Arvon flash course + new poems

I'm beyond thrilled to be one of the tutors for Arvon's very first course in flash fiction in August 2016! For those of you who don't know Arvon, they are an amazing organisation running 5-day residential creative writing courses at their centres in Shropshire, Devon and Yorkshire, and going on 3 of their courses over the first 10 years of my writing life changed everything for me, each time anew. I can't recommend them highly enough. Now, they are rather pricier than they used to be - £750 for a single room, £700 for shared room - but they do offer grants for those who can't afford this, saying:

"Last year we were able to help more than 90% of all writers who applied. Priority is given to first time Arvon writers. Writers can apply for any amount up to the full course fee, although most receive between £200 and £400."

The range of courses gets wider every year - not just short stories, poetry, novels, but graphic novels, songwriting, memoir etc... Check out what's on offer. If you fancy having fun with me and Dave Swann, my mutli-talented co-tutor (and our special guest, Carrie Etter) then we would love to have you!

That's all to look forward to, but in the meantime, I'm delighted to have two new prose poems in the latest issue, Issue 3, of The Lonely Crowd, a gorgeous print magazine which is stuffed full of so much good writing, it's hard to know where to start.  I've already read two stunning stories by Jenn Ashworth and Jane Roberts, am pacing myself before devouring the rest. You can read an introduction to the issue by editor John Lavin, in which he rather delightfully describes my contribution as "two playfully allusive prose poems that serve to add a dancing-light-like quality" - and can listen to me reading them here!

I also have a new poem in the Winter 2015 issue of one of my favourite lit mags, Stinging Fly, accompanied by what guest editor Billy Ramsell calls a "souterrain", a strange and creative prose piece he asked several of us to write, describing the origins of our poems.

Finally, should you be stuck for festive gifts, Bloomsbury are offering a 40-45% discount on books, including Writing Short Stories: A Writers and Artists Companion - head this way!

And there's our lovely general-relativity-inspired short story anthology too, of course >>
 

I am looking forward to 2016  - which will involve events in Hampshire, Cheltenham, Birmingham, London - as well as the launch of my poetry chapbook in Cork! I am open to other invitations, please do drop me an email.

I will also (I will, I will) be finishing my book for my PhD. Oh yes. And kicking off a few new projects which will require your involvement, funding permitting - so watch this space!

Waiting on our doormat

We just got back from holiday and here are all the goodies that were waiting on our doormat! So thrilling are they that I thought I'd give them all a shout out. So, we have...

Regular reads:

• New Scientist with its intriguing cover promising "Food for thought"
• The New Yorker, my staple weekend read, including a short story by Thomas McGuane
• Poets and Writers magazine, which I love every few months, not just for the competition deadlines but great articles about many aspects of writing
• Sentence, the annual journal of prose poetry, which I find enlightening and inspiring, sitting on the blurred boundary between prose and poetry. 

New arrivals:

• The first issue of The Liner, a brand new transatlantic and very gorgeous lit mag from both London and Los Angeles. It features a poem by Blake Morrison, among a great roster
• The first issue of Black & Blue magazine, also very good looking, and featuring a story by Angela Readman, so it's already impressing me!
• The first pamphlet in my subscription to The Cupboard Pamphlets, which publishes a pamphlet of creative prose every quarter. It's a gorgeous tiny object: Our Commutual Mea Culpa by Chanelle Benz.

Books

• Crime and Guilt by Ferdinand von Schirach - a collection of two collections of short stories by a German lawyer, bought because of Scott Pack's excellent review of one of the stories over at Me and My Big Mouth: Shorts.
• Lightning Rods by Helen DeWitt, the latest book in my subscription to And Other Stories, who supply me with fantastic literature every few months, including the stunning, Booker-longlisted, Swimming Home by Deborah Levy. I trust that this book will similarly enthrall. 
• Elsewhere, from Cargo Publishing - a volume of four collections which is  a joint production between the Scottish publisher and the fantastic McSweeneys, featuring 50 authors. Can't wait to get stuck inhere. 

 And finally, to entertain me when I need to give my eyes a rest from all this literary feasting... my new favourite find (thank you, BBC 6 Music!), Matthew E White's new album, Big Inner. So I will leave you with a treat, his song, Big Love. It's soooo good. Got to go, I've got reading to do!

Poets v Proseurs, Not the Oxford Literary Festival

Sometimes I wonder how I get so lucky. I mean, look at this amazing line-up I am honoured to be part of at tomorrow night's Poets versus Proseurs event at the wonderful Not the Oxford Literary Festival!

