Sand Eggs

Bryony Doran won the first Hookline competition with her novel ''The China Bird''.

The Sand Eggs begins and ends in Turkey, the first story with the hope of marriage and the last after the relationship has ended. Doran leads the reader by the senses through the arc of life''s experiences in a gallery of intricately-crafted interactions.

Folklore, tales within tales within tales, the inexpressible and the humanity we share between cultures and the ages incubate in Doran''s lyrical prose. These ten short stories hatch one after the other, bringing life and death to stark, poignant moments, in which Doran delicately sketches out for us what can be exquisite and yet unbearable about being human.

(Ruby Soames)