The nation's favourite annual guide to the short story, now in its sixth year.Best British Short Stories invites you to judge a book by its cover – or more accurately, by its title. This new series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers, whether based in the UK or elsewhere. The editor's brief is wide ranging, covering anthologies, collections, magazines, newspapers and web sites, looking for the b...

The dazzlingly funny second volume of Danny Baker's memoirs: the television years.Since my first book was published I have had countless friends and family members get in touch to say how come I hadn't included this story or that tale. Was I ashamed of being shot twice, once up the arse, in Jamaica Road? How long should a man live with such a secret? If by retrospectively dropping my trousers every few pages I can reveal a fuller picture of myself during these year...

'Walters's book . . . has moments of Alan Bennett warmth' SUNDAY TIMES'Humorous and . . . moving' WOMAN AND HOME'I was enthralled by her memoirs' A. N. Wilson, READER'S DIGESTHer mum wanted her to be a nurse so that is what Julie did.But in her heart she had always wanted to be an actress and soon she was on stage at the local theatre in Liverpool. Her career snowballed with highli...

Edited by Joseph O'Connor (author of Star of the Sea and Ghost Light) New Irish Short Stories is a stunning collection from a fascinating variety of writers, both new and established. Featuring, among many others, William Trevor and Roddy Doyle, Rebecca Miller and Richard Ford, Christine Dwyer Hickey and Colm Toibin, it shows the short story to be a vibra...

The first-ever joke book from one of the UK's best-loved comedians, Les Dawson's Joke Book is a must for any fan of this perennially popular comedian. Collecting together the highlights of his 26-year career across radio and television, from his early days on Opportunity Knocks to Cissie and Ada. A lover of language, Les was a secret poet and was fond of high culture, often undercutting his own admiration of the art forms for comic effect. The book includes examples of al...

SPECIAL PRICE FOR A LIMITED TIMEOne woman's journal of single life on the margins.A brilliant collection of Lynne Truss’ journalism – recording the life of a metropolitan refugee from coupledom. The alternative ‘Bridget Jones’.For seven long years, starting in ‘The Listener’ in 1988 and continuing in ‘The Times’ and ‘Woman's Journal’, Lynne Truss has been trying to make her cat laugh. It has been an uphill task, which is why she deserves this book, a recognition of ...

Featuring:Sarah Hall, Lucy Wood, Lisa Blower, Lavinia Greenlaw and Lionel Shriver.Edgar Allan Poe once claimed the greatest literary works were those that could be read ’in one sitting’. ‘Brevity must be in direct ratio of the intensity of the intended effect,’ he argued, once the effect has been established, of course.The stories shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2013 all use brevity with striking results, whether presenting a comp...

Life the Lipman way is always unexpected, and the hilarious and witty way in which she recalls her adventures and misadventures has made her a bestselling author and national treasure. Past-it Notes is the ultimate Maureen Lipman collection, drawing on choice material from her six previous books (re-visited and re-worked) laced with a heady dose of extremely funny new autobiographical material.Past-it Notes is packed with beguiling showbiz anecdotes, wonderful stories, eccentric cha...

Best British Short Stories invites you to judge a book by its cover - or more accurately, by its title. This new series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers, whether based in the UK or elsewhere. The editor's brief is wide ranging, covering anthologies, collections, magazines, newspapers and web sites, looking for the best of the bunch to reprint all in one volume. Neither genre nor Granta shall be overlooked in the search for th...

This is Roger Lewis at his best: more cantankerous and curmudgeonly wit and musings about the pointlessness of life. Dark, witty and hilarious, Roger Lewis has a real way with words.

A generous selection from New Zealand's foremost writer of short stories. Peter Simpson in reviewing Owen Marshall's stories in the New Zealand Listener wrote: 'Marshall is held in uncommon affection by New Zealand readers - generally we admire and respect rather than love our writers.' This love is perhaps evoked not just by the superb quality of Marshall's writing but because his stories so precisely capture his fellow New Zealanders and their country. From the ...

From the critically acclaimed, award-winning author comes a collection of uniquely inventive stories that thread the labyrinth of coincidence, chance, and connections missed and made.What happens when you run into Death in a busy train station? (You know he’s Death because when he smiles, your cell phone goes dead.) What if your lover falls in love with a tree? Should you be jealous? From the woman pursued by a band of bagpipers in full regalia to the artist who’s ...