Coming Soon! Defensive Wounds & Other Stories...

I'm really very awfully pleased to be able to announce that my new collection of stories, Defensive Wounds & Other Stories, is to be published in March by the Black Shuck Books.

I'm sure I'll have more to say about it leading up to the launch, but for now I'll just post the cover design and TOC, as well as say a huge thanks to Steve Shaw at Black Shuck for putting this out there, and to all who've supported my writing so far, allowing this to happen.

Contents: Across The Water / The Affair / Defensive Wounds / The Men Who Value Everything In Money / The Sound of The Sea, Too Close / The Place Where It Always Rains / Calligraphy / The House Of Late-Night Phone Calls *  / Snow / The Man Who Could Only See Ducks * / Fifteen Minutes / Retro Night / Hooked / Heatstroke Harry / Lost * / A Short Walk Round The Woods / The Man In Blue Boots 

* (original to this collection)

Pre-order link here. 

Favourite Short Stories 2025

Here we go: every year, I read a ton of great short stories, and 2025 wasn't an exception. Here's the best of the best. Same 'rules' as for previous years —and you can find links to lists from previous years here. For each story, I've linked to where I read the story, which isn't always where they were first published.

Joanne Anderton: He Dances Alone (The Best Weird Fiction Of The Year #1, Undertow Publications)

Joanne Anderton: Street Blessings (White Enso #7)

Anon: The Track Down (Maps of The Lost)

Chris Baker: Unfinished Conversations Package (Flash Fiction Online #146) 

James Bennett: Husk (The Dark #123)

JL Borganschneider: The Classical Arrangement (The Unspoken, Dinesh Allirajah Prize For Short Fiction)

Angelica Cabral: Quiet Men (Cotton Xenomorph)

Ramsey Campbell: The Dreamed (Fearful Implications, PS Publishing)
Ramsey Campbell: Wherever You Look (Fearful Implications, PS Publishing)

Ramsey Campbell: Fully Boarded (Fearful Implications, PS Publishing)

Ramsey Campbell: The Run Of The Town (Fearful Implications, PS Publishing)

Eliza Chan: Lustre Mining (The Dark #127)

Kay Chronister: Ruminants (The Best Weird Fiction Of The Year #1, Undertow Publications)

Eliza Clark: She's Always Hungry (She's Always Hungry, Faber)

Eliza Clark: Hollow Bones (She's Always Hungry, Faber)

Eliza Clark: The Shadow Over Little Chitaly (She's Always Hungry, Faber)

Chloe N. Clarke: You Could Be Anyone (Supernatural Tales #60)

Joanna Corrnace: A Pinch Of Salt (Blood In The Bricks, NewCon Press)

Dan Coxon: Our Sister Of Blackthorn (Blood In The Bricks, NewCon Press)

Lyndsey Croal: The Constellations Of Daughter Death (Flash Fiction Online)

Lyndsey Croal: When The Blood Runs Dry (Blood In The Bricks, NewCon Press)

Kayleigh Dobbs: That Time Of The Month (Strange New Moons, French Press)

Elle Zi Dong: They Must Be Angels (The Dark 123)

Tracy Fahey: The Woman In The Moon (Uncertainties III, Swan River Press)

Ivy Grimes: Old Woman & The Girls (Rejection Letters)

Elliot Gish: Tour (The Best Weird Fiction Of The Year #1, Undertow Publications)

Edward Hogan: The Visitor (The Unspoken, Dinesh Allirajah Prize For Short Fiction)

Andrew Hook: Mont Blanc (Salt House Magazine)

Jennifer Hudak: The Witch Trap (The Dark #124)

Timothy J. Jarvis: A Tiding (Blood In The Bricks, NewCon Press)

Gurnaik Johal: Arrival (Gallery Beggar Press)

D.H. Lawrence: Love Among The Haystacks (Selected Short Stories, Penguin) 

D.H. Lawrence: Tickets Please (Selected Short Stories, Penguin) 

D.H. Lawrence: The White Stocking (Selected Short Stories, Penguin) 

D.H. Lawrence: The Border Line (Selected Short Stories, Penguin) 