Penny Goring, author of The Zoom Zoom
Joe A Briggs, Oxford’s voice of punk
Sarah-Clare Conlon, editor of Quickies
David Gaffney, author of The Half-Life of Songs
Calum Kerr, organiser of National Flash Fiction Day
Amy Riley, host of Brighton Fringe’s award-winning show Grit Lit
Fay Roberts, host of Poetry Kapow, Allographic & Hammer and Tongue Cambridge
Emily Harrison, winner of the 2010 Tower Poetry Prize
Lucy Ayrton, co-host of Hammer and Tongue Oxford
Tina Sederholm, co-host of Hammer and Tongue Oxford
Anna Percy from the Stirred poetry collective
Sian Rathore, editor at Metazen
Anna Hobson, author of Tales of Unrequited Love
Paul Askew, editor of Ferment Zine
James Purcell Webster, performance editor at Sabotage Reviews
Hannah Elwick, slammer and co-prankster behind Gin-Soaked Sheets

and the fabulous Dan Holloway will be MC!

I'm one of those wavering between prose and poetry - a kind of prosette, perhaps? -  I'm going to let the audience judge for themselves what it is I'm reading, mostly from my forthcoming collection, My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions (published May 3rd, did I mention that??!).

Do come along if you're nearby! Entry is £2 all proceeds support The Albion Beatnik bookstore, which is where the event is, kicking off at 7pm. If you are on Facebook, more information here. Can't wait!

New story and some upcoming deadlines

I have a new story, The Tragedy of Tragic Men, (which was a finalist in PANK's 1001 Awesome Words Competition) published today in the February issue of the excellent PANK magazine, which just got a fabulous mention in the New York Times Style magazine's feature on literary magazines, one of the intello-chic, apparently! 

I am planning a blog post talking about the wonderful-so-far experience of working with my new publishers, Tangent Books, a small press based here in Bristol, on my new collection, but not quite ready yet - we're still choosing fonts and the illustrator is working on some ideas! (Wow, so exciting to be involved in the whole process!)

In the meantime, here are some upcoming deadlines for you...

BBC International Short Story Competition - closes Feb 27th

Open to international entrants for the first time this year, in honour of the London Olympics! Story: 8000 wds max. Prize: £15,000/£2500/8x£250. Rules: Strictly one entry per person. Open only to writers who have been previously published by an established UK publisher or an established UK magazine (no self-publishing or online publishing) Email entries allowed but must be accompanied by entry form from website. If posting entry you must send 8 copies of your work. No entry fee. Enter here.

The Binnacle Ultra Short Competition - closes March 15th

"We are looking for prose and poetry: all works should be 150 words or fewer; poetry should be sixteen lines or fewer and fewer; all works should have a narrative element." All submissions should be made via email to ummbinnacle@maine.edu. No entry fee, a minimum of $300 in cash prizes awarded. And all the finalists are published in a beautiful publication! Enter here.

Fish Flash Fiction Prize - closes March 20th

"This is an opportunity to attempt what is one of the most difficult and rewarding tasks - to create, in a tiny fragment, a completely resolved and compelling story in 300 words or less." 1st prize 1000 euros and publication in winners anthology. 9 runners-up. Entry fee 14.00 euros for first entry, 8 euros for each subsequent entry.  Enter here.

Fish Poetry Prize - closes March 30th, judged by Billy Collins!

Poems of up to 200 words. 1st prize 1000 euros, 2 prize a week at heavenly Irish writers retreat Anam Cara. Entry fee 14.00 euros for first entry, 8 euros for each subsequent entry.  Enter here.

The Bristol Short Story Prize - closes March 31st

One of the most prestigious short story comps around (yes, I am biased!) Stories up to 3000 words - can be much shorter (was won by a 300-word story a few years ago). Entry fee: £7. Prizes: £1000 + £150 Waterstones gift card/£700 + £100 Waterstones gift card/£400 + £100 Waterstones gift card. Winner and shortlisted published in the prize anthology. Enter here.

Short Fiction Short Story Competition - closes March 31st

Stories up to 5000 words. Entry fee: £10 for 2 stories and includes a copy of the next issue of the excellent SHORT Fiction lit mag. Prizes: £500 + publication, 2nd prize £100. Enter here.

Good luck to you all!

