Short Story of the Month, May 2024

I think I remember a line from The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor, "Things can go wrong in an empty house." Also in a seemingly empty hotel and arguably an empty relationship, perhaps. Intrigued? Read our Story of the Month for May by Cath Barton to find out what happened. (Ed.)

The Willesden Herald Story of the Month

May 2024: At the Hotel Swinburne by Cath Barton

When we returned to our room after breakfast on the fourth day of our holiday, Arnold told me he didn’t like the mirrors in the hotel.

‘Really? We can cover that up if it bothers you,’ I said, pointing at the full-length one opposite the end of our bed. ‘I suppose some people get a kick out of looking at themselves performing.’

‘For goodness sake, Marie,’ he said.

Cath Barton

Cath Barton is an English writer who lives in Abergavenny. Her novella The Plankton Collector won the New Welsh Writing AmeriCymru Prize for the Novella in 2017, was published by New Welsh Review the following year, and is due to be republished by Parthian Press later in 2024. Subsequent publications are In the Sweep of the Bay (2020, Louise Walters Books), Between the Virgin and the Sea (2023, Novella Express, Leamington Books) and The Geography of the Heart (2023, Arroyo Seco Press). Her most recent publication is a pamphlet of short stories, Mr Bosch and His Owls (2024, Atomic Bohemian).

Chestnut tree beginning to bloom, Harrow

Chestnut tree beside the public bridleway woodland path, part of the London Capital Ring at the junction of Wood End Road, Orley Farm Road and South Vale, Harrow this afternoon

Brutally pollarded tree

Wood End Lane, Ealing today

Short Story of the Month, April 2024

This is a story that will linger in your mind and make you think about people past, present and future. They are out there. Ed.

The Willesden Herald Story of the Month 

April 2024: April 2024: “With Every Choice Something is Lost” by Mike Fox

“She was there most days, though it took me a while to realise. Still and unobtrusive, I began to notice her small figure, always in a white blouse part-concealed by a faded grey mac, standing in what seemed to be contemplation. Before long, as I passed through the churchyard, I found myself looking in the hope of seeing her.”

Mike Fox

Mike Fox has co-authored a book and published many articles on the human repercussions of illness. Now writing fiction, his stories have been nominated for Best of Net and the Pushcart Prize, listed in Best British and Irish Flash Fiction (BIFFY50), and included in Best British Stories 2018 (Salt), His story, The Violet Eye, was published by Nightjar Press as a limited edition chapbook. An illustrated collection of new stories is being prepared for publication by Confingo Publishing in 2024. www.polyscribe.co.uk