Shelley Silas was born in Calcutta and grew up in north London. Her plays include Mercy Fine (Clean Break), The Door @ B'ham Rep, Southwark Playhouse, Calcutta Kosher (Kali Theatre), Southwark Playhouse, UK tour, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Falling, The Bush Theatre (Pearson writer-in-residence 2002), Shrapnel (Steam Industry) BAC. Her plays for Radio Four include, INK, Collective Fascination, Nothing Happened (with Luke Sorba). The Sound of Silence (short-listed for an Imison Award) and Calcutta Kosher. She devised and co-wrote a series of ten short plays, The Magpie Stories, adapted Hanan al-Shaykh's novel Only in London, and co-adapted Paul Scott's The Raj Quartet (with John Harvey) and has written Molly's Story in the series Celluloid Extras. She compiled and edited an anthology of short stories, 12 Days, published by Virago. Her new play, Eating Ice Cream on Gaza Beach, for the National Youth Theatre, will be at the Soho Theatre on August to September 2008.

'On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me.....'

From a partridge in a pear tree to twelve drummers drumming, here is a collection sure to satisfy even the Scroogiest of readers. Taking the classic Christmas song as inspiration, these twelve stories offer an often mischievous and always entertaining look at the festive season.

Contributors include Val McDermid, Mike Gayle, Jake Arnott, Patrick Neate, Ben Richards, Annabel Giles, Stella Duffy and Lauren Henderson.