From ancient curses kept alive in internet chat-rooms to malevolent children's TV characters acquiring lives of their own, Phobic shines a torch into the unlit areas of the modern subconscious and suggests the more we know, the more we realise how worried we really should be.

Twenty emerging British authors are featured in this anthology of short stories that celebrates imagination and daring in writing. The themes of these works push the limit of the traditional short story form and simultaneously offer isolated moments of truth. Characters range from world-smashing behemoths to role-playing plush toys to a man forced to reckon with a mysterious briefcase. Offering a snapshot of the next generation of British literature, this collection will amuse and astound.