On 13th June The Phoenix witnessed acts of heroism, villainy & both at once, as our fantastic actors read brand new short stories of shadow-haunting monsters, heroic henchmen, epic wrestling battles, Guyanese bandits and how to save the world (maybe)...
Dragon Blood Pig Heart MP3 Read by Rebecca Yeo “I’ve ordered char siu pao,” Mum said. “Your favourite.” We were sat at a table upstairs in a busy restaurant in London’s Chinatown. The ‘pao’ she'd ordered were white steamed buns...
Saturday Nights Have Changed MP3 Read by Aren Devlin Outside, the weather’s turning. The air is fecund with possibility. The sky has rinsed itself clean, and the certainty of new life hangs around in gardens and parks where the soil...
How To Keep them Away MP3 Read by Jasmine Raymond My mother warned me. If you ever see them, she said, you must cross yourself to make them disappear. They will steal your voice if you don’t. The fear of...
Odd Numbers MP3 Read by Sophie Cartman “Two oat milk vanilla iced lattes, please. Double shots.” “Two iced lattes … anything else I can get for you today?” The barista looked around – presumably for the recipient of the second...
Tethered Crowns MP3 Read by DK Ugonna The capital of the Mainland was changing. Something was amiss. The wooden sign carved with 'Rika’s Salts' loomed over Saphyre’s head with an unnerving stillness. Where was the wind? She dabbed at the...
Just Not Cricket MP3 Read by Gloria Sanders I’d genuinely decided there were no nice men left in London, possibly the world, before I met Mark: that they’d all been snapped up or kidnapped or something. And then Mark happened....
Good Enough to Eat MP3 Read by Patsy Prince - full podcast here I fell in love with him over pudding. Not dessert. I am not a woman who would eat a dessert. I would desert a dessert. I am...
LATEST EVENT: Romance & Revenge was our February fiction night, held at The Phoenix, W1. Six stories of carnal consumption, gift donkeys, morality apps, tender tales of human love in an alien world, foul-mouthed ghosts, vengeful exes and magical lady-gardens....
Baking Day MP3 Read by Lin Sagovsky The bank slopes gently to the river so there is no danger for the girls. Mamma has said they may play there while she is gone into Mullinvane but they must not go...
In the year of dark and bleeding armpits, every living man I ever dallied with got in touch. As 1348 waned, I arrived under my father’s roof in a donkey-cart just as the mistletoe was strung and the autumn-fat hogs slaughtered. I was once again fortuitously widowed ...
Oh Little Beast MP3 Read by Annalie Wilson Alice pulled the flowers from her mother’s crystal vase and threw them, yellow and bright, into the bin. They barely made a sound as they hit the bottom – but the baby...
Vengeance MP3 Read by Josie Charles The two men appeared in the car park at six o’clock. The sun was beginning to set, glowing behind them like a warning, but they didn’t take heed. At first, they were just faceless...
Agony MP3 Read by Harrie Dobby To the red lady on the St James omnibus – I sing of men, and of the love That slipped from my fingers Velvety pure, ever unsure I still have your glove. Please reply...
Balancing Act MP3 Read by Helen Belbin Mysteriousness to 96%. Sexual drive to 87%. Considerateness 93%. I step back while the model recalibrates. Its power light is pulsing. Outside the window, the stars are hidden by the fug. It’s the...
Hometown Debut MP3 Read by Fergus Rattigan Cian is a shiver of denim with a plastic bag of canned good times. Deckchair-striped, it gouges heavy into his fingers so they bulge white at the tips. Occasionally, some acquaintance of his...
Phantom Plane MP3 Read by Paul Clarke He hears something about a mind going south. He and his wife used to drive south, to Florida, every year. They would stay a week, visit a nearby Christmas shop, stroll along the...
You Don't Have to Read This .. Read by Martine McMenemy Dear Sir, I thought it best to contact you by mail, considering the events of this past week. You don't have to read this, of course - I'm sure...
Evidence MP3 Read by Annalie Wilson Patrick burnt himself on a hot pan on Thursday night. I heard the clatter, his shout, rushed towards the kitchen - stopped. I changed my mind and scooped Jamie up from the playpen first....
The Heart's Filthy Desire MP3 Read by Tim Larkfield The torrential rain sounds like gunfire as it clatters against the roof of the blood-coloured Austin Allegro. I wipe the condensation off the window and stare at the crumbling mansion. The...