Whatever happened to the love letter? Has the written word lost its charm in our digitally obsessed, speed-dating age?

In this inspired and unique collection of new fiction, over forty celebrated writers explore the potency and power of a classic, yet neglected, genre: the love letter. Four Letter Word brings us work - published here for the first time - from a dazzling array of contemporary writers, including Ngozi Adichie, Margaret Atwood, Michel Faber, Geoff Dyer, Neil Gaiman, A.L. Kennedy, Audrey Niffenegger, Lionel Shriver and Leonard Cohen.