Contact Sheets
ByPublisher Description
Nick Randall, a war photographer, returns home and begins the quiet work of editing and making decisions.
Alone in a darkroom, he reviews contact sheets from an assignment at the front lines — thirty‑six frames at a time. Roads, faces, waiting bodies. Choices made under pressure. Moments he recorded, and moments he didn't.
As the images unfold in sequence, professional instinct collides with memory, ethics, and the lingering weight of what it means to witness suffering through a lens. The story moves not through battles or headlines, but through the intimate aftermath: the act of selecting what deserves to be seen.
Contact Sheets is a restrained, literary short story about photography, war, and the cost of observation — told in the quiet language of images, silence, and what remains after the camera is lowered.
Approximate length: 2600 words.
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesNo Reviews
About Adrian Cole
Adrian Cole writes literary fiction about the recent past and the near future.
Other books by Adrian Cole
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
