Shorts

Series

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Thirst

20080113

By Merryn Glover. A kind act yields a miraculous result for a downtrodden woman in Nepal.

The Dizzy

20080120

By Patrick Prior. As time passes, a young man realises his date isn't coming.

Tomato Sauce

20080127

By Vivien Jones. The smell of freshly picked tomatoes evokes a childhood memory.

Murdo And Ishbel

20080203

A villager is drawn nightly to the sea, where he becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman.

Dog Days

20080210

By Peter Regent. Holidaying in Greece, a minister has a disastrous encounter with two dogs

Housework

20070101

20080706 (R4)

Sally Beamish's tale of a woman whose life is turned upside down when her husband leaves.

Billy

20070102

20080713 (R4)

Kenneth Steven's story of a young Celtic supporter who gets a life-changing job.

Her Mother's Songs

20070104

20080720 (R4)

By Merryn Glover. A young woman returns to her home town to visit her estranged mother.

A Breath Of Air

20070105

20080727 (R4)

By Fiona Thackeray. An inmate finds unexpected refuge from prison life.

Losers Weepers

20071217

By Zoe Strachan. Ted Samson's father goes missing in action during World War II.

Dancing At Alice's Wedding

20071218

By Janette Walkinshaw. A woman thinks of the next day's wedding and what might have been.

Lemon Ice Cream

20071219

by Kenneth Steven. The youngest member of a family decides to sell his father's recipe.

Sea Change

20071220

By Lynda McDonald. A woman stumbles on what she believes to be her long-lost uncle's grave

The Brightest Star

20071221

By Fiona Sinclair. When the police visit, a girl realises her parents won't be back soon.

The Astronaut

20090106

20130826/27 (BBC7)
20170213 (BBC7)

By Jason Donald. A lethargic jobseeker spies an opportunity to be a hero.

The Intelligence Of Hearts

20090107

20130827/28 (BBC7)
20170214 (BBC7)

By Cynthia Rogerson. A gallery attendant muses on love and loneliness. Read by Paul Young.

Pillars Of The Community

20090108

20130828/29 (BBC7)
20170215 (BBC7)

By Anneliese Mackintosh. A young woman attends a dinner party hosted by her neighbours.

One Of Us

20091117

20131016/17 (BBC7)
20110716 (R4)

By Julia Butler. A boy adapting to a new environment comes alive on the football pitch.

Fifty-one

20091118

20131018/19 (BBC7)
20110723 (R4)

By Tat Usher. A teenager spends her evenings swimming lengths of her local pool.

Miss Bell And Miss Heaton

20091119

20131021/22 (BBC7)
20110730 (R4)

By Janette Walkinshaw. Jane Bell has some difficult news for her best friend.

Light Moves Like Water

20130210

20170925 (BBC7)

By Carol Farrelly.

A lyrical story about a young woman who makes her annual visit to her therapist and reflects on a summer of love affairs in Venice.

Carol Farrelly is from Glasgow and lives and works in Edinburgh. She is currently writing her first novel, This Starling Flock, set in neutral Ireland during the Second World War. The opening to this novel won her the Sceptre Prize. In 2010, the Scottish Book Trust chose her to be one of their New Writers. Her short stories have been published in journals such as Stand, New Writing Scotland and Dream Catcher and have been shortlisted for the Bridport and Asham Prizes. She has a DPhil on the novels of Thomas Hardy and, while an undergraduate, spent one year waking up in beautiful Bologna. One day, she hopes to weave both Italy and Hardy into novels too.

Reader: Victoria Liddelle

Producer: Kirsty Williams.

By Carol Farrelly. A young woman reflects on a summer of love affairs in Venice.

Sobek Refutes The Plover Theory

20130217

20170926 (BBC7)

By R.A. Martens.

A surreal and funny short story about Oliver Al Sobek, whose exceptional requirements in the field of dentistry - he has the vast jaws of a crocodile - make visits to the dentist hard to come by. His new dentist harbours romantic dreams of tending his incisors with the gentle ministrations of a Plover.

R A Martens moved to Scotland from Cumbria for a couple of years twenty years ago, and has never left. Five years ago, she finally worked out that if she wanted to be a writer, she had better start writing. She has received a new writers award from the Scottish Book Trust, and her short stories have been published in anthologies and literary magazines including 'Gutter' and 'New Writing Scotland'. She is currently working on her first collection of short stories, 'Magnificent Miss M and the Copenhagen Interpretation of Insanity', and has just begun writing her first novel, 'The Strong and Practiced Arms of Mr Friendly'.

Reader: Sandy Grierson

Producer: Allegra McIlroy.

