We’re unbelievably proud of the authors in this book. In fewer than 200 words, they managed to tell a compelling story. The words ‘coffee’, ‘book’, ‘dream’ and ‘light’ unite us, but the diversity and creativity of these stories is what keeps us reading.

Every 4 weeks we launch a new round, and writers from all over the world enter with their story, incorporating a different word into their story.

We received over 1200 stories in the first four rounds of the competition. The...

Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. They form a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century.

The stories were written when Irish nationalism was at its peak, and a search for a national identity and purpose was raging; at a crossroads of history and culture, Ireland was jolted by various converging ideas and influences. They centre on Joyce's idea of an epiphany: a moment ...