Galley Beggar acquires debut collection from Gatward

Galley Beggar Press is to publish Uschi Gatward's debut short story collection English Magic next year. 

The press's co-directors Eloise Millar and Sam Jordison acquired world rights to English Magic directly from the author. 

Millar described Gatward's work as "wonderfully crisp and clear", saying: "She never spoon-feeds her readers (certain things are unexplained, just as in life, and some stories just stop. And there's a gently sharp subversion in the collection, both in terms of form and political intent, that Sam and I loved. Suffice to say, we're very excited to be publishing English Magic, and we can't wait to get her stories out into the world." 

Gatward also has stories published by Comma Press, including Salt, which won the Best British Short Stories award. She was shortlisted for the White Review Short Story Prize in 2016. English Magic was completed with the help of an Author's Foundation Award from the Society of Authors. 

Commenting on the acquisition, Jordison said he was "thrilled to be publishing Uschi. We've been waiting for years to be able to put out a collection of short stories, but the right one hasn't come along. Until now. Uschi Gatward's English Magic has that precious quality where every story resonates, and the sum of all the stories together is even greater than the individual parts. They're funny, they're heart-breaking, they're human—and they tell us something real about the world."

Gatward said: "I'm very happy indeed that my book has found a home with such an exciting and brilliant publishing house. Galley Beggar published my story 'Beltane' three years ago, and it's wonderful that they're now putting out the whole collection."

English Magic is scheduled for publication in autumn 2021.