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Short Works: BBC Radio Short Story Collection 2

A collection of BBC Radio short stories, some shortlisted for the BBC National S...
from archive.org

A collection of BBC Radio short stories, some shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award between 2017 and 2023.


A Borderline Interest
Two people meet in a mental health support group and quickly grow close. But is one of them hiding something?
Written by Derek Owusu
Read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith


A Man Who Used to Have Friends
Chris would like to be a better man, but the words in his head never come out right.
Written by Jo?o Morais
Read by Dean Rehman


A Proper Couple
A young woman meets her girlfriend's parents for the first time.
Written by Naomi Ishiguro
Read by Olivia Ross


Acousmatic
Why does Elen listen to the voices so much these days? Is it because everybody she lives with has stopped listening to her?
Written by Manon Steffan Ros
Read by Sara McGaughey


Angels on Regent Street
A festive story about the angels we do and don't see throughout our lives.
Written by Christine Dwyer Hickey
Read by Stuart Graham


Apologia a Lone Astronaut on Watching the World End
Deep in the cosmos, a very long way from home, an astronaut prepares to say goodbye to planet earth. Sent off on a mysterious quest to find other worlds he will now never return to his own. As the moment of Earth's destruction approaches so does his moment of reckoning.
Written by Jessie Greengrass
Read by Billy Howle


Beatrice
At a private club, 14 year old Beatrice attends a class for female CEO's of the future. She has been developing her own business since she was 13. However, outside the classroom, her parents are divorcing and people no longer get out of their cars.
Written by Nicole Flattery
Read by Beccy Henderson


Boy
A mother struggles to understand her autistic son.
Written by Clare Watson
Read by Ro?s?n Gallagher


Cassandra
A beguiling tale about the god Apollo who is in changed circumstances in contemporary Britain. He reflects on love, loss and making amends.
Written by Xanthe Gresham Knight
Read by Elizabeth Allard


Coal Country Beauty Queen
US Army veteran Nate looks back at his life, and at what could have been.
Written by Anna Bailey
Read by Matthew Needham


Daphne
The starlings have disappeared from Belfast's sky.
Written by Lucy Caldwell
Read by Michelle Fairley


Edinburgh
It's a dreich August morning during Edinburgh Festival and a 22 year-old student is home for summer, handing out flyers. What does it feel like to have your home town turned into a stand-up comedy theme park for tourists every August? It's a story of soggy flyers, disappointing encounters and splitting headaches. It's also about that transient moment when teenage memories and adult hopes are as raw as each other.Written by Kieran Hurley
Read by the author


Fear of Flying
A woman and her new boyfriend take a trip. But can she conquer her fear of flying?
Written by Anna Freeman
Read by the author


Fifty Pence for the Meter
Maurice often attends wakes. Even if he never met the deceased. So long as there are sandwiches and a drop of tea.
Read by Carol Moore


Further Tests
Carys returns to Swansea with her new partner. Will her mum stick to her pre-agreed safe topics of conversation? Of course not.
Written by Naomi Paulus
Read by Lowri Izzard


Goosegrass
A mother can't help feeling left behind when her son announces his engagement.
Written by Emma Kane
Read by Andrea Irvine


Hearing Aids
New hearing aids lead Barry to look afresh at his marriage to Donna and the way he has behaved in the past.
Written by Roddy Doyle
Read by Liam Carney


Home
In 1978, a young girl moves to London at Christmas to start a new life.
Written by Christine Dwyer Hickey
Read by Michelle Fairley


I Go To Her Wardrobe
After her Mum's funeral, Rema discovers that there is plenty she never really knew, about herself or her mother.
Written by Sabrina Mahfouz
Read by the author


In Loco Parentis
A magical story about a doting auntie, face-painting and the importance of wet wipes.
Written by Jan Carson
Read by Lisa Dwyer Hogg


Joan Loves Ice Cream
A woman in her seventies surprises her children by marrying an ice cream shop.
Written by Tara West
Read by Julia Dearden


Last Time
A young woman recalls a troubling sibling relationship, veering between fractured memories and razor-sharp observations.
Written by Rebecca Watson
Read by the author


Living Text
A beguiling tale about the art of contemporary writing.
Written by Julianne Pachico
Read by Katherine Press


Love Is Mortifying
A late-night call from a wrong number leads to a conversation with a stranger.
Written by Gina Donnelly
Read by Catherine Rees


Madwoman's Milk
A gardener is faced with hostility and scorn from a new client, until a moment of shattering vulnerability brings understanding...
Written by Louise Kennedy
Read by Liam O'Brien


Magic Spuds & Green Welts
A School Sport's Day provides a father and son with an opportunity to prove their worth.
Written by Colin Walsh
Read by Liam O'Brien


