Angelita Bradney, writer
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About Angelita
Angelita Bradney is a prize-winning fiction writer living in south-east London. Her work has been published in literary magazines, three anthologies and performed on stage.
You can read many of her short stories below, including All that water must be unimaginably heavy, which won the £4000 National Memory Day short story competition in 2017. You can also find details of her unpublished novel, The Truth I Never Told You.
“Angelita’s writing is clear, cold, seemingly dispassionate, taking us to the heart of trauma and its effects on memory, leaving the reader with the spaces to wonder what we and history may also choose to forget. This is superb writing: both imaginatively rich and confidently spare in crafting.” Cathy Galvin, Director of The Word Factory, Co-Founder of The Sunday Times EFG Short Story Prize, and judge of the 2017 National Memory Day short story competition.
Novel: The Truth I Never Told You
Two estranged brothers, forced back together when their mother falls ill, must deal with a daughter’s disappearance and the secret behind their parents’ marriage.
Overview
The Truth I Never Told You is an entertaining dissection of contemporary family life, set in working-class Essex.
Four years ago, builder (and alcoholic) Mike Maitland fled his home town after a revelation upended everything he thought he knew about his childhood. Now Mike has returned, but his discovery remains an unhealed wound at the heart of the family. Mike’s repressed older brother, John, is facing a crisis of his own. Having clawed his way up the professional ladder to a senior position in the government, he is caught between his principles and his career when he discovers a case of corruption that goes all the way to Downing Street. Immersed in their own battles, no-one notices the disastrous relationship that John’s teenage daughter, Charlotte, is pursuing with her predatory violin teacher. When Charlotte goes missing, each member of the family must decide what to fight for, even if that means facing their weaknesses and deepest fears.
The Truth I Never Told You would appeal to fans of Maggie O’Farrell, Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng.
Photo by Seb Cumberbirch.
More information
Angelita started writing The Truth I Never Told You while studying for a certificate in novel writing at London's City University, and completed it on the Faber Academy 'Writing a Novel' course in 2018. As a work-in-progress, her novel was longlisted in the 2018 Flash500 novel opening competition and longlisted with honorable mention in the 2018 Retreat West first chapter competition.
Short stories and flash fiction
Angelita's short stories and flash fiction have been published in various literary magazines and anthologies. A couple of her favourites are Gap (published by Ellipsis Zine) and Is there magic here (published by The Fiction Pool).
Angelita's work has also been shortlisted and highly commended in many competitions including the Fish prize, Inktears, Retreat West, City Writes, Writers' Forum magazine and Shooter Literary Magazine. She won the 2017 National Memory Day short story competition with All that water must be unimaginably heavy.
Flash fiction published by Fictive Dream, March 2020
An alternative take on the troubling events of 2020.
Flash fiction published by Ellipsis Zine, March 2020
"Choose a pen that writes the colour of your curiosity, mark your books with your name and mine." Perhaps you once had a teacher like Miss Quinn?
Published by Inktears, August 2019. Highly commended in the 2018 Inktears short story competition
A misdemeanour committed in a seaside town has lifelong consequences.
An earlier version of this story was performed in 2015 by Liars' League NYC.
Short story published by the Cabinet of Heed, December 2018
An old recipe book forces someone to re-evaluate a painful childhood. Shortlisted in the 2018 Link Age Southwark short story competition.
Short story published in Riggwelter, September 2018
A stand-in fortune teller called Nigel has an unexpected visitor.
Flash fiction, published by The Fiction Pool, June 2018 and republished by FlashFlood, June 2019
"I take Sindy and Barbie to the woods..."
Come and Gone
Flash fiction published April 2018 in Nothing is As It Was, an anthology of short stories about climate change.
A seaside town, before and after. Longlisted for the 2017 Dorset Fiction Award, winner City Writes 2018, and selected by Retreat West for this anthology. All profits from the book go to the Earth Day Network.
Available from Amazon.
Golden Eyes
Published by Stories for Homes 2, October 2017
This story was selected for Stories for Homes 2, a wonderful anthology of fiction on the theme of 'home'. All profits from the book go to the charity Shelter.
Available from Amazon.
Creative non-fiction published by Ellipsis Zine, October 2017
"When I was young my mother told me I had family on the other side of the world."
Lobsterfest
Published by Retreat West, September 2017
Flash fiction published by FlashFlood, June 2017
"He didn't sign up for this when he swiped right."
All that water must be unimaginably heavy
Winner of the 2017 National Memory Day short story competition
The judge, Cathy Galvin, Director of The Word Factory and Co-Founder of The Sunday Times EFG Short Story Prize, commented:
“Angelita’s writing is clear, cold, seemingly dispassionate, taking us to the heart of trauma and its effects on memory, leaving the reader with the spaces to wonder what we and history may also choose to forget. This is superb writing: both imaginatively rich and confidently spare in crafting.”
You can read the story, along with the winners from the other categories, here.
Published by Litro, February 2016
A schoolgirl horror story. Shortlisted for the 2014 Fish short story prize.
Photo credits: Ramakant Sharda (Miss Quinn), Josh Withers (The Tower), Jessica Castro (Book, Kitchen, Shelf), Tom Quandt (Illumination), Wendy Aros Routman (Empty nest), Charles Deluvio (A peachy moment), Christiane Teston (Is there magic here?), Jeremy Vessey (Other Chances), Jordan Opel (Gap), Amy Humphries (Tinder), Tomas Robertson (All that water). All from Unsplash.
