Short stories

I've been reading short fiction this weekend: an excellent collection from the alumni of Birkbeck College, University of London, The Mechanic's Institute's Review no 5 (No. 6 will be published later this week) and a short story, "Land of the Living" by Sam Shepard in the current issue of The New Yorker with a peach of an ending. The MIR includes contributions from guest authors Ali Smith, Toby Litt - a lecturer on the Birkbeck MA CW programme - and Sarah Salway.