This is what short stories are meant to do: show us flamboyantly what the novel can't do and without falling into stylistic games or losing emotional resonance. Diamonds are created by compressing carbon at high temperatures; these stories seem to be created by treating language and form in much the same way. They are diamonds and should be valued as such. --Sara Maitland

This remarkable collection combines the work of six formidable and fascinating talents. In spite of curmudgeonly reports to the contrary, the short story is alive and kicking in the UK, and nowhere more obviously than in this superb new book. --Julia Bell

A diverse, daring volume, Desperate Remedies brings together dazzling short fictions by Adam Elston, Shaun Levin, Mark Saba, M L Stedman, Paul Blaney and Guy Ware edited by Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone. Adam Elston s trio of stories explores the different faces of loss and estrangement. The three stories by M L Stedman draw on the sights, smells and sounds of her native Western Australia. Mark Saba s novella of identity moves artfully between Connecticut, Minnesota, and points more distant in space and time. Paul Blaney s four stories, diverse in voice and form, combine the everyday and the fabulous, deftly negotiating dream and memory, community and the individual s quest for happiness. The first of Guy Ware s two stories is a picaresque tale of love, death and second-hand cars, the second a bitterly humorous portrait of a deeply-troubled man. Shaun Levin s virtuoso study of the poet and painter Isaac Rosenberg brings the collection to a deeply satisfying close.

A diverse, daring volume, Desperate Remedies brings together dazzling short fictions by Adam Elston, Shaun Levin, Mark Saba, M L Stedman, Paul Blaney and Guy Ware, edited by Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone. Adam Elston's trio of stories explores the different faces of loss and estrangement. The three stories by M L Stedman draw on the sights, smells and sounds of her native Western Australia. Mark Saba's novella of identity moves artfully between Connecticut, Minnesota, and points more distant in space and time. Paul Blaney's four stories, diverse in voice and form, combine the everyday and the fabulous, deftly negotiating dream and memory, community and the individual's quest for happiness. The first of Guy Ware's two stories is a picaresque tale of love, death and second-hand cars, the second a bitterly humorous portrait of a deeply-troubled man. Shaun Levin's virtuoso study of the poet and painter Isaac Rosenberg brings the collection to a deeply satisfying close. 'This is what short stories are meant to do: show us flamboyantly what the novel can't do and without falling into stylistic games or losing emotional resonance.Diamonds are created by compressing carbon at high temperatures; these stories seem to be created by treating language and form in much the same way.

They are diamonds and should be valued as such.' Sara Maitland

Paul Blaney is a 40-year-old British writer and editor now living in New Jersey where he teaches at Rutgers University. His short fiction has appeared in a number of UK magazines and anthologies, and can be seen at www.paulblaney.com. He is a co-founder of Tales of the DeCongested (www.decongested.com) and generally likes to have several plates spinning at any one time. He's currently at work on three novellas and a novel. Adam Elston was born in 1972. He is a journalist and lives in North London. He is working on his first collection of short stories. Mark Saba grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he studied pharmacy before transferring to a New England university to end up majoring in English. He has been writing books of odd lengths for many years, two of which have been published: a novel, The Landscapes of Pater (The Vineyard Press, NY, 2004) and an epic poem, Judith of The Lights (Mellen Poetry Press, 1996). His poetry, essays, and fiction have appeared widely in literary magazines and anthologies, most recently Steam Ticket, Palo Alto Review, Connecticut Review, Louisiana Literature, FutureCycle Poetry (online), and Poetic Voices Without Borders (Gival Press). See www.marksabawriter.com to see excerpts of some of his work as well as his paintings. Margot Stedman was born in Western Australia and has lived in London for many years. She has been reading stories at Tales of the DeCongested since 2004, and her works have been published in Tales of the DeCongested, Volume 1 and Litro. Guy Ware is a recovering civil servant. He has published stories in prize collections and other anthologies from Apis Books, Comma Press, Earlyworks, Leaf Press and Route. He is a regular contributor to the Tales of the DeCongested story readings. Shaun Levin s collection of short stories, A Year of Two Summers, was published in 2005. A novella, Seven Sweet Things, was published in 2003. His stories appear in anthologies as diverse as Between Men, Modern South African Stories, Boyfriends from Hell, The Poetry of Men s Lives, and The Slow Mirror: New Fiction by Jewish Writers. Shaun is the editor of Chroma: A Queer Literary Journal and teaches creative writing at the BBC and Bishopsgate Institute. See more at shaunlevin.com and chromajournal.co.uk.