Graham Tugwell is an Irish writer and performer and recipient of the College Green Literary Prize 2010. Over eighty of his short stories have been published, appearing in Anobium, The Missing Slate, The Quotable, Pyrta, Jersey Devil Press, L’Allure Des Mots and Poddle. He has lived his whole life in the village where his stories take place. He loves it with a very special kind of hate. His website is grahamtugwell.com
Begin with a scratch to the scalp, an insidious itch that won’t lessen no matter how quick or deep nails press down. With each carving stroke take white flesh away under fingernails, strips and crusts of grit and oil, crumbling like soft white chalk. The black of blood set in scab, pick that away, the crust of crème brulee, nails… Read more →