Irene Black

The tormented voice of a young drug-addict on the street below Ed's apartment rekindles unwelcome memories and stirs his conscience. But is he about to jeopardize his comfortable life-style and his relationship with the woman he loves? This short story was the First Prize Winner in the National Association of Writers' Groups (NAWG) annual Short Story Competition. It was previously published in the 2003 winners' anthology Smooth Pebbles, Pretty Shells.

The long drive, ghastly weather and her business partner's flu make an inauspicious start to Shazz's sales enterprise. She sets up her silk tie stall at the craft market and waits for the customers to come along, but when they do something inevitably goes wrong. Throughout the day Shazz compiles a mental list of reasons for her lack of sales, but is she missing the point? A short story from our Nibs literary line.