My brother said that he needed to dampen down the colours in his flat. There was too much colour in there. There was too much confusion.

The colours were clashing. They were humming. First he did the walls, and then he did the skirting boards, and the ceiling.

And then the doors. Carefully, methodically, over the course of a couple of weeks, he stripped them, primed them and painted them. He painted them all - carefully, methodically.

He painted them black.' Ian Sansom, 'The Black'This anthology of specially commissioned short stories explores the weird, surreal, and dream-like, a world that is off kilter. Bringing together some of the best of Northern Ireland's literary talents along with new and exciting voices, this compelling collection is dark, funny and unsettling.

Contributors: Jo Baker, Jan Carson, Reggie Chamberlain-King, Ailsinn Clarke, Emma Devlin, Moyra Donaldson, Michelle Gallen, Carlo Gebler, John Patrick Higgins, Ian McDonald, Gerard McKeown, Bernie McGill, Ian Sansom, Sam Thompson