By RA Martens. Surreal short story about Oliver Al Sobek's unusual visit to the dentist.

Save The Sea Turtles

20130224

20170927 (BBC7)

By Helen Sedgewick.

Final story in a series of new writing from Scotland. A retired Professor of Ecology, who is grieving for the loss of his daughter, volunteers at a sea turtle charity based in Kefalonia. The work brings solace, in spite of the uncaring mass of tourists.

Helen Sedgwick is a research physicist turned freelance writer. She has been published internationally in over forty magazines, journals and anthologies, and she won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2012. She's co-editor of two literary magazines - Gutter and Fractured West - and has performed her work at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe, and Glasgow's Aye Write. In a perfect world, she would spend half her life as a writer in Scotland, and the other half on a beach in Kefalonia with the sea turtles. Her writing is about an imperfect world.

Read by Paul Young.

Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.

By Helen Sedgwick. A grieving man finds solace in ministering to the needs of sea turtles.

Fear In A Hat

20110104

20131001/02 (BBC7)

A shy schoolgirl fears the worst when she attends a compulsory religious retreat with her catty classmates.

Read by Sally Reid

Written by Nicola White

Producer: Eilidh McCreadie

Scottish Shorts' showcases the best new writing from Scotland. Nicola White lives on a peninsula in Argyll, between a picturesque sea loch and an MOD arms depot. A former art curator and documentary producer, she turned her back on the city and steady wages a few years ago. Since then she has been invited to read her work at the Blue Room, Newcastle and the Irish Writers Centre, Dublin. In 2008 she received a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award.

By Nicola White. A shy schoolgirl fears the worst when she attends a religious retreat.

The Last Cup

20110105

20131002/03 (BBC7)

Set on a windswept Western Isle, a kindly old fisherman and his stern minister find a poignant sliver of common ground over tea from a chipped china cup.

Read by Matthew Zajac.

Written by Merryn Glover.

Producer: Patricia Hitchcock

Scottish Shorts' showcases the best new writing from Scotland. Merryn Glover is a playwright and author of short stories and received a Scottish Arts Council bursary. She has written plays for BBC Radio Scotland.

By Merryn Glover. A kindly old fisherman and his minister find a sliver of common ground.

Matryoshka

20110106

20131003/04 (BBC7)

A spoilt princess craves possession of the one thing she can't have in this new spin on a familiar tale.

Read by Nicola Jo Cully

Written by Kirsty Logan

Producer: Eilidh McCreadie

Scottish Shorts' showcases the best new writing from Scotland. Kirsty Logan graduated in 2009 from Glasgow University's Creative Writing MLitt; over the next year she won a New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust, the Gillian Purvis Award, and third place in the Bridport Prize. She regularly performs her own work and recently read at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Her short fiction has been published in around 80 anthologies and literary magazines. Kirsty is currently working on her first novel and a short story collection.

By Kirsty Logan. A spoilt princess craves possession of the one thing she can't have.

Paint Fumes

20140202

20171023 (BBC7)
20160402 (R4)

Scottish Shorts, the best writing from Scotland.

Paint Fumes by Kirstin Innes

A young footballer from an oppressive home seeks escape through Argentina's urban art scene.

Reader Simon Donaldson. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie

Kirstin Innes is a novelist and playwright based in Glasgow. Her first novel, FISHNET,was published in 2015.

A young footballer from a broken home seeks escape through Argentina's urban art scene.

Egg And Cress

20140209

20171024 (BBC7)
20160409 (R4)

Scottish Shorts, the best writing from Scotland.

Egg and Cress by Melissa Reid

A disappointing sandwich is the start of a slow unravelling for a put-upon mother. Reader Laura Smales. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie

Melissa Reid is working towards a Creative Writing PhD and is writing her first novel - a story for young adults set in the North of Scotland.

The Punch

20140216

20171025 (BBC7)
20160416 (R4)

An argument with his brother sets Ranald on the journey of a lifetime.

Bethlehem House

20140223

20171026 (BBC7)
20160423 (R4)

Scottish Shorts, the best writing from Scotland

Bethlehem House by Merryn Glover

A return to a childhood location brings back painful memories for an ex-pat. Reader Ann Louise Ross. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie

Australian by passport, born and brought up in South Asia and now living in Scotland, Merryn Glover's stories have been widely published and her plays have been performed on stage and on radio. Her debut novel A HOUSE CALLED ASKIVAL is set in India and spans 70 years of its recent history. More information can be found at www.merrynglover.com.

