Sudden Traveller: Winner of the BBC National Short Story Award

‘No one writes stories the way Hall does and quite possibly no one ever will. Astonishing, miraculous, a gift.’ - Daisy Johnson

WINNER OF THE BBC NATIONAL SHORT STORY AWARD WINNER OF AN O.HENRY PRIZE FOR SHORT FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES TAIT BLACK MEMORIAL PRIZE 2020

The seven stories of Sudden Traveller immerse us anew in one of the most distinctive literary imaginations. In Turkish forests or rain-drenched Cumbrian villages, characters walk, drive, dream and fly, trying to reconcile themselves with their journey through life and death. A woman fitted with life-changing technology returns to the site of her strongest memories; a man repatriated in the near east hears the name of an old love called and must unpack history’s suitcase; and from the new world-waves of female anger and resistance, a mythical creature evolves.

Radical, charged with a transformative creative power, each of these stories opens channels in the human mind and spirit, as Sarah Hall once more invites the reader to stand at the very edge of our possible selves.

‘Hall’s stories are extraordinary. Magical. I never know where the next one will take me, but I know it will be unexpected, memorable, and built from language that crackles with energy.’ - Chris Power