I'm Afraid That's All We've Got Time For

A novelist questions why she's been shortlisted for the Prize of Prize's Prize; an artist duo has a messy break up; a schoolgirl is saved from a predator by a flash flood and a gang of dead animals; a surgeon has an incurable identity crisis; a budding actor can't see what's so funny; a pregnant food writer gets a craving for luxury consumerism.

These thirteen stories by writer and literary translator Jen Calleja pick apart the hidden motivations behind our desires, and the ways we seek out distraction from difficult truths. They investigate histories, power dynamics, rituals, institutions – the roles we adopt, as well as the ones we inherit.

Known for her acclaimed poetry and translations, and as a performer in numerous bands, these facets manifest in an attention to the latent ambivalence of language, and the nature of storytelling itself. This writing is direct and considered – it asks to be read, read out loud, retold, refashioned into fables with a distinctive mouthfeel.

I'm Afraid That's All We've Got Time For is a sharp, bold, inventive and prescient fictional debut from a versatile and brilliant writer.



Jen Calleja is a writer and literary translator. Her debut collection of poetry, Serious Justice (Test Centre, 2016), was shortlisted for the London Review Bookshop's Debut Poetry Collection of the Year, and her short fiction and poetry have appeared in many publications including Ambit, 3:AM, Broadly, Somesuch Stories, Hotel, Structo and the PROTOTYPE anthology, among others. She was the inaugural Translator in Residence at the British Library and was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2019 for her translation of Marion Poschmann's The Pine Islands (Serpent's Tail). She plays or has played in the bands Sauna Youth, Feature and Monotony. She was born and grew up in Shoreham-By-Sea, West Sussex, and lives in London.