The Lives of the Dead is a timeless and poignant novella that tracks one woman’s journey through the dark wood of marriage and motherhood. Told through a cleverly woven narrative that includes internet searches and reimagined fairy tales with a feminist twist, this deeply resonant and compelling story explores the agency afforded to women through themes of power, expectation and sacrifice. Skilfully crafted with language that radiates heart and yearning, Fiona McKay proves an incomparable and essential voice in fiction.
— Sara Hills, author of The Evolution of Birds (Best Short Story Collection, Saboteur Awards, 2022)

Newly married Kate is in an unequal relationship. Her husband holds a firm grip on their future, his hand literally holding tight on her wrist, causing small bruise marks – a motif through the novella. The interior focus shows Kate’s sometimes guilty struggles about motherhood and competing desires very well. The author has structured the novella brilliantly with Kate’s journey to self-realisation interspersed with re-visioned fairy tales. The fairy tales offer great depth to how the story unfolds and invite many reads to get their full impact.
— Jude Higgins, Judge Bath Novella in Flash Competition 2025

Kate lives a constrained life with her husband, John. Tracking the beginnings of their marriage and her initiation into motherhood, the text is interspersed with exquisite fairy tale re-tellings, which amplify and illuminate the ‘everyday’ story. The prose is lush and lyrical, Kate’s emotional landscape expertly rendered. An exemplary novella-in-flash from Fiona McKay, showcasing what can be achieved in the genre.
— Gearóidín Nic Cárthaigh, author of Geansaithe Móra (An Post Irish Language Fiction Book of the Year, 2024)

Paperback; 133mm x 203mm; 116pp

Release Date: 6 July 2025
To receive a 25% pre-order discount, please use the code DER25 during checkout. Pre-orders are shipped on the release date.