Naomi Wood

The definitive showcase of the year’s finest British short stories ‘Bravo to Salt’s beacon of delight and intrigue – its annual collection of the UK’s best short stories, from established and emerging voices.’ —Duncan Minshull Now relaunched for a new era, Best British Short Stories returns with a bold new look and a renewed commitment to celebrating the art of the short story. As we enter our fifteenth volume, this much-loved annual collection continues to be the go-to anthology for readers seeking the most exciting and diverse voices in contemporary British fiction. Assembled by series editor Nicholas Royle, Best British Short Stories 2025 presents a stellar selection of stories first published in 2024, drawn from magazines, journals, anthologies, collections, chapbooks, and online. Whether you’re a devoted follower or discovering the series for the first time, this new edition reaffirms our mission to champion storytelling in all its forms. ‘If the latest iteration of Salt’s Best British Short Stories collection is anything to go by then the genre remains in safe hands.’ —Lawrence Foley, TLS Featuring stories by: David Bevan, Rose Biggin, Christopher Burns, Ian Critchley, Pippa Goldschmidt, Linden Hibbert, Hannah Hoare, Catrin Kean, Roger Luckhurst, Baret Magarian, Wyl Menmuir, Alison Moore, Okechukwu Nzelu, Simon Okotie, Imogen Reid, C. D. Rose, Iain Sinclair, Elizabeth Stott, Mark Valentine, and Naomi Wood.

For fans of American Housewife and the work of Lily King, a provocative, razor-sharp, and riotously entertaining story collection exploring the dark side of family and femininity.CONTAINS "COMORBIDITIES," WINNER OF THE BBC SHORT STORY PRIZEIn my life, I had always been a good woman; controlling what it was that I wanted. But recently, I had started to notice my bad energy, and I began to follow it, wondering where it would take me . . .A woman has an unexpected outburst at a corporate therapy session for working mothers. A couple find some long-overdue time to rekindle their relationship and make an ill-advised home movie. A pregnant film director plots revenge on the actress who betrayed her. An ex-wife deliberately causes conflict at her ex-husband's wedding.This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things illuminates the lives of malicious, subversive, and untamed women. Exploring failed sisterhood, dubious parenting, and the dark side of modern love, this powerful and funny collection exposes how society wants women to behave, and shows what happens when they refuse.

'Excellent' IRISH TIMES 'Witty and biting and brilliant' i PAPER 'Full of dark mischief' EMMA HEALEY'Hilarious' EMMA JANE UNSWORTH WINNER OF THE BBC NATIONAL SHORT STORY AWARD A mother has an unexpected outburst at a corporate therapy session for working parents. A couple finally get time to rekindle their relationship and make an ill-advised home movie. A pregnant film director plots revenge on the actress who betrayed her. A woman deliberately causes conflict at her ex's wedding. These powerful and funny stories illuminate the lives of untamed women. They explore how society wants us to behave - and what happens when we refuse . . .FEATURING A BONUS STORY IN PAPERBACK'Whip-smart' CHRISTIE WATSON'Humane and very funny' JESSIE BURTON 'Clever and illuminating' LUCY CALDWELL 'Wonderful' DAILY MAIL 'Read it and riot' MARIANNE LEVY

'Excellent' IRISH TIMES'Witty and biting and brilliant' i PAPER'Full of dark mischief' EMMA HEALEY'Hilarious' EMMA JANE UNSWORTH WINNER OF THE BBC NATIONAL SHORT STORY AWARD A mother has an unexpected outburst at a corporate therapy session for working parents. A couple finally get time to rekindle their relationship and make an ill-advised home movie. A pregnant film director plots revenge on the actress who betrayed her. A woman deliberately causes conflict at her ex's wedding.These powerful and funny stories illuminate the lives of untamed women. They explore how society wants us to behave - and what happens when we refuse . . .'Whip-smart' CHRISTIE WATSON'Humane and very funny' JESSIE BURTON'Clever and illuminating' LUCY CALDWELL'Wonderful' DAILY MAIL'Read it and riot' MARIANNE LEVY

A gripping and unforgettable story of love and betrayal in the Bauhaus from Naomi Wood, author of the award-winning Mrs. Hemingway, a RichardJudy Book Club pick.

