Next Sunday at 19:45 the first of three short stories from JELLYFISH by Janice Galloway will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Following the success of her 'anti-memoirs' THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME and ALL MADE UP, the novelist, poet and frequent collaborator with artists and musicians, returns to short fiction with JELLYFISH, published in June by Freight Books. The title story is an exquisite tale set between childhood and independence, and is going to be read on Sunday by the author herself.
Listen to the stories on iPlayer here.
In this sparkling and powerful new collection, Janice Galloway takes on David Lodge's assertion – ‘Literature is mostly about having sex and not much about having children; life's the other way round’ and scent-marks her multi-layered fiction with what she believes to be the greater truth. JELLYFISH contains razor-sharp tales of two of the most powerful human experiences from one of our most acclaimed authors. The collection has been longlisted for the Frank O’Connor Short Story Prize 2015.
Janice Galloway was born in Ayrshire in 1955. She is the author of three novels, two collections of short stories and, most recently, two memoirs. She has won and been shortlisted for numerous literary prizes, including the Whitbread First Novel and Scottish Book of the Year. Her radio work includes two series for BBC (LIFE AS A MAN and IMAGINED LIVES) and programmes on music and musicians.
Praise for JELLYFISH:
‘Foreboding floats through the fourteen tales … Reminiscent of Sylvia Plath in its black humour and visceral imagery … These deft short stories show why publishers should have more faith in the form … Exquisite similes and witty metaphors rise up and sting the senses like the eponymous jellyfish. With this electrifying volume Galloway proves herself a truly powerful writer who deserves to be much better known.’ – The Independent
‘An exquisite short-story collection … Previously very much a city writer, here the natural world encroaches on Galloway’s work from the title onwards, both indifferent and essential.’ – The Guardian
'This is a short story collection to savour, by one of the foremost Scottish writers of her generation.' – Irish Times