Flash Fiction Submissions Open for NFFD 2019

This stunning skyline from the website is by writer and artist Jeanette Sheppard

I was honoured - not to mention hugely excited - to be invited to help edit the National Flash Fiction Day anthology for 2019.

National Flash Fiction Day is currently run by exceptionally talented and successful writers, Santino Prinzi, Ingrid Jendrzejewski and Diane Simmons.

This year's theme is 'Doors', which I know will be interpreted in countless exciting ways and promises a great variety of stories.

Entries - with a maximum word count of 500 words - can be sent in now until March 15th. Please click here for all the details and your chance to have your work published!

Stroud Short Stories - new anthology

Cheltenham Literature Festival has described Stroud Short Stories as "possibly the best short story event in the south-west". And in this beautiful new anthology edited by John Holland, you can read almost sixty of the stories, all written by Gloucestershire authors. They have all been read aloud to the fantastically responsive audiences at the six most recent (always sold-out) Stroud Short Stories events. I'm really thrilled that two of my stories feature in this beautiful book.

Whether you are just starting out, or already have experience of short story writing, if you are a writer living in Gloucestershire, you have until Sunday 14th October to enter the current competition.

Ink Tears Short Story Competition

I'm so looking forward to judging the Ink Tears Short Story Competition, along with highly acclaimed writers, Melanie Whipman and Hannah Persaud. Last year the standard was greatly impressive, so I can't wait to see what 2018 will bring.

Click here for the judges' views on how to give your entry the best chance of success.

The closing date is 30th November 2018 and the first prize is a huge £1,000 - wishing everyone good luck!

A Short Affair

It is a great thrill to see 'Brad's Rooster Food', my shortlisted story from last year's Royal Academy Pin Drop competition, in A Short Affair, this beautiful hardback book published by Scribner (Simon & Schuster).

A Short Affair features in Red magazine's 'This Month's Best Books' (September issue)

The full list of authors is: Elizabeth Day, Bethan Roberts, Nikesh Shukla, Claire Fuller, Ben Okri, Anne O’Brien, A. L. Kennedy, Anna Stewart, Craig Burnett, Douglas W. Milliken, Will Self, Jarred McGinnis, Barney Walsh, Rebecca F. John, Joanna Campbell, Emily Bullock, Cherise Saywell and Lionel Shriver.

We had a wonderful time at the launch in the gorgeous life drawing room at the Royal Academy:

Here I am with Simon Oldfield, founder and artistic director of Pin Drop and Jessy Jetpacks, who created the stunning artwork which accompanied my story.

Lovely to browse in Hatchards before the event and spot A Short Affair on the shelves

I would highly recommend short story writers to enter the RA Pin Drop annual competition - I have had a wonderful experience since the shortlisting, both at the results announcement when Dame Penelope Wilton read Cherise Saywell's winning story, and then at the launch of A Short Affair. Huge thanks to everyone at Pin Drop Studio, The Royal Academy and Scribner. The book is available to buy from all usual outlets, including Amazon, priced £11.52.

Ripening

Ripening is the 2018 anthology for National Flash Fiction Day (June 16th) and for the fifth time, I have been fortunate enough to have my flash fiction entry included. The theme this year was food and my dark and creepy story is called Gingerbread.

Flashflood Journal is currently open to submissions and all the selected stories (500 words maximum) will be flooding the internet throughout June 16th. This journal has been widely viewed and hopes this time to hit the half a million mark. My story will be live at 4pm and is called Friday Night at the Gaumont, a piece I began ten years ago and have been sculpting ever since.

Stroud Short Stories May 2018

On May 20th, I was lucky enough to read again at the brilliant Stroud Short Stories event for Gloucestershire writers. Videos of the readers are on the website here.

There is a video of me reading my story, The Journey To Everywhere. on Stroud Community TV

It was fantastic to meet up with writer friends again and listen to such an entertaining variety of stories. As always, tickets quickly sold out and the audience gave the readers a warm and enthusiastic response. There is something special about reading your work aloud, particularly when the listeners laugh in all the right places!

Thank you so much to the magnificent John Holland and Ali Bacon, for reading and judging the stories, and also for working so hard to make the event such a success.

Later this year there will be a Stroud Short Stories anthology which includes the stories in every event from November 2015.

The next Stroud Short Stories event, on November 11th, will be part of the Stroud Book Festival.

24 Stories of Hope for Survivors of the Grenfell Tower Fire

All the proceeds from this beautiful anthology will help survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire.

24 Stories of Hope for Survivors of the Grenfell Tower Fire will be published by Unbound on June 14th, the anniversary of the tragedy.

After losing their homes, friends and loved ones, survivors of the fire continue to be in great need of support, not only with the obvious practicalities, but also with the devastating and long-term effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

24 Stories is available from Amazon, edited by actress Kathy Burke, and many of the authors are very well-known. The theme is community and hope for the future. (I am honoured to have my story, 'Nearly There', included.)

If you can, please give your support to this deserving cause.