Dead birds fall from the sky, an octopus lies stranded on a beach, and a lost shoe becomes a public shrine ... Untethered, Philippa Holloway’ s first collection of short stories, provides an unflinching glimpse of daily life interrupted by unexpected events. Small intrusions into familiar spaces reveal nothing is as it seems, and to feel suddenly adrift, unsure, might just be the catalyst needed for clarity. Sometimes it demands a change of viewpoint, sometimes a cutting loose to find freedom. From conflicted parental expectations to unwanted visitors, from discovering tiny human teeth in the garden to a brief encounter with a murderer over the kitchen table, these precise, realist tales scrutinise families and lovers, colleagues and strangers with a keen emotional depth and sharp observation. Each one is a vivid snapshot of how people anchor themselves inside their lives and beliefs, exposing the fragile ties that hold people together, and highlighting the need to see things differently to survive the day.

Philippa Holloway is a writer and academic with a varied career history that includes being a goatherd, a medical technician at a racing circuit, and a library assistant. Her short fiction has been published internationally, and her debut novel, The Half-life of Snails (Parthian Books) was longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje prize for ‘ a distinguished work evoking the spirit of place,’ and has been featured in an international podcast, serialised in a national newspaper, and praised on BBC Radio 4’ s Front Row as ‘ powerful, evocative...a terrific book.’