Radio 3!

Just a very quick blog post as I pause for a moment on my travels to say that I will be live in Gateshead tomorrow night at the BBC's Freethinking Festival, reading two newly-commissioned flash stories on the subject of editing on The Verb - in the exalted company of Don Paterson, Tony Harrison and Laura Barber of Granta. Am a little nervous... I believe the program will be streamed live on the Internet from the event, and then broadcast on Radio 3 next Friday night, Nov 9th, The Verb's regular slot. I am really looking forward to meeting the host, Ian McMillan - last time I was on, in July, I did it from a distance, from Bristol. I loved hearing him say "My Mother Was An Upright Piano" in that wonderful voice of his, can't wait for a second one! Wish me luck... 

The Verb!

I have now mustered up the courage to listen to myself on Radio 3's The Verb and didn't run screaming from the room at the sound of my voice so I think it's okay! You can hear me reading my specially-written physics-inspired flash story and then chatting to Ian McMillan about it and about flash fiction... what a thrill to hear him say the name of my new collection in his wonderfully-mellifluous voice, I want to snip that bit out and keep it!

You too can hear him - and me - online for another 5 days, by clicking here. My segment is right at the beginning and I highly recommend listening to the whole program, with Charles Ferynhough, Julia Copus and Paul Heaton, it's wonderful.

Last week was exhausting, in the best way - and real proof, if ever any is needed, that you never know on a Monday morning what might happen by the Friday night!

Upside down world

It may be seen as ridiculous to be worrying about short stories - about fiction, about the arts in general - when looters are smashing windows around England, burning down buildings. It's a scary time. I feel it's been a scary time for quite a while now. How can I ask you to sign a petition to show Radio 4 how you feel about cuts to their Afternoon Reading slots when there are cuts that deeply and tragically affect people's ability to actually live? I can't really answer that question. I can only say that just because I spend a lot of time here talking about short stories, about fiction, about writing, doesn't mean I am not also doing other things, privately, that I don't shout about, to help in other ways.

I am finding it very hard to write this blog post. All I can say is that I don't consider the Arts "trivial", a "luxury" that should be put aside, that doesn't in some way save lives too, or make lives better, or hold a mirror up to our lives to show us who we are, who that Other is whose skin we can't normally get into, whose shoes we have never worn. Yes, this is partly because it's what I strive for, it's what I do... but it's also where I get comfort, inspiration, stimulation. It's what challenges me, opens my eyes, doesn't let me rest easy, coast along. Short fiction is my choice, but of course it's not the only choice. The thing is: if the Afternoon Reading is being replaced by more news... what's next? At what point will there be no choice?

Celebrating the short story

Sometimes the world seems to be even more insane than usual. Here in my small corner, the BBC's decision to cut its short story programming to once a week, beginning in November, which is NATIONAL SHORT STORY WEEK, smacks of complete lunacy. If you are a short story lover, please add your name to the petition to show them that there are many, many who care. More resources here on National Short Story Week and read the article in today's Independent, Susie McGuire's blog post, Jonathan Pinnock's post, and Clare Wigfall's post on Booktrust.

BUT - the best thing to do in the face of the decision by one of the world's largest commissioners of short stories is to CELEBRATE the short story even harder. And one of the best ways I can think of is to tell you how amazing ShortStoryVille was this past weekend in Bristol. Organized by the Bristol Short Story Prize, it was a half-day of panel discussions and readings at the Arnolfini arts centre, with so many fabulous writers: Sarah Salway, Alison MacLeod, Janice Galloway, Stuart Evers, Helen Oyeyemi, Gareth Powell, Emma Newman, Patricia Fergusion, Sarah Hilary, and Amy Mason - and other guests -  Bidisha, Scott Pack, David Hebblethwaite and Clare Hey - talking about short stories. Here are some pictures:

Bidisha talking to Sarah Salway, Alison MacLeod and Janice Galloway

Alison reading from one of her short stories from 15 Modern Tales of Attraction

Janice reading her short story, Where you Find It

 Sarah reading from her story The Woman Downstairs

 the panel I chaired on reading short stories, with Scott, David and Clare

Joe Spurgeon chatting to Stuart and Helen

 Sarah, Gareth, Amy and me reading.

Bristol Short Story Prize winner Emily Bullock!