Episodes

Series	Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
06	01	Thirst	20080113		By Merryn Glover. A kind act yields a miraculous result for a downtrodden woman in Nepal.
06	02	The Dizzy	20080120		By Patrick Prior. As time passes, a young man realises his date isn't coming.
06	03	Tomato Sauce	20080127		By Vivien Jones. The smell of freshly picked tomatoes evokes a childhood memory.
06	04	Murdo And Ishbel	20080203		A villager is drawn nightly to the sea, where he becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman.
06	05	Dog Days	20080210		By Peter Regent. Holidaying in Greece, a minister has a disastrous encounter with two dogs
07	01	Housework	20070101	20080706 (R4)	Sally Beamish's tale of a woman whose life is turned upside down when her husband leaves.
07	02	Billy	20070102	20080713 (R4)	Kenneth Steven's story of a young Celtic supporter who gets a life-changing job.
07	03	Her Mother's Songs	20070104	20080720 (R4)	By Merryn Glover. A young woman returns to her home town to visit her estranged mother.
07	04	A Breath Of Air	20070105	20080727 (R4)	By Fiona Thackeray. An inmate finds unexpected refuge from prison life.
08	01	Losers Weepers	20071217		By Zoe Strachan. Ted Samson's father goes missing in action during World War II.
08	02	Dancing At Alice's Wedding	20071218		By Janette Walkinshaw. A woman thinks of the next day's wedding and what might have been.
08	03	Lemon Ice Cream	20071219		by Kenneth Steven. The youngest member of a family decides to sell his father's recipe.
08	04	Sea Change	20071220		By Lynda McDonald. A woman stumbles on what she believes to be her long-lost uncle's grave
08	05	The Brightest Star	20071221		By Fiona Sinclair. When the police visit, a girl realises her parents won't be back soon.
09	01	The Astronaut	20090106	20130826/27 (BBC7) 20170213 (BBC7)	By Jason Donald. A lethargic jobseeker spies an opportunity to be a hero.
09	02	The Intelligence Of Hearts	20090107	20130827/28 (BBC7) 20170214 (BBC7)	By Cynthia Rogerson. A gallery attendant muses on love and loneliness. Read by Paul Young.
09	03	Pillars Of The Community	20090108	20130828/29 (BBC7) 20170215 (BBC7)	By Anneliese Mackintosh. A young woman attends a dinner party hosted by her neighbours.
10	01	One Of Us	20091117	20131016/17 (BBC7) 20110716 (R4)	By Julia Butler. A boy adapting to a new environment comes alive on the football pitch.
10	02	Fifty-one	20091118	20131018/19 (BBC7) 20110723 (R4)	By Tat Usher. A teenager spends her evenings swimming lengths of her local pool.
10	03	Miss Bell And Miss Heaton	20091119	20131021/22 (BBC7) 20110730 (R4)	By Janette Walkinshaw. Jane Bell has some difficult news for her best friend.
11	01	Light Moves Like Water	20130210	20170925 (BBC7)	By Carol Farrelly. A lyrical story about a young woman who makes her annual visit to her therapist and reflects on a summer of love affairs in Venice. Carol Farrelly is from Glasgow and lives and works in Edinburgh. She is currently writing her first novel, This Starling Flock, set in neutral Ireland during the Second World War. The opening to this novel won her the Sceptre Prize. In 2010, the Scottish Book Trust chose her to be one of their New Writers. Her short stories have been published in journals such as Stand, New Writing Scotland and Dream Catcher and have been shortlisted for the Bridport and Asham Prizes. She has a DPhil on the novels of Thomas Hardy and, while an undergraduate, spent one year waking up in beautiful Bologna. One day, she hopes to weave both Italy and Hardy into novels too. Reader: Victoria Liddelle Producer: Kirsty Williams. By Carol Farrelly. A young woman reflects on a summer of love affairs in Venice.
11	02	Sobek Refutes The Plover Theory	20130217	20170926 (BBC7)	By R.A. Martens. A surreal and funny short story about Oliver Al Sobek, whose exceptional requirements in the field of dentistry - he has the vast jaws of a crocodile - make visits to the dentist hard to come by. His new dentist harbours romantic dreams of tending his incisors with the gentle ministrations of a Plover. R A Martens moved to Scotland from Cumbria for a couple of years twenty years ago, and has never left. Five years ago, she finally worked out that if she wanted to be a writer, she had better start writing. She has received a new writers award from the Scottish Book Trust, and her short stories have been published in anthologies and literary magazines including 'Gutter' and 'New Writing Scotland'. She is currently working on her first collection of short stories, 'Magnificent Miss M and the Copenhagen Interpretation of Insanity', and has just begun writing her first novel, 'The Strong and Practiced Arms of Mr Friendly'. Reader: Sandy Grierson Producer: Allegra McIlroy. By RA Martens. Surreal short story about Oliver Al Sobek's unusual visit to the dentist.