Oliviah Lawrence: The Live Flowers (The Literary Underdog)

Tim Major: Escape Notice (Blood In The Bricks, NewCon Press)

Shreejita Majumder: A Recipe For Immortality (Serves 2) (Tales & Feathers #3)
C.S. Mee: Brothers (Gallery Beggar Press)

S.P. Miskowski: Warner's Errand (Uncertainties III, Swan River Press)

Ralph Robert Moore: It Could Be Cancer (Uncertainties III, Swan River Press)

Ellis Nye: Tuesday (Small Wonders #30)

Joyce Carol Oates: Thanksgiving (Celestial Timepiece) 

Joyce Carol Oates: The Ruins Of Contracoeur (The Ruins Of Contracoeur & Other Presences, Swan River Press)

Joyce Carol Oates: The Redwoods (The Ruins Of Contracoeur & Other Presences, Swan River Press)

Mike O'Driscoll: And Zero At The Bone (The Dream Operator, Undertow Publications)

Mike O'Driscoll: The Entire City (The Dream Operator, Undertow Publications)

Sanni Omodolapo: What He Wanted, What I Wanted (The Temz Review)

Spencer Orey: A Self-Guided Manual For The Despondent Necromancer (Sans.Press)

qntm: We Need To Talk About Fifty-Five (SCP)

Keith Ridgway: Marching Songs (Granta #120)

Iain Rowan: The Stranger (The Unspoken, Dinesh Allirajah Prize For Short Fiction)

Nicholas Royle: British Wildlife (The Best Weird Fiction Of The Year #1, Undertow Publications)

Lynda E. Rucker: The Further Tide (Supernatural Tales #60)

Julia Rust & David Surface: TallDarkAnd (Uncertainties III, Swan River Press)

Saba Sams: Blue 4eva (The Guardian)

Robert Shearman: Unfinished (We All Hear Stories In The Dark, PS Publishing)

Robert Shearman: A View From The Cliff Top (We All Hear Stories In The Dark, PS Publishing)

Robert Shearman: Custard Cream (We All Hear Stories In The Dark, PS Publishing)

EJ Sidle: Agonies Of The New Flesh (Strange New Moons, French Press)

Phil Sloman: Larking (Blood In The Bricks, NewCon Press)

Richard Smyth: Empty Air (author's website)

Richard Smyth: A Good Breakfast (author's website)

Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece: St. Dymphnas School For Borderland Girls (Weird Horror #10, Undertow Publications)

Gretchen Tessmer: Cliff's Notes For Surviving A Blockbuster Disaster Film (Bourbon Penn #35)

Steve Toase: Géradert Fühlen (Blood In The Bricks, NewCon Press)

Dylan Thomas: The Vistor (The Dylan Thomas Omnibus, W&N)

Dylan Thomas: Patricia, Edith, And Arnold  (The Dylan Thomas Omnibus, W&N)

Mary Thornson: Nesting (Burningword)

Charlotte Tierney: A Woman's Place Is In The Haunted House (The Best Weird Fiction Of The Year #1, Undertow Publications)

Benjamin Kurt Unsworth: The All Embracing Nature Of A Plastic Bag (Into Wrack And Ruin, Phantasmagoria Books)

Michael Wehunt: Vampire Fiction (The Inconsolables, Bad Hand Books)

Michael Wehunt: The Teeth Of America (The Inconsolables, Bad Hand Books)

Michael Wehunt: Caring For A Stray Dog (Metaphors)  (The Inconsolables, Bad Hand Books)

Bree Wernicke: Doctors HATE Her!! Local Woman Is NOT Cursed (Bourbon Penn #137)

Shaoni C White: Your Thoughts Are Glass (The Best Weird Fiction Of The Year #1, Undertow Publications)

A.C. Wise: Most Likely To... (Class Of 1997) (The Dark #127)
Eva Wyles: Mother And (Delivery Women, Influx Press)

Favourite Short Stories 2024

2024 - quite a year, huh? But it means it's time for my annual favourite short stories of the year post. Same 'rules' as before (you can find links to lists from previous years here). For each story, I've linked to the publication where I read the story, which isn't always where they were first published. Enjoy!

