A new short story by Bristol writer Emily Koch, inspired by her regular swims at Horfield Leisure Centre, will air on BBC Radio 4 this May.
Lane Seven will be broadcast in the station’s Short Works slot on Friday, May 22. It follows swimmer Jack, who is unsettled when he spots his ex-girlfriend in the next lane at his local pool – despite her always claiming she was afraid of the water.
Koch, who lives in Bishopston and is currently finishing her fourth novel, said: “Twice a week I swim at Horfield Leisure Centre, and my writer’s brain goes into overdrive. There are so many people to observe and imagine stories for. I’ve been wanting to write one of them for a long time.”
This will be the first broadcast work for Emily, who is the award-winning author of three novels including Bristol-set If I Die Before I Wake.
She said: “I was commissioned by producers at BBC Radio 4 in Bristol, so this feels like a very Bristol story. We’re currently casting the actor, and I can’t wait to hear it brought to life.”
Emily is the author of three novels—If I Die Before I Wake, Keep Him Close and What July Knew. Her work has been shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association Steel Dagger, won a French crime fiction award, and selected as a Waterstones Thriller of the Month.