Fernando Sdrigotti

The Open Pen Anthology Volume Two is a collection of short stories from the last five years of Open Pen Magazine, as well as new fiction from each of the contributing authors. In keeping with the format of Volume One, Open Pen favourites have been invied to contribute microfiction pieces that serve as page breaks. Open Pen''s short fiction has been called edgy, brave, and hilarious. Paul Ewen said we are more like a shot of absinthe than a boring pint of lager, and our output has kept its tongue firmly in its cheek for over a decade, debuting many literary talents that have gone on to publish celebrated and popular titles.

At a secluded weekend home, a girl becomes entranced by the sound of the cicadas, as she grapples with the stifling summer heat, and her mother''s recent death. Overwhelmed by a sense of foreboding, a young man seeks solace in a privatised cathedral, comically navigating religious bureaucracy, economic crisis, and existential angst. A journey to scatter his grandparents'' ashes turns into a tragicomedy, as an unnamed man explores the changes in the city he left behind. A Foreign Country is the Past is the sensorial new collection from the acclaimed author of Jolts. Centering on identity and memory, viewed through a distinctive Argentine lens, these fifteen tales are a profound exploration of the spaces between places and the echoes of time.