A CHEERIO collaboration with two of Europe’s leading writing prizes — a collection of innovative short fiction from 22 of the most exciting writers currently working in the form. 

“If 22 Fictions is an argument for the short form, it is winning. A book worth studying.”
— Isabel Waidner, Goldsmiths Prize winning author of Sterling Karat Gold and Corey Fah Does Social Mobility

A curated selection drawn from the first five years of two indie bookseller-run projects—Madrid’s Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize and London’s Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize—these 22 Fictions feature Purim celebrations, multiple Stuart Halls, a kidnapping, gender injustice, an aeroplane fleeing a volcano, gender injustice, a chicken shop menu, climate change, a shaved horse, activism, and much besides, all the while roaming from a Cornish farming village to a Paris basement, a hotel bar, an island with a steep hill, a location deep within the internet, a family dinner table and further.

Proudly internationalist and profoundly imaginative, the 22 stories in this vital anthology are wild, innovative, funny, sad, harrowing and tender. Together they celebrate the energy and diversity of short fiction writing today, pushing the boundaries of the form into new territory and bringing together a radical new generation of writers from across the globe.

Featuring work from:
Shola Von Reinhold, Leeor Ohayon, Tom Benn, Alice Haworth-Booth, N G F Clark, Danielle Giles, Francesca Reece, Melody Razak, Mariana Roa Oliva, Giovanna Iozzi, Suey Kweon, K. Lockwood Jefford, Katie Hale, Max Lury, Jay Gao, Aoife Inman, Andrea Mason, Aisha Phoenix, Isha Karki, Jack Houston, Siri Katinka Valdez, Rajasree Variyar.

Foreword by Joanna Walsh and an introduction by Wendy Erskine, former judges of the two prizes.

Edited by Kate Ellis and Robert Loyko-Greer, published by CHEERIO.

“Bold and emboldening — each story here engages with the form in new and rewarding ways.”

— Gurnaik Johal, author of We Move and Saraswati

“Partnering with two of the world’s most forward-thinking booksellers to publish the razor-edge of contemporary writing speaks exactly to the DIY spirit CHEERIO was founded on. A dream.”

– Darren Biabowe Barnes, Editorial Director of CHEERIO Publishing