One of the reasons I've been so quiet here over the past few weeks is that I've been busy busy publishing lotsa lovely new books. Here is a quick update on our new short story collections, and some other news too, for good measure:

Here are the new books we've published:

'Sister Morphine' by Catherine Eisner, who is a regular contributor to Ambit Magazine. 'Sister Morphine' has been reviewed in The Age newspaper in Australia: 'Eisner has mastered the twist in the tale and her stories cascade vividly into derangement.' It's true!

'Rothko's Red' by Sue Hubbard, art critic for the Independent and New Statesman and on-sale at the Tate bookshop during the Rothko exhibition. Sue Hubbard's stories are about the lives of women, subtly linked by painting and art.

Andre Mangeot's 'A Little Javanese'; these stories take you to different corners of the world: from Paris to New York to the island of Java, with his characters facing complex situations or decisions that define the nature of what it means to be human.

'The White Road & Other Stories' by Tania Hershman: Tania is well-known throughout MySpace and the blogosphere, and is the founder and editor of The Short Review, and a number of the stories in her first collection are inspired by articles from science magazines, taking fact as their starting points and wondering what might happen if . . .?

And finally, though by no means least, 'A Scent of Cinnamon' by Charles Lambert.. Author of the highly acclaimed novel 'Little Monsters' we are delighted to have Charles join Salt's list. His collection of stories deal with life, love, loneliness, delusion, misunderstanding, death. Their settings range from the colonial outback in the late nineteenth century to contemporary city life.

And more news of the short story front: we are thrilled and delighted that two of our stories are being read out on BBC Radio 4 this week in a series entitled 'In the Bookshops Now'. Carys Davies kicked the series off yesterday with her story 'Monday's Diary' from her Salt collection Some New Ambush, and on Friday, he series concludes on Friday with 'The Way to Behave', which is the Observer's listening choice of the day: "a clever tale by Elizabeth Baines, in which a social worker takes a slow revenge on her husband's far too nice mistress. Reader Lesley Sharp invests her character with just the right amount of venom as she recalls her fateful first discovery of a blonde hair: 'a gold worm, hooked and wriggling..."

You can listen to these readings at your leisure on-line for up to a week after their broadcast: the link is here!. Do take 15 minutes out of your day, sit back with a cup of tea and a biscuit and enjoy them. Many congratulations to Carys and Elizabeth.

Salt has also launched a new on-line magazine, Horizon Review, which features poetry, short stories, translations, art, reviews . . . I've linked you to a blog article which links to the magazine as well as some of the many blog entries and articles that have been written about it over the past couple of days. It's going to come out twice a year and I'm sure you'll agree is a rich and diverse and thoroughly enjoyable addition to our website. Many congratulations to Jane Holland for pulling it together so wonderfully.

And finally, I'm off to Cork on Friday for the Frank O'Connor Festival, which I'm very excited about. I've never been to Cork before and the line-up is fantastic: 3 Salt authors (Carys Davies, Vanessa Gebbie and Tania Hershman) and a host of short story stars from around the world, discussions and workshops. I'm taking part on a panel discussion on 'The State of the Art' on the Saturday. The full programme and info on the Frank O'Connor Prize can be found here.

So, you're about up to date with our short story news, though there is loads that I've not mentioned here: authors winning pries, attending festivals, readings . . . (we try and keep the Salt Confidential blog up to date with news).

Phew!! I've exhausted myself - time for a cuppa!