Melatu Uche Okorie, author of the much-heralded story collection This Hostel Life, joins Sally Rooney in the studio to discuss two pieces of flash fiction: ‘Cute’, by Ian Shine, and ‘FA Cup Winners On Open Top Bus Tour of My Village’, by Jonathan Edwards.
Melatu Uche Okorie is a writer and scholar. Born in Nigeria, she moved to Ireland in 2006. It was during her eight and a half years living in the direct provision system that she began to write. She has an M. Phil. in Creative Writing from Trinity College, Dublin, and has had works published in numerous anthologies. In 2009, she won the Metro Éireann Writing Award for her story ‘Gathering Thoughts’. Melatu has a strong interest in issues concerning the rights of asylum seekers and migrant education in Ireland and is currently studying for a PhD in Education at Trinity College, Dublin. This Hostel Life is her first book.
Jonathan Edwards is a Welsh poet, who was born in Newport and grew up in Crosskeys. His debut poetry collection My Family and Other Superheroes won the Costa Book Award for Poetry in 2014.
Ian Shine has written about books, food and drink for the Financial Times, music for the Independent, and won the London round of the ‘Stage newspaper’s New Theatre Critic Search 2016’. In his spare time he writes fiction, and his short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals and magazines, including The Stinging Fly and Litro magazine.
The Stinging Fly Podcast invites Irish writers to choose a story from the Stinging Fly archive to read and discuss. Previous episodes of the podcast can be found here. The podcast’s theme music is ‘Sale of Lakes’, by Divan. All of the Stinging Fly archive is available for subscribers to read – subscribe now and access 20 years of the best new writing.