Short stories are like pandas

This week A L Kennedy said in the Observer in response to the question "Why don't we read short stories in Britain?"

That's like saying I don't like pandas because I don't spend much time with them. We do read short stories; it's amazing how much we read them, when we rarely know they've been published, because they aren't reviewed. We can't find them in bookshops and rarely see them in magazines.

The Short Review is trying to do its small part to redress the balance. Issue 5 is now available: Ten new reviews - from Irish and English debut collections to science fiction, classic flash fiction (Jayne Anne Phillips' Black Tickets) and crime. Also, five new interviews with writers - Roy Kesey, Nuala Ni Conchiur, Kim Newman, Carys Davies, Kevin Barry - about how they put together their collections, what it feels like to know people are buying your book, and more.



And as we went to press, the news came in that Kevin Barry, whose debut collection, There are Little Kingdoms, is reviewed in this issue, is on the shortlist for Best Newcomer in the Irish Book Awards. Congratulations, Kevin. Winners announced at the end of April.

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