'Entrusted' by Fiona Whyte

Something had caught hold of her at the grave, had reached inside her and awoken a tremendous urge to go home once more. Now nothing would do to set it aright other than to head out at once for Ballinlough before it was too late. Mary Frances accompanied her, muttering all the while that Annie wouldn’t appreciate unexpected visitors.

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The March 2017 edition of Long Story, Short Journal is 'Entrusted' by Irish writer Fiona Whyte. Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, we have a tale of two countries -- of the Irish who travelled to America for work, adventure or escape -- and the inevitable impact such a distance would have on a family. READ 'ENTRUSTED' BY FIONA WHYTE.

Laureate by Andrew Meehan

"This week, I have at last found some work—chauffeuring dignitaries to and from a gathering of Nobel-prize winners at the old university in Heidelberg. This particular Laureate resembles a handsome pope. He looks seventy and he looks virile, the kind of man who would attempt intercourse with a tree from a high-speed train."

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Photo © Raul Lieberwirth.

Take a hallucinatory chauffeured tour of Heidelberg to dive bars, academic luncheons, and the homes of unmentionable historical figures in Andrew Meehan's 'Laureate'. The protagonist has a voice you won't soon forget. Read the June 2016 edition of Long Story, Short Journal: Laureate. Photo by German photographer Raul Lieberwirth. 

Love Child by Mary Morrissy

We are delighted to present Mary Morrissy’s ‘Love Child’ as the April 2016 edition of Long Story, Short Journal. Mary Morrissy is an award winning Irish novelist (The Hennessy Award, Lannan Foundation award) and short story writer. ‘Love Child’ is one of the stories from her newly launched short story collection Prosperity Drive. Also featured int his issue is a photograph from Craig Niederberger. READ 'LOVE CHILD'.

The Great Example

A young Nigerian boy who has survived a harrowing journey to Ireland meets an uncle who helps him navigate his new life in 'The Great Example' . In this consciousness-raising tale, Mark Tuthill introduces readers to the loneliest of modern voices, that of a refugee in a strange land. Accompanying photo by South African photographer Les Jacobs. READ 'THE GREAT EXAMPLE'.

The Vanishing Act by Connla Stokes →

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Photo by Mark Madeo

“This Biblical weather had set the stage perfectly for his overnight disappearance, which once reported, would seem like a no-brainer. Just picture: two or three days after a hurricane rips the arse off Dublin, the Gardaí find a missing person’s crappy car at the end of a pier with a bunch of discarded clothes on the back seat. If that didn’t scream out, “Goodbye cruel world!” in neon lights, Ciaran figured nothing would. ”

The Vanishing Act by Irish writer Connla Stokes is the August 2015 edition of Long Story, Short Journal. In this tale, the 'lonely voice' in short stories turns humorous, when the hero decides to fling himself head-first into isolation, in a bid to reconnect with his loved ones. The satirical portrait of a writer in a severe stage of avoidance will be familiar to many who long for both escape, and creative notoriety. Read The Vanishing Act.

Snapshots by Eileen Keane

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Photo © Linda Raymond

"I feel disengaged from my life, as if it is a series of stills from a film, or moments captured in images that I offer to the earth. I spread them out there and examine them and rearrange them as if by doing so I might somehow find answers. The older ones seem faded and when I look at them it’s as if my head fills with noise, but when I focus on the ones that link to this place, the din fades and the mellifluous sound of the clarinet takes its place."

Long Story, Short Journal's July 2015 edition is a unique tale from Hennessy-award winning writer Eileen Keane. 'Snapshots' examines tensions that affinity for one's 'home-place' can create in a relationship, while offering 'snapshot' portraits of the endurance and strength that can be drawn from love.  CLICK HERE TO READ 'Snapshots'.

Pussy Bratchford is on the Verge of Becoming a Good Christian

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Photo © Elias Vella

Pussy Bratchford is on the verge of becoming a good Christian. Now that he has given up sex and ketamine, he gets his kicks bidding at auctions and leaving without paying. He makes plenty money on the drag circuit, where he calls his audience gee-bags, muff divers and swords swallowers. One time, when he hosted bingo, he asked the crowd had anyone got a line when he spotted an RTE children’s presenter in the audience and told her ‘not the kind of line you’re thinking of’. The one from the telly broke her hole laughing.

"Pussy Bratchford is on the Verge of Becoming a Good Christian" is an irreverent and tender portrait of a drag queen in Dublin. With the love and support of his grandmother, the young man is transported from a small rural town and mild life to an existence he makes entirely his own. We meet him just as he has the chance to return her support. At once cheeky and vulnerable, the March edition of Long Story, Short Journal is dedicated to drag queen and activist Panti Bliss. Story by Irish writer Jamie O'Connell; photo by Elias Vella. CLICK HERE TO READ "PUSSY BRATCHFORD IS ON THE VERGE OF BECOMING A GOOD CHRISTIAN."

A Good Funeral

Luke’s father lies in a hospital bed in a private room. Luke stands at the foot of the bed, holding a bunch of oriental lilies he bought at Cork airport. Their scent is muted in the antiseptic hospital air. His brother Terence and Terence’s wife Una sit at the old man’s bedside in a silence broken by the click of the morphine pump, then a clatter of crockery and muffled voices from the corridor outside. The old man seems dead already, until suddenly his blue eyes flicker open. ‘If you’ve come to get something out of me, forget it,’ he manages to say.

'A Good Funeral' tells the story of a bittersweet homecoming for Luke, an Irishman who left his small town at a young age to live in London. When he returns, he takes stock of how much, and how little, has changed--and learns the unknown influence he had on another young man who lived in the same town. A new offering from Hennessy Award winner Madeleine D'Arcy, with all of her characteristic humour, warmth and emotional wisdom. CLICK HERE TO READ 'A GOOD FUNERAL'.    

Today

Photo © David Griffin

"Today starts off like this. A man walks into the coffee shop, well-dressed, bearded, bespectacled, newspaper under his arm, and he appears normal, even gregarious: Geez it’s warm in here, is what he says ....  Dara gives a nervous laugh and says, ‘Oh yeah man, I suppose it’s fairly cosy alright.’ And he, the bearded man, says, ‘Do you have the heat going? Full blast?’ Now this is a warning sign, if anyone’s counting – but today, more than other days, is about picking battles."

'Today' --a new story by emerging writer Aileen Armstrong takes place in the warmest coffee shop in a wintry city, a crossroads for people whose lives are in limbo. This is a humorous piece, familiar to anyone who has experienced that 'waiting for my life to start' feeling. Armstrong's début collection is forthcoming from Doire Press. CLICK HERE TO READ 'TODAY'. 

Resurrection

Photo © Peter Neske

"It was the morning of the last day of February when the man at the other end of the phone told Miriam her husband was dead. 'There’s no comfortable way for me to put this or for you to hear it,' he said. 'Your husband’s body was found yesterday afternoon. No matter how I say it, it doesn’t make it any easier for you. I’m sorry to be the one.'"

'Resurrection' is a story by John MacKenna, who the Guardian has declared "a consummately skilled author". This is a wintry story examining the roles of innocence and experience when questions of faith test a family who has suddenly been subjected to a deep loss. CLICK HERE TO READ 'RESURRECTION'.