The gripping third novel by Naomi Wood, author of the award-winning &i>Mrs. Hemingway&/i>, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick.

'A suspenseful story of obsession against the tense political backdrop of Germany’s Bauhaus art school' - Sunday TimesIn 1922, Paul Beckermann arrives at the Bauhaus art school and is immediately seduced by both the charismatic teaching and his fellow students. Eccentric and alluring, the more time Paul spends with his new friends the closer they become, and the deeper he falls in love with the mesmerising Charlotte. But Paul is not the only one vying for her affections, and soon an insidious rivalry takes root.As political tensions escalate in Germany, the Bauhaus finds itself under threat, and the group begins to disintegrate under the pressure of its own betrayals and love affairs. Decades later, in the wake of an unthinkable tragedy, Paul is haunted by a secret. When an old friend from the Bauhaus resurfaces, he must finally break his silence.From the author of the award-winning Mrs Hemingway, Naomi Wood's The Hiding Game is a beautifully written, powerful and suspenseful novel about the dangerously fine line between love and obsession, set against the most turbulent era of our recent past.

'Mrs. Hemingway is so beautifully written, and evocative, that I could not put it down until the last page.' – Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You.A Richard and Judy Book Club selection.In the dazzling summer of 1926, Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley travel from their home in Paris to a villa in the south of France. They swim, play bridge and drink gin. But wherever they go they are accompanied by the glamorous and irrepressible Fife. Fife is Hadley’s best friend. She is also Ernest’s lover. Hadley is the first Mrs. Hemingway, but neither she nor Fife will be the last. Over the ensuing decades, Ernest’s literary career will blaze a trail, but his marriages will be ignited by passion and deceit. Four extraordinary women will learn what it means to love the most famous writer of his generation, and each will be forced to ask herself how far she will go to remain his wife . . . Luminous and intoxicating, Mrs. Hemingway by Naomi Wood portrays real lives with rare intimacy and plumbs the depths of the human heart.

The Godless Boys is the astounding literary debut of Naomi Wood, author of Mrs. Hemingway.Imagine an alternative England, where the Church controls the country and non-believers have been exiled to a remote island. On the Island, a fierce group of boys patrols the community, searching for signs of faith and punishing any believers. When a new girl appears, arriving from the mainland to search for her long-lost mother, the gang is split: one boy falls in love with her, another seeks violent revenge. The struggle between them will change everything.

The Paris Wife was only the beginning of the story...Summer, 1926. Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley take refuge from the blazing heat of Paris in a villa in the south of France. They swim and play bridge, and drink gin with abandon. But wherever they go they are accompanied by the glamorous and irrepressible Fife. Fife is Hadley's best friend. She is also Ernest's lover. Hadley is the first Mrs. Hemingway, but neither she nor Fife will be the last. Each Mrs. Hemingway thought their love would last forever; each one was wrong.Narrated by Hemingway's four wives--Hadley, Fife, Martha, and Mary--and peopled with members of the fabled "Lost Generation"--including Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald--Mrs. Hemingway paints a complex portrait of the man behind the legend and the women behind the man, a riveting tale of passion, love, and heartbreak.

The Paris Wife was only the beginning of the story . . . A New York Times Book Review Editor's ChoiceA Richard & Judy UK Pick Paula McLain's New York Times-bestselling novel piqued readers' interest about Ernest Hemingway's romantic life. But Hadley was only one of four women married, in turn, to the legendary writer. Just as T.C. Boyle's bestseller The Women completed the picture begun by Nancy Horan's Loving Frank, Naomi Wood's Mrs. Hemingway tells the story of how it was to love, and be loved by, the most famous and dashing writer of his generation. Hadley, Pauline, Martha and Mary: each Mrs. Hemingway thought their love would last forever; each one was wrong. Told in four parts and based on real love letters and telegrams, Mrs. Hemingway reveals the explosive love triangles that wrecked each of Hemingway's marriages. Spanning 1920s bohemian Paris through 1960s Cold War America, populated with members of the fabled "Lost Generation," Mrs. Heminway is a riveting tale of passion, love, and heartbreak.