FLUID, the freedom to be, short stories, foreword by Lorraine Sithole

295pp., paperback, Cape Town, 2023

The latest collection of Short. Sharp. Stories, a platform for showcasing established and emerging South African fiction writers. This year the invitation was to reflect on the theme, "fluid is the freedom to be".

The winner is "Blue Boy Lagoon" by Keith Oliver Lewis. Includes stories by Nedine Moonsamy, Jarred Thompson, Diane Awerbuck, Shanice Ndlovu,  Alex Latimer, Bridget Pitt, David Medalie and Peter-Adrian Altini.

"I'm in awe of the literary talent in this riveting collection." Shubnum Khan, author of Onion Tears and Short. Sharp. Stories. judge

Writer and editor Joanne Hichens has edited a number of short story anthologies including Bad Company and The Bed Book of Short Stories. Her crime novels include Divine Justice and Sweet Paradise. She lives in Cape Town.

Writer, editor, critic and publisher Karina M. Szczurek is the co-editor of Touch: stories of contact and Water, new short fiction from Africa. Her play for young adults, A Change of Mind, won the 2012 MML Literature Award for English Drama. In 2018 she received the Thomas Pringle Award for a portfolio of ad hoc reviews from the English Academy of Southern Africa. She is the author of the novel Invisible Others and the memoir The Fifth Mrs Brink.