Best of British Science Fiction 2023

My short story titled "So Close To Home", originally published in Languages of Water, an anthology edited by Eugen Bacon, has been reprinted in Best of British Science Fiction 2023 edited by Donna Scott and published by NewCon Press.

I've reprised my original blog post about the writing of that story below.

The anthology, "Languages of Water", came into being via Eugen's short story, "When The Water Stops", which was first published in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. "Languages of Water" - Eugen blogs - is a cross-lingual hybrid birthed from the Writers Immersion and Cultural Exchange (WrICE). At the heart of WrICE is a simple idea: to give writers of different backgrounds a chance to step outside familiar writing practices and contexts and connect deeply with writers from different cultures and across generations in an immersive residency. The respectful and generative space for reflection, conversation, creative sharing and surprise that WrICE offers affords writers a muse - a precious opportunity to explore possibilities outside comfort zones and borrow something new into own creative practice. It sparks connections and grows a cohesive community of writers that spans boundaries.

"When The Water Stops" becomes a source story in "Languages of Water" where it appears in multiple translations and interpretations. Eugen asked me to contribute to the project, and "So Close To Home" is therefore inspired by that story.

Envisaging a world where water is in short supply led me to consider how the impact of aridity might affect countries that would normally have no fear of drought, namely the UK and those in the Northern Hemisphere. How they might repurpose water from elsewhere, or add other liquids to it in order to bulk it out. How they would ration it. The story is split into two sections, centered around a child - Joel - who accompanies his father on the morning trek to a repurposed filling station in the first section, and in the second section is older and in a gang that seeks to intercept one of the water trucks. The title - of course (perhaps) - is appropriated from the Raymond Carver short story, "So Much Water So Close To Home."

Here's a bit of it:

Joel didn’t understand the ins and the outs, the hand-me-down jokes, but when he suggested the plan, they listened. The trucks made pre-determined journeys, not dissimilar to the passage of water down a mountainside in the golden days. From the source they spread, fanned along tributaries, turned where the land grooved. In Joel’s city they arrived in the early hours, twin orbs lighting darkness. In amongst the metalwork at the rear of the garage Joel found the tyre iron he had hidden three days ago. Gripping it in his right hand he left to join the others.

Best of British Science Fiction is edited by Donna Scott and published by NewCon Press. It can be bought here. In addition to my story, there are reprints from Alastair Reynolds, Tim Lees, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Ana Sun, Stephen Baxter, Angus McIntyre, Lavie Tidhar, Chris Beckett, L.P. Melling, David Cleden, Fiona Moore, Jaine Fenn, E.B. Siu, Rhiannon Grist, Robert Bagnall, Teika Marija Smits, Tim Major, Ian Watson, and Felix Rose Kawitzky.