J.G. Ballard: Memories Of The Space Age (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

James Bennett: The Apostle (The Dark #113)

Elizabeth Bowen: The Demon Lover (here)

Sasha Brown: This Party Fucking Sucks (Sans. Press website)

A.M. Burrage: Smee (Moon Mausoleum site)

Daniel Carpenter: Habitual (For Tomorrow, Black Shuck Books)

Vivian Chu: Perfect Vaca, No Filter (Flash Fiction Online)

Dan Coxon: Bumblethatch (Come Sing For The Harrowing, Weird Little Worlds)

Dan Coxon: Vile Jelly (Come Sing For The Harrowing, Weird Little Worlds)

Ray Cluley: As I Want You To Be (For Tomorrow, Black Shuck Books)

Malcolm Devlin & Helen Marshall: Finger & Palm (For Tomorrow, Black Shuck Books)

Kayleigh Dobbs: Omega (The End, Black Shuck Books)

Kayleigh Dobbs: Catch Fire (The End, Black Shuck Books)

Steve Duffy: Screen Burn (Supernatural Tales #53)

Steve Duffy: Home For Christmas (Supernatural Tales #54)

Corinne Engber: Satellite Office (Stranger, Sans. Press)

Kim Fu: Bridezilla (Oprah Daily)

J.L. George: Star Jelly (Mouthfeel Fiction #2)

Adam Golaski: Refridgerator-drone (Stone Gods, No Press)

Adam Golaski: Open Houses (Stone Gods, No Press)

Adam Golaski: The Great Blind God Passed Through Us (Stone Gods, No Press)

Helen Grant: Nabrok (Supernatural Tales #54)

Ivy Grimes: The Food Fellow (Ivy Grimes' Grime Time, Tales From Between)

Ivy Grimes: Picturing Her Hands (Ivy Grimes' Grime Time, Tales From Between)

Ivy Grimes: Shadow Dress (Cover)

Lucie McKnight Hardy: Carrion (For Tomorrow, Black Shuck Books)

David Hartley: Anama (Stranger, Sans. Press)

Philippa Holloway: Subject Matter (Uncertainties 7, Swan River Press)

Dan Howarth: Minutes Of The AGM (Bleakwood podcast)

Ted Hughes: The Rain Horse (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Kazuo Ishiguro: A Family Supper (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Shirley Jackson: Nightmare (Just An Ordinary Day, Penguin)

Shirley Jackson: The Story We Used To Tell (Just An Ordinary Day, Penguin)

Shirley Jackson: Mrs Melville Makes A Purchase (Just An Ordinary Day, Penguin)

Shirley Jackson: One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts (Just An Ordinary Day, Penguin)

Timothy J. Jarvis: A Copy Of A Copy Is Like A Memory Deteriorating (Carmen Et Error #9.5)

Michael Kelly: The Night Will Let In (The Dark #114)

Oliviah Lawrence: Pickles (Roi Faineant Press)

Alison Littlewood: The Operculum Necklace (The Dark #111)

Roger Luckhurst: You (Supernatural Tales #56)

Rachel Abbey McCafferty: I Start My Day By Reading An Article About Climate Change (Maudlin House)

Ian McEwan: Solid Geometries (First Love, Last Rites, Picador)

Katie McIvor: Once There Was Water (The Dark #111)

Gary McMahon: All The Things We Never Said (Weird Horror #8, Undertow)

Gary McMahon: A Sitting Tennant (Strange Little Stories newsletter)

James Machin: The Borges Society (Supernatural Tales #53)

Tim Major: Ends Abruptly (Uncertainties 7, Swan River Press)

Laura Mauro: In The Kingdom Of Flowers (author's website)

Laura Mauro: Wiremother (The Dark #112)

Alison Moore: Rigor (Weird Horror #8, Undertow)

Mark Morris: Sad Face (Uncertainties 7, Swan River Press)

Lauren Mulvihill: Myself And I Alone (Stranger, Sans. Press)

Diana Olney: Underworld Essentials (Small Wonders)

Sara Omer: The Sea-Change (The Dark #109)

Eva Papasoulioto: In Blue Light (Uncanny #57)