Man-Made Miracle
"Some believe in saints, some believe in Santa Claus. Some worship the brute rewards of violence, others the quiet, constant hope for salvation." A modern-day twist on The Christmas Story,
Written by Vanessa Kisuule
Read by the author


MENopause
A young manager of a bowling alley struggles to relate to his menopausal employee.
Written by Karen Quinn
Read by Caolan McCarthy


Minor Disturbances
Three high school students from modern-day Pennsylvania find themselves trapped in a world of wizards, elves, and feudal intrigue.
Written by Cherise Saywell
Read by Katie Leung


Mister Derek
A young woman returns to London to meet an old friend.
Written by Alice Malseed
Read by Ruby Campbell


Motherdaughter Daughtermother
A mother and daughter try to make it through the airport in time to catch their flight.
Written by Susannah Dickey
Read by Lola Petticrew


Mumma's Boy
Debbie feels oppressed by her new and demanding baby and relentless weather. She snipes with her supportive but ineffective partner, fails to connect with other women at the baby group and fields judgement from the professionals she meets. Online shopping tries to sell her a polished version of motherhood. Eventually she makes plans to climb a mountain with her baby and they set off, well equipped, into his future.
Written by Kirstin Innes
Read by Helen McAlpine


My Sister Biira
A story about a family secret, which is ultimately a question of identity.
Written by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
Read by Babirye Bukilwa


Samurai
A father and child in exile, are caught in the anonymous limbo of airport lounges as they are shunted from one country to another. In an attempt to shield his daughter from the traumas of their ever-darkening predicament the father reminisces about the world they have left behind and quizzes her on what she would like to be when she grows up.
Written by Fatima Bhutto
Read by the author


Says Himself
A mother plans to help her son through a stressful week by sticking to their routine.
Written by Sue Divin
Read by the author


Senior Moment
Ivor finds himself in a lavatory he knows not where, or why, apart from the obvious. Increasingly anxious to remember not only his middle name, which is, he insists, on the tip of his tongue, he is also agitated about not recognising a series of people who address him in a friendly and familiar manner. And then there's this grand house and its elegant lawns, and that woman, dressed in white, who's the spit of his late wife. What is going on?
Written by Peter Bradshaw
Read by Michael Maloney


Chuma
Something precious is lost.
Written by Lesley Nneka Arimah
Read by Ony Uhiara


Lease on Life
The things you do for a London flat in Zone 2. Lianne should've known it was too good to be true.
Written by Laurie Penny
Read by the author


The Astonishing Good Fortune of Marigold Castor
Two fame-hungry young film-makers try to make it in London. But the road to fame is never simple...
Written by Lionel Shriver
Read by Indira Varma


Singular
Lisa and Karen have been friends forever, since they sat next to each other at school back in the day. Lisa is long married with children and wonders what it would be like to be free. Karen is single and wanting to be in a relationship. They discuss the relative merits of their situation as Karen braves the online dating scene, and reports back to Lisa on a series of dates, some of which hold promise, and others which very definitely don't.
Written by Diana Evans
Read by Adjoa Andoh


Social Virtues
A mysterious host anxiously awaits her young guests.
Written by Susannah Dickey
Read by Clare Dunne


Soft Boiled Eggs
Food and farming seem to have become the heart of Megan and Gordon's long marriage. But is that enough?
Written by Jane Fraser
Read by Sharon Morgan


Someone Always Remembers
Pei Pei's job in a university snack bar shows her a different kind of life.
Written by Xuan Juliana Wang
Read by Katie Leung


Something Less Than Our Best
"It is something of a relief to come into the bar in the evenings. We are together and something less than our best is more than enough." A funny and forlorn tale about working in a bar.
Written by Max Sydney Smith
Read by Rose Lucas


Sonny's Bench
Outside a primary school in Belfast, Sonny waits for his granddaughter.
Written by Dawn Watson
Read by Ian McElhinney


Stay the Course
A walk in the park stirs up some uncomfortable memories, and raises difficult questions of identity.
Written by Dima Alzayat
Read by Hasan Dixon


Still Life with Fruit
A bowl of fruit and the story of a life unfold in this delicate portrait.
Written by Jon McGregor
Read by Penelope Wilton


Summer Holiday
In this tragicomic tale, a student breaks up the tedium of her summer job in inventive, and increasingly unhinged, ways.
Written by Josie Long
Read by the author


Take Me Home
When her beloved grandmother falls ill, a woman is forced to reconnect with her estranged mother who abandoned her as a child.
Written by Louise Kennedy
Read by Cathy White


