and wiry sinews, like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator, the T-800, but with a human brain. Continue reading

I am an astronaut. I am unafraid of heights. I have climbed onto the roof of my house and was absolutely fine. I am in perfect physical health. I’ve never had a single thing wrong with me except for Scarlet Fever which went away after a couple of weeks and didn’t leave any scars. I don’t have anything wrong with me psychiatrically either. I’ve never been depressed or anxious or manic or psychotic. My reflexes are good. If you throw a ball at me, I’ll catch it. I can run for two hours without stopping. I know the names of loads of the stars you can see with the naked eye. I am predicted A’s in Maths and Physics and Chemistry and Biology and even English and Art. I don’t drink or smoke or take drugs (except Paracetamol). I have been following every single NASA mission for six years and know a great deal about your organisation. Please write back to me if you’d like to interview me. I’d love to join your team. Continue reading

Others might remember things differently, but if you ask me, something changed after he started time-travelling. That's not to say there was a clean break between before and after. I think he took it up because he needed something new in his life, something to give him a bit of a jolt, to broaden his horizons – a lot of us need that these days – but I reckon that's when things started to get worse. Continue reading

Proxima Centauri MP3 Read by Greg Page The toolbox clattered as Jim flung himself down the hallway. He had to fix the hole in the roof or else he’d run out of oxygen and die. Again. ‘Oxygen levels depleting. Please... Continue reading

And suddenly Rachel remembered the dream she had last night: black feathers spiralling like snow out of a starless sky, and the swish and rustle of wings unfolding. A shadow falling across her face, and when she tried to run her arms were stiff and jointed, no fingers any more, and her feet were stuck in something. She thought it was mud until she looked down and saw they were gone, and she started to fall and that was when she woke up staring and sweating sheets in that cool draughty maid’s room. Continue reading

WE HAVE LIFT-OFF! Our sci-fi-flavoured special to commemorate 50 years since the moon landings features five forward-looking stories exploring the ultimate theme. Teleport into The Phoenix, Cavendish Square on Tuesday 11th June to explore deep space, time-travel tourism, cryogenics gone wrong, astronautical ambitions and a terrifying game of Murder in the Dark ... Continue reading

Last Rites MP3 Read by David Mildon We were bowling down a bóithrín with Springsteen on the radio when we hit the cow. It was me and Cian and Rob in the back, Aidan driving and no-one in the front... Continue reading

Read by Keleigh Wolf Casper was always trying to fix me. He left flyers for divination therapy and female-only fasting retreats tucked inside my boxes of sugary cereal. My inbox was clogged with emails from him linking me to articles... Continue reading

The Poetry of Jenny MP3 Read by Zach Harrison Jenny was still emoting about her poem. The poses of the others in the circle told me her poem was important, vital even. Jenny had brought up her poem when talking... Continue reading

Olena's Scalpel MP3 Read by Patsy Prince The envelope arrived at Olena’s desk at 12.01 exactly. It had all the markings of important and urgent work. She opened it carefully, and inside found a single photograph. It was an image... Continue reading

No East or West MP3 Read by Silas Hawkins I strongly believe that it was not a unification. A unification is born of diplomacy and compromise. What happened in East Germany was defeat, followed by surrender to a conquering imperialist... Continue reading

Read by Tim Larkfield Dear Mr Aldrich Thank you for the submission of your short story ‘Led by Donkeys’ to Counterfiction magazine. I can speak not only as editor of our august periodical but for each of the judging panel... Continue reading

As Brexit looms (or does it? Who knows ...?!) we selected six superb stories of change & choice to distract you at our BEFORE & AFTER show on Tuesday 9th April. There were escapes and tipping points, cats and cows,... Continue reading

Lili of the Valley of the Shadow MP3 Read by Alex Greenhalgh - full podcast here. The woman at the store assured him there was nothing to be ashamed of. He was almost fourteen and it was natural that he... Continue reading

Read by Math Jones - full podcast here (fourth story) She has a small cloche hat pulled down so tight it’s a wonder she hasn’t ripped the rim. He has his hair plastered to his head so smoothly that Joel... Continue reading

Read by Peter Kenny - full podcast here (last story) “Nervous?” my girlfriend asks, briefly taking her eyes off the road ahead to look at me and smile reassuringly. “Of course.” I reply. Or at least I try to. Seeking... Continue reading

Read by Silas Hawkins - full podcast here (fifth story) Gerald and Kathy's forbidden love existed in defiance of a powerful dating algorithm, which had declared them mutually incompatible. They first met in the lobby of the Wayward Hearts dating... Continue reading

Soul Searching MP3 Read by Keleigh Wolf - full podcast here. The first thing Tammy did on getting back to a guy’s flat was to check on the state of his soul. If it was listless and lethargic, or worse;... Continue reading

Read by William Teller - full podcast here (fifth story) In the years after your retirement, you’ll continue to make regular visits to the cafe where your wife once worked. This will be one of the two indulgences you still... Continue reading

The six pulse-pounding stories for our Valentine's event, LOVE & LUST featured pagan bonfires, lustful teens, scarlet knickers, ill-advised one-night stands, fish suppers, sex at the Imperial War Museum and - naturally - the end of civilisation. Continue reading

Mr Cromerty of Boston MP3 Full podcast here: (3rd story) Bonus Xmas podcast story here! Read by David Mildon Outside, a cold, clear evening, men going about bundled in woollens, steam rising from a rubble of horse manure in the... Continue reading

Santa - Judgement Day Full podcast here: (5th story) Bonus Christmas podcast story here! Read by Rich Keeble ‘Merry Christmas, motherf**kers. Here I co-ome!’ The wind ripped away Square Jaw’s yell as he dived from the stealth bomber and into... Continue reading

Christman's Present MP3 Read by Lois Tucker Inside, Christman’s department store was shimmering and the same, smelling of wax-polish and tinsel. I wasn’t sure why I’d brought Sinclair here – a drunken impulse, maybe – but I’d always loved it:... Continue reading

Gluten Tolerant MP3 Read by Amy Neilson Smith ‘Fuck you, Jack. Merry Christmas.’ That’s what I should have said. Instead I mutter ‘See you later, then – at home’ with a calculated passive-aggressive cutting edge. It’ll be wasted on the... Continue reading