Reward System by Jem Calder

Jem Calder’s Reward System is a set of ultra-contemporary and electrifyingly fresh fictions about a generation on the cusp, enmeshed in Zooms and lockdowns, loneliness and love.

Audacious fictions for a generation wondering: What now?

Julia has landed a fresh start at an up-and-coming city restaurant.

“Imagine that,” says her mother.

“I’m imagining.”

Her ex-boyfriend Nick is flirting with sobriety and nobody else. Did you know that adults his age are more likely to live with their parents than with a romantic partner?

Life should have started to take shape by now—but instead we’re trying on new versions of ourselves, swiping left and right, searching for a good answer to the question “What do you do?”

Story Locale: England

JEM CALDER was born in Cambridge, and lives and works in London. His first two completed stories were published in The Stinging Fly and Granta.

Author Residence: London, UK

Author Hometown: Cambridge, UK