Carl Rosenberg: The Good Old Days (Uncertainties 7, Swan River Press)

Sarah Royston: Long Player (Fernseed, The Brag)

Sarah Royston: The Well At The End Of The World (Fernseed, The Brag)

Martin Ruff: Braunhoffer's Coaches (Supernatural Tales #56)

Salman Rushdie: The Prophet's Hair (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Steve Shell: What Would You Do With This Room? (Twitter)

Robert Shearman: Lo! He Abhors Not The Virgin's Womb (We All Hear Stories In The Dark, PS Publishing)

Clive Sinclair: Bedbugs (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Phil Sloman: Fourteen (author's website)

Michael Marshall Smith: The Handover (The Best Of Michael Marshall Smith, Subterranean Press)

Michael Marshall Smith: The Gist (The Best Of Michael Marshall Smith, Subterranean Press)

Michael Marshall Smith: They Also Serve (The Best Of Michael Marshall Smith, Subterranean Press)

Michael Marshall Smith: Author Of The Death (The Best Of Michael Marshall Smith, Subterranean Press)

Muriel Spark: The House Of The Famous Poet (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Ashley Stokes: The Crumbling Edifice (For Tomorrow, Black Shuck Books)

C.J. Subko: Any Good Surface (Small Wonders)

Graham Swift: Seraglio (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Tia Tashiro: Mirage In Double Vision (Uncanny #58)

Jeffrey Thomas: Still Life With Extinct Animals (The Offspring Of Nightmares)

Jeffrey Thomas: He Shall Put On The Semblance Of Man (The Offspring Of Nightmares)

Mary Thorson: Lockerbie, 1988 (Cotton Xenomorph)

Mary Thorson: American Girl Doll (Reckon Review)

Steve Toase: The Ercildoun Accord (Dirt Upon My Skin, Black Shuck Books)

Steve Toase: Traverse (Dirt Upon My Skin, Black Shuck Books)

Steve Toase: Breach! (Dirt Upon My Skin, Black Shuck Books)

Molly Wadkins: I And Myself (Spillwords Press site)

Rebecca Weinert: Rent (Stranger, Sans. Press)

Neil Williamson: Bunting (The Dark #113)

Angus Wilson: More Friend Than Lodger (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Favourite Short Stories 2023

Another year done, another of my annual favourite short stories of the year posts. Same 'rules' as before (you can find links to lists from previous years here). For each story, I've linked to the publication where I read the story, which isn't always where they were first published.

Ruth Barber: Unfinished Business (Uncertainties 6, Swan River Press)

James Bennett: The Changing Dust (The Dark #99)

Simon Bestwick: And Ashes In Her Hair (Something Remains, Alchemy Press)

Méabh de Brún: This House Is Haunted (Irish Independent)

Méabh de Brún: Consumed As In Obsessed (Uncertainties 6, Swan River Press)

Ramsey Campbell: The Render Of The Veils (The Inhabitant Of The Lake & Other Unwelcome Tenants, Drugstore Indian Press)

Ramsey Campbell: The Plain Of Sound (The Inhabitant Of The Lake & Other Unwelcome Tenants, Drugstore Indian Press)

Truman Capote: A Diamond Guitar (Breakfast At Tiffany's & Three Stories, Penguin)

Ray Cluley: Sideways (All That's Lost, Black Shuck Books)

Ray Cluley: The Final Girl's Daughter (All That's Lost, Black Shuck Books)

Dan Coxon: Far From Home (Nox Pareidolia, Nightscape Press) 

Libby Cudmore: The Rituals Of Bathing (The Dark #99)

Kayleigh Dobbs: The Last Word (The Perfectly Fine Neighbourhood, French Press)

S.L. Edwards: In The Vastness Of The Sovereign Sky (Nox Pareidolia, Nightscape Press) 

Brian Evenson: The Room Above (Nox Pareidolia, Nightscape Press) 

Kurt Fawver: Merge Now (Nox Pareidolia, Nightscape Press) 

Neil Gaiman: Goliath (Fragile Things, Headline Review)

Neil Gaiman: How To Talk To Girls At Parties (Fragile Things, Headline Review)

