Clare Reddaway’s short story ‘The Guts of a Mackerel’ is a compelling tale of political division in Ireland, told from the perspective of a young girl. It will form part of our Shorts Season, a series of politically engaged short stories in pamphlet form. We loved the use of Eve’s point of view as an intriguing take on this period in history; an ordinary teenage girl caught up in a storm of prejudice and hate.
On a family holiday to her dad’s Irish homeland, Eve’s concerns about impressing local boy Liam are confronted by the stark reality of division during the Troubles. Former friends have turned enemies and this country of childhood memory is suddenly a lot less welcoming.
“Who’s Bobby Sands?” she asked, as she laid the fish on the face of a smiling young man with long wavy hair. “And what’s a hunger strike?”
Clare Reddaway has been published in a variety of anthologies and magazines including Barren Magazine, Fictive Dream, Storgy Magazine, Blue Nib and Fairlight Books and this year was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. She won the Frome, Wells and Momaya short story prizes and has been short and longlisted for Mslexia, Fish, Yeovil, Exeter, Bath and Magic Oxygen. Her stories have been broadcasted on BBC Radio Bristol BBC Wilshire, Frome FM and she runs live literature event Story Fridays in Bath, among others. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University.
To express early interest in our Shorts Season and 'The Guts of a Mackerel', Isabelle Kenyon can be reached via Flyonthewall@hotmail.com. The Short will be published in December 2021.