Why Don't You Stop Talking

‘A stunner. I am heartbroken to have finished it’ Ali Smith In Jackie Kay’s first collection of stories, ordinary lives are transformed by secrets. Her world might seem familiar – sex, death and family cast long shadows – but the roles of mothers, daughters and lovers are imagined and revealed in the most surprising of ways. Sometimes it is the things that we choose to hide within ourselves which can transform us – and that has never been more true than in Jackie Kay’s warm, exuberant storytelling. She sees the extraordinary in everyday life, and lights it up with humour and generosity in a way that is uniquely her own. ‘If stories like these can still be written, the short story form must still be alive, not to say kicking’ Irish Times

Jackie Kay was born in Edinburgh. She is a poet, novelist and writer of short stories and has enjoyed great acclaim for her work for both adults and children. Her novel Trumpet won the Guardian Fiction Prize and is a modern classic. As well as Why Don't You Stop Talking she has published a further collection of stories, Wish I Was Here, and most recently her memoir, Red Dust Road. She teaches at Newcastle University, and lives in Manchester.