The Ruy by Richard Garcka
Anita stirred her morning coffee and imagined a Sargasso swirl of letters and numbers, tumbling, gyrating. As the rotation slowed, they conjoined, drifting up from the surface: e4; bg7; g6; nc6. She shaped the display into a merry-go-round and began mentally ordering the sequences, formulating, composing. Continue reading The Ruy by Richard Garcka
Bandit Fiction is changing
by Greg Forrester It’s been a while now since we last dropped by and gave you, our truly wonderful community, a little update of how things are looking Bandit-side, but now is as good a time as any; because, as Bob Dylan might say, the times, they are a-changin’, and we want to let you know what this means for you as writers, as readers, … Continue reading Bandit Fiction is changing
Born With Bears by Philip Webb Gregg
They came from the dark warmth of our mothers’ wombs, held tight in our little arms as we slipped into the world. A knot of fluff and claws no bigger than a peach. Doctors were confused, nurses shocked. Continue reading Born With Bears by Philip Webb Gregg
Hunger by Kate O’Donnell
Do we love, or do we love ourselves
in each other’s eyes? Continue reading Hunger by Kate O’Donnell
The Mind’s Eye by Margaret McDonald
The thing wearing Anna’s face is making breakfast. This isn’t how it starts.
It starts when Erik is reading in the study, papers scattered across the desk, rubbing circles into his temples. Continue reading The Mind’s Eye by Margaret McDonald
Book vs Film: The Stepford Wives
Pitting the written word against the moving image in a battle to determine the best fiction. Continue reading Book vs Film: The Stepford Wives
Introducing POINT BLOC
Our regular blog contributor Sam Burt shares another exciting project for readers of Bandit to get behind. Continue reading Introducing POINT BLOC
Book by Book: Plato’s ‘The Republic’
This week’s walk through the classics focuses on the Continue reading Book by Book: Plato’s ‘The Republic’
The Girl in the Woods by Megan Pacelli
The door buzzer drills its way into my dream, and I just manage to open one eye and peek out of my blankets at the clock so I can figure out how pissed off to be when it buzzes again. The only person who would dare this early in the morning is my father. Continue reading The Girl in the Woods by Megan Pacelli
With his tail between his legs by Daniela Esposito
When he caught me looking, I laughed, but it wasn’t so much because it was small and squirrely but more because I was surprised and a little taken aback, and didn’t know any other way to react. Continue reading With his tail between his legs by Daniela Esposito
Review: ‘The Stairs are a Snowcapped Mountain’ by Judy Darley
Sam Burt In ‘Why Rivers Run to the Sea’, one of the many flash fictions making up this collection, a river running through Bristol warns us: ‘Don’t try to slow me; I have somewhere to be.’ It’s a tiny, insistent, sensuous story, written in prose that manages to be both economical yet lyrical, and that wisely keeps the river’s personification at the surface level of … Continue reading Review: ‘The Stairs are a Snowcapped Mountain’ by Judy Darley
Life Vacation by Michael Bonnet
His approach was becoming untenable. He couldn’t say he was busy all the time and he’d already squeezed about as much mileage as he could out of the time difference and jet lag. For all its mod cons, the 21st century really did have a lot to answer for. Continue reading Life Vacation by Michael Bonnet
new world denial by Andrea Laws
land ho! on banks and
shores that seem to be
losing memories
with each landing Continue reading new world denial by Andrea Laws
Introducing Scratch Books
Tom Coganhan Editing at Bandit Fiction teaches you a few things. In the years I’ve worked here, I’ve got to read some brilliant stories, and some less than amazing stories. It’s made me question what makes a good short story. How would you attempt to write something brilliant? How would you know if you had achieved it? Because they are so various, one amazing story … Continue reading Introducing Scratch Books
lucky in love by Becca Fang
I have dabbled in desperate, dirty things,
knelt for jesters dressed as kings,
pretending to be fooled, although I knew. Continue reading lucky in love by Becca Fang
The Spare Room by Safiya Cherfi
though if they didn’t, they would be admitting defeat. Or they’d be facing the silence. If they had gone straight home, she would have been able to cry openly, all day. She was glad they went into town. Continue reading The Spare Room by Safiya Cherfi
The Lilac Line by Rhiannon Jones
People said Mark was A Good Lad, but sometimes when he ran past my window I could taste blood. Feel the terror I felt when he broke my sister’s nose, and the shame. Once again I stood at a cold sink trying to wash blood from the lines in my hands. Continue reading The Lilac Line by Rhiannon Jones
Review: ‘In the Cut’ by Susanna Moore
‘In the cut. From vagina. A place to hide. To hedge your bet. But someplace safe, someplace free from harm’ by Harry Wilding Content Warning: Discussions of sexual violence and gender based violence Susanna Moore’s brutal novel, full of explicit violence and sex, was originally released in 1995, but its depictions of misogyny, the police force and victim blaming has kept it unfortunately relevant for … Continue reading Review: ‘In the Cut’ by Susanna Moore
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