I did promise to write about our Reading Short Stories panel discussion but having been part of it, I am finding it hard to recall exactly what we talked about so I have to rely on others! What I do remember is Scott Pack telling us he began his reading-a-short-story-per-day Me and My Stories project because he was trying to break his fixation on reading a whole book in one go...David Hebblethwaite likes to read anything and everything and gives a story at least a page to grab him before he abandons it, whereas Clare Hey of ShortFire Press gives a story only a few sentences. 

No-one, sadly, admitted to doing a little short story dance after reading an excellent story (no, I didn't really expect them too) and also there was no difference amongst the panel when reading stories online or in print. And in response to another, excellent, question, we all gave recommendations for further reading, including: Miranda July's No-One belongs Here More Than You (Clare), Nina Allen's A Thread of Truth (David), Ryan Boudinot's The Littlest Hitler (Scott) and Anthony Doerr's Memory wall(me).

For more, visit Vanessa Gebbie's blog to read her take on the day...And don't stop celebrating the short story, despite the apparent lunacy around us!

Help Save Short Stories on BBC Radio!

Following swiftly in the footsteps of the first short story festival in Bristol, UK, ShortStoryVille, which was hugely successful - comes the distressing news that BBC Radio 4, which until recently broadcast a short story in the Afternoon Reading programme 5 days a week, which was then reduced to 3 days a week - and now will be only once a week. This is the BBC - who only a few years ago was proud to announce the BBC National Short Story Award, and on their website say:

The BBC National Short Story Award, managed in partnership with Booktrust, continues to serve as a reminder of the power of the short story and to celebrate a literary form that is proving ever more versatile in the twenty first century, enjoyed not just on the page, on air and increasingly on every sort of screen, but also in flash fiction events, short story festivals and slams. The short story has moved beyond the revival of recent years and is now experiencing a golden age.

BBC Radio 4 is the world's leading broadcaster of short stories and a staunch and long-time supporter of the form. Short stories are broadcast every week, attracting over a million listeners.

BBC- you are a "staunch and long-time supporter", don't let us down now!

The Afternoon Reading has for many many years been a showcase not just for well-known writers but for new voices - on a personal note, it was my first "big break", the first time I felt I was taken seriously as a writer, coupled with the joy of hearing my story, The White Road, (later the title story of my first book) brought so wonderfully to life. Not only that, the payment the writer receives is no paltry sum and has formed a significant part of my writerly earnings in the years since.

There are many, many writers, listeners and readers who are very concerned about this development. Writer Susie McGuire and Ian, organiser of the UK's National Short Story Week, have formulated the following:

The new Controller of Radio 4, Gwyneth Williams, will be a guest on FEEDBACK on BBC Radio 4 next week. How very timely.
Would you add your name to a letter/question to ask her?
Would you pass on this email to other writers who care about the health of the short story…?

The more of us, & the better known the writers who sign it, the more likely it is to have some effect.

If so, please find below a short, polite question, proposed by Ian of http://www.nationalshortstoryweek.org.uk

Reminder: info on her decision to cut the short story’s presence on Radio 4 outlined here  http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/07_july/10/radio4.shtml

If you’d like to add your signature, please email YES to
ian AT shortstoryweek DOT org DOT uk

& cc to me: info AT susiemaguire DOT co DOT uk

NB – It would be really helpful if you could reply within 24 hours so that the question can be lodged as soon as possible. This is by no means the *only* action interested parties can take, but it’s a start, and I hope you might add your weight to it with this (and further suggestions are welcomed)
thanks
Susie

*******************
Proposed question:
We were surprised and disappointed to learn of the decision to reduce the short story output on Radio 4 to once a week from next spring. Radio 4 has been a great champion of the short story for many years. It is one of very few places in the UK where both new and established writers can have their short stories broadcast to a large audience, and where radio listeners can enjoy readings of the short story form. This move comes at a time when interest in the short story is growing, but paid opportunities for short story writers are still scarce. Could Gwyneth Williams please explain:
1) what has led her to make this decision?
2) whether the short stories on Radio 4 extra will be new commissions or repeats of existing recordings?
3) how this decision fits with the BBC’s sponsorship of the National Short Story Award (and indeed if this will continue?)

