Write a flash, win a picture...new online lit mag, and more...

A few interesting things that have dropped into my email Inbox recently that I wanted to pass on. Firstly, here's a lovely idea: Kenney Mencher, a painter and professor of Art History and Studio Art in California, is offering a piece of his artwork as a prize in a flash fiction competition he is running on his blog. In his email to me, he said: " I have tons of drawings and I thought it might be nice to give some away." What a wonderful prize, take a look at his artwork, it is really stunning. You have til Oct 25th to post the flash story in the comments on his blog.

Two new short-story-focussed venues: 

Launched by the University of Chichester, UK, Thresholds is "the home of the international  postgraduate short story forum" but it definitely isn't just for postgrads, it is full of wonderful interviews and articles about different aspects of the short story. For example, Thresholds will run a live online Q&A on Oct 21st with Adam Marek, author of the short story collection Instruction Manual for Swallowing, shortlisted in the inaugural Sunday Times EFG Private Bank short story award, and author of the brilliant essay in Short Circuit: A Guide to the Art of the Short Story in which he talks about the "short story gland".(This is their glorious homepage pic, by Natalie Miller. Love it.)

Out of Print is a new short story lit mag, founded by Indira Chandrasekhar who I was delighted to meet because she writes fiction and she has a Ph.D. in Biophysics! The aim of the magazine is: "We seek original writing in English or translated into English that is strong, well-crafted and reflects the pace and transition of our times. Based out of India, we view writing with a connection to the subcontinent with particular interest but are open to submissions from around the world. We encourage new writers and we encourage writing that tells a story." The first issue includes a story by the excellent Kuzhali Manickavel, and I look forward to exploring the rest of it in more detail.

Best of luck to both these ventures! And... I've just posted a post on the Science Faculty blog in which I interview PhD student Becky Jones about her time in Austria for the Roche Continents: Arts and Science program, so head over there to find out what that's about.