Tattletale
Someone is watching over Sofie...
Written by Ruqaya Izzidien
Read by Richard Elfyn


Post
The story of an unlikely friendship between two neighbours in rural Ireland.
Written by Elaine Feeney
Read by Maggie Cronin


Profound Earthly Suffering
A young Indian woman, soon to be a bride, longs to have her heart broken.
Written by Kritika Pandey
Read by Deeivya Meir


Run
At a dinner party, a mother, still adjusting to her daughter leaving home for the first time, meets a teenager who is just as lost as she is.
Written by Ruth Thomas
Read by Alexandra Mathie


She Named Us
As a teenager, Jimbo Doyle was a bass player in a punk band destined for fame.
Written by Matthew McDevitt
Read by Nigel O'Neill


Slow Burn
A young woman decides it's time to move out of her parents' house.
Written by Laura-Blaise McDowell
Read by Eimear Keating


Something Borrowed
An exciting announcement forces a woman to mull on love, choice and the delicate bonds of family.
Written by Karen Campbell
Read by Ann Louise Ross


Stew Woman
Stew believes that the world is his oyster. He has large appetites for food and women. And his wife is planning a very unusual dinner for him.
Written by Hannah Vincent
Read by Arthur Darvill


Super Rich Kids
A young girl growing up amongst extreme wealth finds comfort in her shabbiest possessions.
Written by Molly McGrann
Read by Camille Marmi?


The Beautiful Girl
As a teenager, Sophie Townsend was swotty and awkward, bookish and unsophisticated. She used to watch the pretty, popular girls across the playground as if they were creatures from another planet. Now a mother herself, she is mystified by her 14-year-old daughter, who is more interested in make-up than books, and who struggles with her grades at school. She is one of the pretty ones. Perhaps too pretty for her own good...
Written by Sophie Townsend
Read by the author


The Bubble Bursts
Set in the near-future, a man reflects on his life in an empty apartment block during a decade of pandemics.
Written by Alex Preston
Read by Colin Tierney


The Centaur's Spectacles
A pair of spectacles made by a centaur have an extraordinary and magical effect on the human wearer.
Written by Katherine Rundell
Read by the author

  1. A Borderline Interest (7.7Mb)
  2. A Man Who Used to Have Friends (7Mb)
  3. A Proper Couple (8Mb)
  4. Acousmatic (7.2Mb)
  5. Angels on Regent Street (7.9Mb)
  6. Apologia a Lone Astronaut, on Watching the World End (6.7Mb)
  7. Beatrice (8.6Mb)
  8. Boy (7Mb)
  9. Cassandra (11.8Mb)
  10. Coal Country Beauty Queen (7.3Mb)
  11. Daphne (8Mb)
  12. Edinburgh (10.9Mb)
  13. Fear of Flying (10.7Mb)
  14. Fifty Pence for the Meter (7.8Mb)
  15. Further Tests (8.1Mb)
  16. Goosegrass (6.4Mb)
  17. Hearing Aids (12.6Mb)
  18. Home (10.7Mb)
  19. I Go To Her Wardrobe (10.2Mb)
  20. In Loco Parentis (7.3Mb)
  21. Joan Loves Ice Cream (6.6Mb)
  22. Last Time (7.9Mb)
  23. Living Text (7.7Mb)
  24. Love Is Mortifying (7Mb)
  25. Madwoman's Milk (7.8Mb)
  26. Magic Spuds & Green Welts (7.3Mb)
  27. Man-Made Miracle (10.1Mb)
  28. MENopause (7.8Mb)
  29. Minor Disturbances (12.7Mb)
  30. Mister Derek (7.3Mb)
  31. Motherdaughter Daughtermother (7.3Mb)
  32. Mumma's Boy (6.1Mb)
  33. My Sister Biira (6.8Mb)
  34. Samurai (8.2Mb)
  35. Says Himself (7.1Mb)
  36. Senior Moment (7.8Mb)
  37. Chuma (7.1Mb)
  38. Lease on Life (8Mb)
  39. The Astonishing Good Fortune of Marigold Castor (7.5Mb)
  40. Singular (7.7Mb)
  41. Social virtues (7.2Mb)
  42. Soft Boiled Eggs (7.3Mb)
  43. Someone Always Remembers (7.2Mb)
  44. Something Less Than Our Best (9.3Mb)
  45. Sonny's Bench (7.6Mb)
  46. Stay the Course (7.1Mb)
  47. Still Life With Fruit (7.1Mb)
  48. Summer Holiday (7.9Mb)
  49. Take Me Home (7.9Mb)
  50. Tattletale (7.5Mb)
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  54. no title (6.8Mb)
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MP3 files hosted by archive.org.