If you are moved to do so, please take action, following the instructions outlined above. Signatories so far include:

Clare Wigfall

Sara Maitland

Philip Pullman

Nicholas Royle

Vivian French

James Robertson

Michael Holroyd

Jane Rusbridge

Dr Charles Smith

Sarah Hall

Sarah Hilary

Vanessa Gebbie

Jill Dawson

Lucinda Byatt

Maggie Gee

Sarah Sheridan (Soc of A, Scotland)

Tania Hershman (Ed, The Short Review)

Helena Nelson (publisher, Happenstance)

Morag Joss

Lola Perrin

Jules Horne

Suzanne Bellenger

Richard Beard (Nat Academy of Writing)

Ali Bacon

Nicky Parker, (Publisher, Amnesty)

Dan Powell 

Ian Cundell

Kathleen Langley

John Courtney-Grimwood

Wendy Ann Greenhalgh

Alison Wells

James Wall

K E Bergdoll

Linda Cracknell

Jonathan Pinnock (also see his FB links)

Sarah Salway

Alison MacLeod

Louis Winters

Emily Dubberly

Karen Whiteson

Griff Griffiths

Sara Schofield

Ian Macpherson

Stella Burchill

(and counting...)

Please join us!

ADDENDUM: There is now an online petition here - please sign!

Nice short story and flash news

The loveliest news is that I got a reply from Professor John Mullan in response to my email about the Culture Show's 12 New Novelists program - asking whether it might be possible to do it for short story collections (see earlier blog post). He said:

"I do sort of agree with you - at least with the idea that it would be great to do a programme on the contemporary short story. From my point of view, it rather depends on whether the BBC want me to any more such book programmes. If and when they come to me for ideas, the short story is one thing that I'll suggest. I'll let you know if it ever happens."

I think that's very positive - now we just need the BBC to step up. Am awaiting a few more email replies from those who might be able to take it further. Fingers crossed!

And on a more personal note, I just found out that I'm a semifinalist in the Vestal Review Ten Years in Flash Fiction contest and my flash story, Maneouvres, for which I have been trying to find a good home for about 2 years, will be read by the final judge, Steve Almond! There's nothing like the feeling that a writer you greatly admire will be holding your work (or staring at it on screen, of course). Lovely. Winner announced March 31st but this is a great boost, especially for an older story I had almost given up on. Congrats to my fellow semifinalists: Doug Cornett, Tessa Mellas, Greta Schuller, Ronald Jones, Cynthia Litz, Lili Flanders, Bruce Rogers, Tasha Cotter and Madhu Narayan.

Sinus update:

Half face is still slightly swollen but I was recommended Neilmed through Twitter (thank you, you know who you are!) and started using it this morning, things seem to be improving.

Short Story Collections on TV?

So, I'm at home today with bad sinus pain across one side of my face, and to take my mind off it all I watched the wonderful Culture Show episode for World Book Night about 12 debut novelists, including the excellent Jenn Ashworth. It was wonderful to watch a whole hour celebrating first-time novelists, hearing about their books, about their stories. But all the way through, that little voice in my head which is rarely satisfied kept whispering "What about debut short story collections? Where are the short stories?" Now I understand that this was a programme about novels - but the phrase "literary fiction" was used several times, and the novel is not the only form under that heading.

Several of the new novelists featured write short stories - Deborah Kaye Davies' short story collection, Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful (reviewed on the Short Review here) won Wales Book of the Year in 2009 and she is also a published poet. I think it was Evie Wyld who mentioned in her interview on the show that she wrote short stories but wrote this novel because she was told that "publishers don't want short stories". No surprise there then.

Instead of grumbling and moaning too much, I wrote a tweet on Twitter asking who would like to see a similar TV show about short story collections - and the roar of response was deafening! It really cheered me up, and fuelled by this I fired off 3 emails to people I know with BBC connections, and also to John Mullan, the host of the Culture Show episode and very well known for the Guardian Book Club. As I write this I remember that he was the person who interview short story goddess Lorrie Moore last year about her must-have Collected Stories, an event I went to and which will stick in my mind as one of my short story highlights. So I have no doubt at all that he appreciates what an amazing short story can do.

I am writing this blog because doing all this in 140-character bursts on Twitter is rather restricting, and also to canvas more opinion. There was one tweet in reply which seemed to think there was quite enough short story coverage on radio and TV but I don't think those of us who disagree are just being paranoid. What do you think? Please comment below, perhaps I might need a petition in order to get the BBC - or another TV channel (Sky Arts? Mariella?) on side, so don't hold back!