How do you theme a fiction special that was created and pulled together in the depths of a global pandemic and severe lockdown? You don’t. You find a collection of talented writers and let them do what they do best. Thanks to the support of a Creative Victoria grant, this fiction special features a very talented selection of writers whose stories offer us a brief reprieve from the world we’ve all inhabited this year. This is not pandemic fiction but a collection of stories that offer provocations, immersive worlds, and the funny and strange parts of life that only art can reveal. These are stories that ask what it is to be human, and what it is to love, in ways that transcend global events. We are so grateful to the writers for creating and sharing their work during trying times, and for trusting us with their work. 

Dominic Amerena – Tender and Doomed
Khalilah Okeke – Gilded Edges
Vincent Silk – Red and Blue Flames
Laura Stortenbeker – As Armour
Khalid Warsame – Plumburn

Read the rest of Fiction in Lockdown, edited by Elena Gomez

If you enjoyed this special edition, subscribe and receive a year’s worth of print issues, the online magazine, special editions and discounted entry to our literary competitions