Lots of lovely short story related stuff

First, for all of those who are concerned about submitting to Southword because I know you - this is new for me too. I've never been in this position. I only have one issue to fill - the 2nd issue of the year publishes the winner and finalists of the Sean O'Faolain competition  - so I won't be able to choose every story that I love. I will have to reject quite a lot of fantastic writing, I imagine, because it's not about the "best" it will most probably be about the ones that fit "best" together in some way. Please don't let it put you off - no, it's not anonymous, and I would love to read your work. If you want, you can always submit under a pseudonym. Really.

Email me if you have any more concerns. Let's venture into the unknown together!

Next: my article on the joys of short stories, Stopping to Smell the Miniature Roses, is in the latest issue of Bellatrista. I was delighted, as always, to be asked to tell the world why everyone should read what we all know to be wondrous creatures. If this gets just one person into short stories, it'll be worth it all!

Finally - the new issue of The Short Review Jan 2010, with an interview with the fabulous A L Kennedy, THREE books to give away, and we are the latest stop on the Short Circuit virtual book tour. Here's the blurb.

2010 sees the launch of The Short Review 2.0. What does this mean? It means we want to hear from you. Let's talk: about reviews, interviews, short stories, writing... come and join in the conversation on our new discussion forum.

This Month: From flames to madmen, ruins, relics, Indians and happy shades - reviews of debut collections by Alice Zorn, Daniel A Hoyt, Midge Raymond, Andrew McNabb and Hassan Blasim (translated into English for the first time) alongside Alice Munro's first collection from 1968, and Sherman Alexie's third collection and A L Kennedy's fifth, Tales of the DeCongested's second anthology and the Atlantis Collective's first.

And interviews with A L Kennedy, Alice Zorn, Dan Hoyt, Midge Raymond, Andrew McNabb, Hassan Blasim...

AND

Competitions: 3 very different books to give away this month: The Madman of Freedom Square by Hassan Blasim, The Body of This by Andrew McNabb, and Short Circuit: A Gudie to the Art of the Short Story, edited by Vanessa Gebbie (see below). Find out how to win>>

And On the Blog: The Short Review is delighted to be a stop on the Virtual Book Tour for Short Circuit: A Guide to the Art of the Short Story. Says Short Circuit ed Vanessa Gebbie: "On one level, a reader looks for entertainment – to be taken out of themselves for a while, by following a complicated plot. The reader who actively seeks that experience, sustained for the length of time it takes to read a novel, who then switches to read a good short story, expecting it to deliver something similar, will be disappointed. " Read the rest of the blog post here >>