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Foreword
The aim behind this publication was relatively simple: toprovide something for everyone. In the modern world wherepeople want everything to be quicker and more accessible,and with so much reading taking place commuting or inthe few minutes before going to bed, we wanted to produce acollection tailored for the modern reader.It fast became apparent that the perfect vehicle forthis challenge was the short story, so often neglected bypublishers and, as a result, not picked up by the reader. Atlong last efforts are being made to revive short fiction andensure that the genre receives the recognition it deserves –not as a side-part but as reading that perfectly complementsthe novel whilst offering its own unique qualities.With several initiatives and major prizes being recentlyannounced, the profile of the short story is on the up.However, as it is, it will be quite some time before the readershakes off its negative associations and the format takes itsplace alongside the novel in the mainstream fiction market.Therefore, to help achieve this feat, we wanted to almostreintroduce the public to short fiction by offering an originalformat, specifically designed for today’s reader.
Seven Days
consists of seven stories by different authors,each longer than the traditional short story and, although verydifferent individually, held together by the overarching themeof depicting a character for a single day. Firstly, the length of story means that the reader is allowed access to a developednarrative, offering the beginning, middle and end of thenovel, whilst also containing the unique qualities of theshort story – snappy, tight and compact. Perfect for the busyreader.Secondly, the overarching theme of the book enables the
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diversity of the short story to be in full evidence. Eachstory has been carefully selected to provide something verydifferent individually, yet together they complementeach other and offer a great deal as a whole. Again, thisincorporates one of the most important qualities of the novelbut maintains the best features of shorter fiction. In addition,the publication is neatly broken up for the reader to readsections at a time, whether commuting or at home.
Seven Days
is also a follow-up to Legend Press’s initialacclaimed short story collection,
The Remarkable Everyday
.The idea for that book struck whilst buying a carton of milkon a busy street corner and wondering what it would be liketo get into the mind of each passer-by, discovering all thecomplexities of their everyday life and thoughts. The aim wasto uncover a few of the million different stories going on allaround us – fleetingly intersecting with each other, thoughoften unknowingly.This is another aspect of the modern world – interest hasnever been as open or as great in observing and looking intoother people’s lives. Asymptom of this is the general public’slove of reality TVshows, celebrities, fly-on-the-walldocumentaries, chat-shows, blogs etc. We love understandingourselves or getting entertainment and/or catharsis fromwatching others, and the short story collection can offer thisbetter than any other format.
Seven Days
has taken
The Remarkable Everyday
one stepfurther, thus emphasising and challenging the qualitiesdescribed above. We specifically looked for stories from aparticular cultural angle – not necessarily from a religiousperspective but simply from a certain aspect of life. It couldhave been anything from a Nepalese monk to a football fan.We received stories from all over the world – from award-winning authors to talented new writers. We also ran a second
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02 / 12 / 2011This doucment made it onto the Rising List!
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