Let's Talk Stories
Short Story Bookclub Online
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Let's Talk Stories is back, with four sessions for Spring 2026. ​​
It’s a bookclub with very short books. And no homework.
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Snuggle down on a virtual sofa for a good old chinwag about a story - perfect for those chilly dark days at the beginning of the year. ​In each session we take one short story, read it together. Then we discuss it. Simple!
It might be an old story, it might be brand new. You do not need to read the story beforehand, but it will be sent to you the day before if you want to access the text before the group starts. These sessions are particularly useful for those who are reading as writers.
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We’ve looked at stories by Shirley Jackson, Jennifer Nasubuga Makumbi, Katherine Mansfield, Douglas Stuart, Miranda July, Hari Kunzru, Ray Bradbury, Jo Lloyd, Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing, CJ Hauser, Saki, Kevin Barry, Ernest Hemingway, Guy de Maupassant, Zadie Smith, Haruki Murakami, Etgar Keret, Laurie Moore, Helen Oyeyemi and Anton Chekhov amongst many others. All different, all gripping in their own ways.​
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The sessions are run by me, Clare Reddaway. If you are interested in my personal taste in short stories, have a read of my 'Desert Island Disks' short story list here.
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14th January
Damilare Kuku: A story from her glorious collection Nearly All The Men In Lagos Are Mad, a runaway bestseller in Nigeria.
14th February
Duets: I’m excited for this one! In a first for Let’s Talk Stories, Tom Conaghan from Scratch Books will be joining us. Tom publishes the some of the best short story writers out there. In this session we’re going to discuss one of the stories in the Duets collection, where each story is written by two short story writers. This is a must for short story writers out there! (And for everyone else too…)
11th March
Brenda Romero: Not a short story this time, but a seering piece of creative non-fiction using a compelling and original form. This piece is about sex trafficking: not for the fainthearted.
8th April
David Szalay: Before he won the Booker, David Szalay wrote a series of inter-connected short stories in his book Turbulance. We’ll read and discuss one of those stories. ​
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Cost is £5.00 per session.
Bookable on Eventbrite here, or get in touch to pay directly.
Thank you and happy reading!
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Clare Reddaway is an award-wining short story writer and playwright. She produces regular live literature events in Bath such as Story Fridays, Stories At The Farm and Festive Doorstep Stories. Clare has run popular writing workshops for many years. Her background as a script editor for BBC Drama and Granada TV and MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa has given her experience of working with a wide range of writers.