Neil Gaiman: Pages From A Journal Found In A Shoebox Left In A Greyhound Bus Somewhere Between Tulsa, Oklahoma & Louisville, Kentucky (Fragile Things, Headline Review)

J.L. George: Water, Word, Flesh (Kaleidotrope)

William Gibson: New Rose Hotel (Burning Chrome, Gateway)

William Gibson: Johnny Mnemonic (Burning Chrome, Gateway)

William Gibson: The Winter Market (Burning Chrome, Gateway)

Adam Golaski: (Rabbit) (Strange Little Stories Newsletter, David Surface)

LC von Hessen: Herr Scheintod (Nox Pareidolia, Nightscape Press)

Timothy J. Jarvis: We Recognise Our Own (Treatises On Dust, Swan River Press)

Timothy J. Jarvis: And Yet Speaketh (Treatises On Dust, Swan River Press)

Timothy J. Jarvis: The Yellow Book (Treatises On Dust, Swan River Press)

Brian Keene: Where The Heart Is (The Perfectly Fine Neighbourhood, French Press)

Micheal Kelly: The Devils Curve (IZ Digital)

Garry Kilworth: Fata Morgana (Bloodmoon & Other Stories, Infinity Plus)

Gwendolyn Kiste: When The Nightingale Devours The Stars (Nox Pareidolia, Nightscape Press) 

Annie Knox: Incorporeal Tax (The Perfectly Fine Neighbourhood, French Press)

Thomas Ligotti: Les Fleurs (Songs Of A Dead Dreamer, Penguin)

Thomas Ligotti: The Greater Festival Of Masks (Songs Of A Dead Dreamer, Penguin)

J.A.W. McCarthy: No Baggage (Hungry Shadow Press)

Gary McMahon: Broken Eye (Something Remains, Alchemy Press)

Avra Margariti: Pulmonary (The Rumpus)

Alison Moore: Where Are They Now? (Uncertainties 6, Swan River Press)

Thana Niveau: Bad Faith (Something Remains, Alchemy Press)

Joyce Carol Oates: Mr. Stickum, (Playboy)

Joyce Carol Oates: Sign Of The Beast (Night-Gaunts & Other Tales Of Suspense, Head Of Zeus) 

Joyce Carol Oates: Night Gaunts (Night-Gaunts & Other Tales Of Suspense, Head Of Zeus) 

Kate Orman: Saltier (IZ Digital)

Jorja Osha: The Fish's Wife (The Dark #103)

John Llewellyn Probert: The Missing (Something Remains, Alchemy Press)

Sarah Royston: She Walks In Fields Of Light (The Rumpus)

Sarah Royston: In the Shrine there stood a Statue with a Stone set in its Foot, which was called Lady of the Spring (Full House Literary)

 Lynda E. Rucker: Knots (Now It's Dark, Swan River Press)

Lynda E. Rucker: The Vestige (Now It's Dark, Swan River Press)

Lynda E. Rucker: The Unknown Chamber (Now It's Dark, Swan River Press)

Robert Shearman: Jason Zerrilo Is An Annoying Prick (We All Hear Stories In The Dark, PS Publishing)

Robert Shearman: The Censor's Report (We All Hear Stories In The Dark, PS Publishing)

Robert Shearman: The Beast At World's End (We All Hear Stories In The Dark, PS Publishing)

Alan Sillitoe: Noah's Ark (The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner, Harper Perennial)

Alan Sillitoe: Uncle Ernest (The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner, Harper Perennial)

Teika Marija Smits: The November Room Or Leaving The Labyrinth (IZ Digital)

David Surface: Strange Little Story #22 (author's newsletter)

Steve Toase:: Uprooted (IZ Digital)

Steve Toase: Safe (author's website)

Lisa Tuttle: Closet Dreams (Pseudopod)

Peter Watts: The Things (Clarkesworld #40)

Michael Wehunt: Hello (Nox Pareidolia, Nightscape Press) 

Michael Wehunt: It Takes Slow Sips (Pseudopod)

Neil Williamson: A Moment Of Zugzwang (author's website)

Neil Williamson: Thirty-Two Tumbling Teeth (Black Static 78/79)