Ice

12Dear Mama,Last Saturday there was a dance in the canteen. Those prisoners who knew how to play an instrument brought them along and played something for us. I was… More

America Doesn’t Exist

1Maria didn’t read the papers; otherwise, the next day, she would have read about the accident that had made her and her brother, Nicola, orphans. Who could say how… More

Tirza

After Ibi began collecting the rent there were fewer complaints about moisture on the wallpaper, radiators that didn’t work, a window that didn’t close well. Her smile took away… More

The Last Patriarch

The son’s daughterI was born on cue, although some say I came too early, timing that destroyed the family and provoked one of those upsets that pursues you throughout… More

A Shortcut to Paradise

After his wife had left to take the children to school, Ernest Fabià sat down in his pyjamas at the formica kitchen table where they had eaten breakfast and… More

Bluebeard in Latex

"It's the damndest caseof Bluebeard Syndrome I’ve ever seen.”Detective Spellacy lit a cigarette and stared at the police psychologist for a beat through an acrid haze of blue smoke.… More

Ludovic Debeurme: Lucille

The following is an excerpt from Lucille by Ludovic Debeurme, a 2011 PEN World Voices Festival participant.LucilleExcerpted from Lucille by Ludovic Debeurme. Copyright © 2011 by Ludovic Debeurme. All rights… More

Somebody Please Tell Me Who I Am

1The knife came out of nowhere.Ben Bright sprang back. His arm knocked the weapon into the shadows and nearly clocked his best friend, Niko Petropoulos.“Nervous, are we?” Niko said.Ben… More

Sunshine

They told Grace they’d found her curled into a nest of leaves, that since dawn they’d been following a strange spoor through the bush, and then, just as they’d… More

Les Etoiles de Sidi Moumen

Quand les vivants pensent à moi, ils m’ouvrent comme un soupirail sur leur monde. Alors je m’y coule en douce, sans faire le moindre bruit. Je me garde de… More