Ballerini Book Press is thrilled to announce a long term publishing partnership with short story form specialist, MIKE FOX
Mike Fox is married and lives in Richmond, Surrey. His stories have been nominated for Best of Net and the Pushcart Prize, listed in Best British and Irish Flash Fiction (BIFFY50), and included in Best British Stories 2018 (Salt). His stories have appeared in The London Journal of Fiction, Popshot, Confingo, Into the Void, Fictive Dream, The Nottingham Review, Structo, Prole, Riggwelter, Communion and Footnote. Four other stories have been published in paperback by the Bedford International Writing Competition. His story ‘The Homing Instinct’, first published in Confingo, was reprinted in Best British Short Stories 2018 (Salt). His story, “The Violet Eye”, was published by Nightjar Press, as a limited edition chapbook. His most recent collection, titled “THINGS GROWN DISTANT” is a gathering of short stories, featuring photographic Illustrations by Nicholas Royle.
Read his new story about composer Clive Carey, GUARDIANS OF LIGHT at Rare Swan Review
PUBLISHED BOOKS
BLURRED EDGES
ISBN
The new collection of short stories by Mike Fox.
“We encounter characters tormented by moral dilemmas, conflict, guilt, isolation, illness, or trauma, each searching for resolution in one way or another. We are offered intriguing glimpses into the events that have shaped their lives; yet the full story is never entirely revealed”
from the FOREWORD by Laura Black, Editor Fictive Dream
Things Grown Distant
Confingo Publishing UK 2024
ISBN 978-1-7393745-3-2
MANCHESTER REVIEW OF BOOKS – read the full review
“Fox’s writing is carefully crafted. You feel like you are reading a mature writer, at the height of his powers. There is skill and craft in the construction of these stories. Even the more mannered moments – encounters with a generous heron, a trip at a hippy happening – are naturalistically presented. . . . At times, these scenes seem to twinkle. There’s a kind of twilight power in the prose. It is refreshing to read. Satisfying.”
– Joe Darlington
The Violet Eye
Nightjar Press 2018
ISBN ISBN 978-1-907341-32-8
“He hoped more, he feared more.”
“A poignant nine pager, about a man and his life-purposeful hobby of homing pigeons, with the man’s own instinct of a ‘homing instinct’ that lingers, perhaps ironically, upon a yearning for a life still to be what it was before his wife had left him, left him because, outwardly at least, of her attitude to the relentless “bird shit and sawdust” the husband brought into the kitchen on his feet. She’d left before and come back. Telling relationship with his young son (whom his mother wants to follow her and live with her) as the father continues, in the meantime, to tutor the son (and now us) about the lore of racing homing pigeons, with the superstition or suspicion of truth that one with a violet eye is always to be a champion. imageI learnt a lot about this in such a deceptively short story’s long journey as they raced the pigeons in North Scotland where the father lives. The outcome of the marriage and its implications will not be easily forgotten by anyone who reads this story, and I cannot tell you about it here, in case you take off the wrong ring when it comes home to you.” – Des Lewis Goodreads
Best British Short Stories
Salt Publishing 2018
“The Homing Instinct”
ISBN-10 : 1784631361
ISBN-13 : 978-1784631369
“When an anthology limits itself to a particular vintage, you hope it’s a good year. The Best British Short Stories 2014 from Salt Publishing presupposes a fierce selection process. Nicholas Royle is the author of more than 100 short stories himself, the editor of sixteen anthologies and the head judge of the Manchester Fiction Prize, which inspires a sense of confidence in his choices. He has whittled down this year’s crop to 20 pieces, which should enable everyone to find a favourite. Furthermore, his introduction points us towards magazines and small publishers producing the collections from which these pieces are chosen. If you like short stories but don’t know where to find them, this book is a gateway to wider reading. – Lucy Jeynes Source: Bare Fiction
Counselling Older People with Alcohol Problems
Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2011
ISBN: 9781849051170
“Mike Fox and Lesley Wilson have created an invaluable practical guide, highlighting specific issues for working with older people with alcohol problems. The art of counselling takes many forms: this thoughtful and readable book will inspire and inform people involved in this field, from the briefest encounters to the deepest transformative processes. The detailed case stories throughout the book offer a rare and rich insight into the effectiveness of counselling and the beneficial impact for all involved. Practitioners will recognise and reflect on the accurate portrayals of the context for their work, and people new to the field will gain access to a wealth of information and ideas for practice.”
Wendy Bryant, Deputy Director of Centre for Citizen Participation
Forthcoming Titles
dates forthcoming 2026
“Blurred Edges — A short story collection
“A Space for Opportunity” — A novella
WEBSITE Polyscribe
FROM THE HEART INTERVIEW WITH AMANTINE BRODEUR
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