11	03	Save The Sea Turtles	20130224	20170927 (BBC7)	By Helen Sedgewick. Final story in a series of new writing from Scotland. A retired Professor of Ecology, who is grieving for the loss of his daughter, volunteers at a sea turtle charity based in Kefalonia. The work brings solace, in spite of the uncaring mass of tourists. Helen Sedgwick is a research physicist turned freelance writer. She has been published internationally in over forty magazines, journals and anthologies, and she won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2012. She's co-editor of two literary magazines - Gutter and Fractured West - and has performed her work at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe, and Glasgow's Aye Write. In a perfect world, she would spend half her life as a writer in Scotland, and the other half on a beach in Kefalonia with the sea turtles. Her writing is about an imperfect world. Read by Paul Young. Produced by Kirsteen Cameron. By Helen Sedgwick. A grieving man finds solace in ministering to the needs of sea turtles.
12	01	Fear In A Hat	20110104	20131001/02 (BBC7)	A shy schoolgirl fears the worst when she attends a compulsory religious retreat with her catty classmates. Read by Sally Reid Written by Nicola White Producer: Eilidh McCreadie Scottish Shorts' showcases the best new writing from Scotland. Nicola White lives on a peninsula in Argyll, between a picturesque sea loch and an MOD arms depot. A former art curator and documentary producer, she turned her back on the city and steady wages a few years ago. Since then she has been invited to read her work at the Blue Room, Newcastle and the Irish Writers Centre, Dublin. In 2008 she received a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. By Nicola White. A shy schoolgirl fears the worst when she attends a religious retreat.
12	02	The Last Cup	20110105	20131002/03 (BBC7)	Set on a windswept Western Isle, a kindly old fisherman and his stern minister find a poignant sliver of common ground over tea from a chipped china cup. Read by Matthew Zajac. Written by Merryn Glover. Producer: Patricia Hitchcock Scottish Shorts' showcases the best new writing from Scotland. Merryn Glover is a playwright and author of short stories and received a Scottish Arts Council bursary. She has written plays for BBC Radio Scotland. By Merryn Glover. A kindly old fisherman and his minister find a sliver of common ground.
12	03	Matryoshka	20110106	20131003/04 (BBC7)	A spoilt princess craves possession of the one thing she can't have in this new spin on a familiar tale. Read by Nicola Jo Cully Written by Kirsty Logan Producer: Eilidh McCreadie Scottish Shorts' showcases the best new writing from Scotland. Kirsty Logan graduated in 2009 from Glasgow University's Creative Writing MLitt; over the next year she won a New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust, the Gillian Purvis Award, and third place in the Bridport Prize. She regularly performs her own work and recently read at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Her short fiction has been published in around 80 anthologies and literary magazines. Kirsty is currently working on her first novel and a short story collection. By Kirsty Logan. A spoilt princess craves possession of the one thing she can't have.
13	01	Paint Fumes	20140202	20171023 (BBC7) 20160402 (R4)	Scottish Shorts, the best writing from Scotland. Paint Fumes by Kirstin Innes A young footballer from an oppressive home seeks escape through Argentina's urban art scene. Reader Simon Donaldson. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie Kirstin Innes is a novelist and playwright based in Glasgow. Her first novel, FISHNET,was published in 2015. A young footballer from a broken home seeks escape through Argentina's urban art scene.
13	02	Egg And Cress	20140209	20171024 (BBC7) 20160409 (R4)	Scottish Shorts, the best writing from Scotland. Egg and Cress by Melissa Reid A disappointing sandwich is the start of a slow unravelling for a put-upon mother. Reader Laura Smales. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie Melissa Reid is working towards a Creative Writing PhD and is writing her first novel - a story for young adults set in the North of Scotland.
13	03	The Punch	20140216	20171025 (BBC7) 20160416 (R4)	An argument with his brother sets Ranald on the journey of a lifetime.
13	04	Bethlehem House	20140223	20171026 (BBC7) 20160423 (R4)	Scottish Shorts, the best writing from Scotland Bethlehem House by Merryn Glover A return to a childhood location brings back painful memories for an ex-pat. Reader Ann Louise Ross. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie Australian by passport, born and brought up in South Asia and now living in Scotland, Merryn Glover's stories have been widely published and her plays have been performed on stage and on radio. Her debut novel A HOUSE CALLED ASKIVAL is set in India and spans 70 years of its recent history. More information can be found at www.merrynglover.com.