Funny Boy Storycuts

One young man's homecoming shocks a whole town. This is a homecoming that none of the respectable folk of Clanton are pleased about: that of a young man dying of AIDS. But their attempts to ostracise him merely show up some very ugly shortcomings of their own . . . Part of the Storycuts series, this story was previously published in the collection Ford County.

Beekeeper and odd job man Mart May is befriended by a curious and lonely boy whilst tending to errands around the prestigious home of Lady Burnett. As the two begin to bond, the boy, James, discovers the secret of Mart's illiteracy and - startled and concerned - takes on the task of teaching his reluctant subject to read and write. Yet when the summer holidays end, the isolated world in which the characters have grown close is broken by a return to the normality of routine and convention. Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection The Boy Who Taught the Beekeeper to Read.

When Jonathan joins a new school, he is an easy target for R.S.B. Limited, three bullies who demand money in exchange for 'protection.' Unable to afford the rates, he is subjected to a humiliating daily ritual. However, a pale anonymous boy who looks eerily similar to Jonathan has been glimpsed around the school - and he's not going to let R.S.B. Limited get away with their bullying any more. Part of the Stroycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.

Will Jason King ever charm the young rider Jenni Cahill and gain long-anticipated access to her jodhpurs? Part of the Storycuts series, this story was previously published in the collection If You Liked School, You'll Love Work.

Mickey Baker, an ex-pat English bar owner living in Spain, returns to England to see his daughter and mother but must face the wrath of his ex-wife, a woman who pulls no punches. Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection If You Liked School, You'll Love Work.

In 'The Thirty-first of October', Claudia's family is long-departed and her talents as a writer fading; she has gradually come to cocoon herself within her chilly cottage. Her misanthropy grows with every unpleasant encounter with her petty neighbours and their ungrateful and cruel daughters, who regard Claudia as a fairytale witch. But just as Claudia reaches breaking point and begins to descend into a dark mess of jagged thoughts, we witness the redemptive power of even the smallest act of kindness. In 'Angelo', Violet Greene glances around the room at the funeral of her first husband - celebrated poet, Felix - and can't help noticing many a familiar face from a previous colourful life: fellow novelists, poets and publishers as well as an array of Felix's former lovers and wives. Consumed by memories of the past, Violet blocks out the gawping, gossiping congregation by fondly and sadly reminiscing about their time together. Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

Cigarette-addicted aliens have Midlothian under surveillance. A jaded police constable, a pregnant teenager with a UFO obsession and a gang of youths bent on a violent scam are shaken up when a caravan of travellers arrives in Rosewell, and the local mechanic's long-lost brother turns up in some peculiar company. Part of the Storycuts series, this story was previously published in the collection Reheated Cabbage.