Comma Press Phobic: Modern Horror Stories

Rampaging behemoths, giant, washed-up fishtails, mysterious briefcases, role-playing cuddly toys ... The world of the short story is a weird and wonderful one, made even stranger by the unique assortment of characters that crop up in them. Incongruity seems to be their secret ingredient - or rather the right kind of incongruity, an artful one that punctuates the flat realism of most literature and inserts an isolated moment, an atomised truth.Comma's second anthology of new writers showcases 20 of the most imaginative and daring voices taking up the form; writers dedicated to charting the far reaches of this terrain right at the outset of their careers; writers who prove it's best to stay short. Twenty emerging British authors are featured in this anthology of short stories that celebrates imagination and daring in writing. The themes of these works push the limit of the traditional short story form and simultaneously offer isolated moments of truth. Characters range from world-smashing behemoths to role-playing plush toys to a man forced to reckon with a mysterious briefcase. Offering a snapshot of the next generation of British literature, this collection will amuse and astound. Autorid: Andy Murray, Robert Shearman, Ramsey Campbell, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Jeremy Dyson, Matthew Holness, Christine Poulson, Nicholas Royle, Adam Roberts, Emma Jane Unsworth