Introduction

The short story is flourishing in the 21st century. It was always a place of wonder and joy, but back in the 20th century it is did not feature much at school for me, except as the ‘essays’ we wrote for homework. Mine were always ‘short stories’. However, my main interest at the time was science fiction. I read the alphabet, from Aldiss to Zelazny. I encountered a lot of advanced science concepts from my avid reading of SF, which were also not covered at school. But these close encounters led me towards a degree in physics. In mid-life, I returned to writing and have published fiction and poetry. My personal anthology begins with an SF story I read as a teenager. It is a pointer to themes in my other selections, and each story has a link to at least one other. I am interested in the worlds evoked by the stories.

Much wonderful short fiction today is published by small independent outfits, and they feature prominently in my selection.