Description

LONGLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZE

From a comic mastermind comes this brilliant collection of stories

Three teenagers believe they are witches.
A woman defaces a local billboard.
A bored landlord tries to influence his son’s best friend.
A cul-de-sac WhatsApp group discusses eggs at length.
A heavily pregnant woman finds a way to time travel and a girl discovers joy on a stolen bicycle . . .

Each tale paints a life in miniature and offers an escape chute from the mayhem of modern life.

Publisher Review

Josie Long can really REALLY write. Read these stories NOW -- DAWN FRENCH Her writing is miraculous. A dazzling debut -- JOANNA LUMLEY Josie's stories are like her comedy - beautifully observed, strange, good-hearted, unsettling and truly funny. Read them immediately -- A. L. KENNEDY I loved this short story collection. Funny, poignant, daft, and occasionally even hilariously cynical -- FRANKIE BOYLE Josie's writing is everything I love about her stand-up: sharp and smart, hilarious and incisive, infused with love for the world and the complicated people who live in it. A joy to read -- MONICA HEISEY Josie Long is my favourite comedian and when reading these stories, all the cynicism I've acquired gets replaced by the enthusiasm I felt the first time I saw her live -- JAMES ACASTER Josie's stories are tender, devastating and hilarious, often all at the same time. Opening up this book is like skinny-dipping in the brain of a genius - I never wanted to come up for air -- SOPHIE DUKER I knew this book would be funny and relatable. I didn't know it would also be angry, heartbreaking and knife-sharp. I love these stories -- KIRSTY LOGAN Powerful, brutal and full of grace, Josie Long's debut is something to savor. Long's characters are desperate and in deep, deep trouble, dealing with everything from social alienation to a full on apocalypse. But her humour and empathy miraculously steers us towards triumph and redemption. I loved it -- SIMON RICH A scintillating read which dips and dives in the funniest of ways through the messiness of what it is to be alive -- ISY SUTIE