Tania Hershman

Like the creation myths they supersede, the revelations of science are seared into our collective imagination through storytelling. In this anthology, authors have worked together with scientists and historians to bring vividly to life the stories behind the 'eureka!' moments that changed the way we live, forever.

How to tell your story? "I want to talk," the Author says on page 1. The Narrator who has been assigned to assist her knows that what is needed now is permission. "Go on," says the Narrator - and a book is born. Weaving threads and following tangents, Tania Hershman's debut novel, a hybrid "fictional memoir-in-collage", tells one story and many stories: how is it to be a woman moving happily alone through the world? Who are you if not in relation to others? A woman walks through the cemetery, talking to the dead. A class of schoolgirls grapples with what anger is and might be. A baby is left by scientists in a forest. Someone claims to be your grandmother. As the Author writes her way into and through what she needs to say, the Narrator watches her develop and blossom and wonders what will happen when they reach the end. Go on.

A fascinating page-a-day collection profiling extraordinary women of all races, eras, and nationalities. Our past is full of influential women. Whether politicians, troublemakers, explorers, artists, and even the odd murderer, women have shaped society around the globe. But too often, these women have been unfairly confined to the margins of history. On This Day She: Putting Women Back into History One Day at a Time corrects this imbalance. A day-by-day collection of inspiring stories about incredible women who made history but seldom received the acknowledgement they deserved, this book introduces readers to women of all colors, eras, and nationalities. From Queen Elizabeth I to Beyoncé, Doria Shafik to Lillian Bilocca, this book gives voice both to female icons and to those whom the history books have overlooked. These women campaigned, cured, and adventured their way through life. They include musicians, painters, scientists, poets, and more. Spanning centuries, On This Day She is a record of human existence at its most authentic.

Tania Hershman's second poetry collection, Still Life With Octopus is a philosophical and poetic interrogation of the boundaries of animal and human worlds and the intimate nature of time, being and joy. A precisely observed and open-hearted gift of a book.

'A joyous and celebratory tribute to all those who battled to be heard, who fought for their achievements to be recognised and honoured, who simply kept going' Kate MosseThe tried and tested 'On This Day in History' format has elevated the stories of many people and their impact on the wider world. However, of those considered noteworthy by the Establishment, just a fraction are women. But this is not the whole story - not by half. Our past is full of influential women, many of whom have been unfairly confined to the margins of history. Politicians, troublemakers, explorers, artists, writers, scientists and even the odd murderer; these women have shaped society around the globe. From Beyoncé to Doria Shafik, Queen Elizabeth I to Lillian Bilocca, On This Day She sets out to redress this imbalance and give voice to both those already deemed female icons, alongside others whom the history books have failed to include: the good, the bad and everything in between - this is a record of human existence at its most authentic.

Tania Hershman’s debut poetry collection, Terms and Conditions, urges us to consider all the possibilities, and to read life’s small print before signing on the dotted line. These measured poems bring their stoical approach to the uncertain business of our daily lives – and ask us to consider what could happen if we were to bend or break the rules, step beyond the boundaries and challenge the narrative. In feats of imagination and leaps of probability, falling simply becomes flying, a baby sagely collects data, and even the evidence often leads us astray. In between this, Hershman’s precise poetry elegantly balances the known, unknown and unknowable matter of existence, love and happiness, weighing the atoms of each, finding just the exact words that will draw up the perfect contract of ideas.

Tania Hershman is a former science journalist turned short story phenomenon. Her previous collections, including poetry, have attracted enormous praise and attention and in SOME OF US GLOW MORE THAN OTHERS she invites us to sample what life is like at the cutting edge of technology, where the future appears to be rushing ever faster to meet our present. Whether she is writing about genetics, laboratory etiquette, art and experimentation, or the simplest molecules that make up our myriad world, all her stories exude the power of her precision prose. Ranging from poignant cameos and unlikely viewpoints to the most complex decisions humans can make, these extraordinary stories gently challenge our world view as we careen toward the unknown and ask us to assess what we wish to retain of ourselves, what to jettison, and what we hope to attain when we get there. Stories from this, her third collection, have been heard on Radio 4 and Radio 3.

Writing Short Stories: A Writers' and Artists' Companion is an essential guide to writing short fiction successfully. PART 1 explores the nature and history of the form, personal reflections by the editors, and help getting started with ideas, planning and research. PART 2 includes tips by leading short story writers, including: Alison Moore, Jane Rogers, Edith Pearlman, David Vann, Anthony Doerr, Vanessa Gebbie, Alexander MacLeod, Adam Thorpe and Elspeth Sandys. PART 3 contains practical advice - from shaping plots and exploring your characters to beating writers' block, rewriting and publishing your stories.

What links a café in Antarctica, a factory for producing electronic tracking tags and a casino where gamblers can wager their shoes? They're among the multiple venues where award-winning writer Tania Hershman sets her unique tales in this spellbinding debut collection. Fleeing from tragedy, a bereaved mother opens a cafe on the road to the South Pole. A town which has always suffered extreme cold enjoys sudden warmth. A stranger starts plaiting a young woman's hair. A rabbi comes face to face with an angel in a car park. An elderly woman explains to her young carer what pregnancy used to mean before science took over. A middle-aged housewife overcomes a fear of technology to save her best friend. A desperate childless woman resorts to extreme measures to adopt. A young man's potential is instantly snuffed out by Nature's whims. A lonely widow bakes cakes in the shape of test tubes and DNA. A number of these stories are inspired by articles from science magazines, taking fact as their starting points and wondering what might happen if . . .? In these surreal, lyrical stories, many of which are only a few pages long, Tania Hershman allows her imagination free reign, as her characters navigate through love, death, friendship, spirituality, mental illness and the havoc wreaked by the weather.

What links a café in Antarctica, a factory for producing electronic tracking tags and a casino where gamblers can wager their shoes? They're among the multiple venues where award-winning writer Tania Hershman sets her unique tales in this spellbinding debut collection. Fleeing from tragedy, a bereaved mother opens a cafe on the road to the South Pole. A town which has always suffered extreme cold enjoys sudden warmth. A stranger starts plaiting a young woman's hair. A rabbi comes face to face with an angel in a car park. An elderly woman explains to her young carer what pregnancy used to mean before science took over. A middle-aged housewife overcomes a fear of technology to save her best friend. A desperate childless woman resorts to extreme measures to adopt. A young man's potential is instantly snuffed out by Nature's whims. A lonely widow bakes cakes in the shape of test tubes and DNA. A number of these stories are inspired by articles from science magazines, taking fact as their starting points and wondering what might happen if . . .? In these surreal, lyrical stories, many of which are only a few pages long, Tania Hershman allows her imagination free reign, as her characters navigate through love, death, friendship, spirituality, mental illness and the havoc wreaked by the weather.