New stories and upcoming deadlines

Yes, yes, it's been a while, where does the time go! A quick few links to recently-published stories:

• Like Owls is published in SPECS, an annual print journal which is full of the weird and wonderful (my kind of thing). You can't read the prose poem online but you can watch a video of me reading it and read a short paragraph about how I came to write it.
• All Activity is Silent is published in Issue 15 of kill author, an online journal also filled with weird and wonderful. (You can also hear me reading it on the site.)
• And third for the weird and wonderful, The Watch My Father Wanted, in Metazen. Text only! These kinds of publications make me so happy, that there are others on my warped wavelength. They are full of gems, do check them out.

I've just had a story accepted by Beat the Dust, coming in November, and another by Metazen for December 8th Lovely, all lovely. To inspire - me and you! - here are some upcoming deadlines for story and poetry submissions:

Deadline Nov 30th:

The New Writer Poetry and Prose Prizes: for "fact, fiction and poetry" entry online or by post, open to all, prize fund £2500. Categories judged by Jon Pinnock (read my interview with him here), Sally Quilford (who produces a writing calendar) and Bill Greenwell.  

Whispered Words: 1000 words max: "welcomes fiction and non-fiction. We accept prose of all kinds: literary, science fiction, children’s, memoir, essay, creative non-fiction. Theme: Whispered Words," entry online, open to all, 1st prize  $1000.

Commonwealth Short Story Prize:Awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2000 – 5000 words). Submissions must be made by the author of the short story. Regional winners receive £1,000 and the overall winner receives £5,000. Entry online only, open to Commononwealth only.

Diamond Light Reading Short Story & Flash Fic Comp: Competition by UK synchotron (don't know what that is? Here's your chance to find out!): "we’re inviting you to submit a story of up to 3,000 words inspired by Diamond – the facility, the science and the people. There’s also a Flash Fiction prize for stories under 300 words. Stories can be in any genre and there is no minimum word limit. The top three writers will receive a cash prize, and these, along with those highly commended by the judges, will be published in an anthology of short stories." £500 first prize. Entry online only, open to all.

I'll stop there for the moment... got to go do some writing. Good luck to all!

Newly published + Kindle Special Offer

While I recover from and gather my thoughts - and my photographs - about the Cork Short Story Festival, here are a few new and rather nice things. It's a bit of a bumper month for me in terms of publication (a bumper year, actually  - this makes it 14 pieces published since January):

I have a poem, Moss, in the new issue of Alba, the Journal of Short Poetry. 
My prose poem, Timeless, written in memory of our lovely Cleo is published in .Cent magazine (Page 13), a stunning fashion mag which also has prose.
My short short story, Waving on the Moon, is in the latest issue of A capella Zoo, a fantastic print journal of magical realist and speculative fiction and poetry, it's well worth grabbing a copy!

I also have a few more stories and prose poems forthcoming in the next few weeks, in SPECS, kill author and Electric Velocipede. I'm immensely grateful too all these wonderful publications and encourage you to support them not just by reading what they publish but by also doing them the honour of sending them your work.

Lastly, Salt are doing a very special Kindle promotion right now which means you can purchase my collection for the Kindle for 86p or 99 cents! You can also buy books buy the Best British Short Stories, edited by Nicholas Royle, and books by the wonderful Wena Poon and David Gaffney, Luke Kennard and others... See the Salt blog for the full list. I don't have a Kindle but if I did, I would be overloading that Amazon whispernet thingy with all my downloads....

Okay, back to sorting out Cork festival photographs. In the meantime, read the blogs by Women Rule Writer, Orfhlaith Foyle, Ethel Rohan at Dark Sky Magazine and the official festival blog.

First acceptance of 2011

I had one day in December when I got 4 rejections in 24 hours. That wasn't much fun. I can handle them one by one, but that was a bit like being whacked... and then whacked again, and again! Well, 2011 is off to a better start with the first acceptance, sneaking in just before January ended: my poem, Moss, will be published in the next issue of Alba: A Journal of Short Poetry. So, my 5th published poem, what does this mean?

I've been reading the excellent Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Prose Poetry and feeling very inspired about poems that look a little like prose but aren't. Then J and I went to the TS Eliot prize shortlistees reading and I was blown away by Simon Armitage's odd and darkly humourous pieces from Seeing Stars, and Sam Willett's poems from New Light for the Old Dark (neither of whom, sadly, won). And then I bought Jo Shapcott's Costa-winning collection, Of Mutability, which is astonishing, and which suddenly taught me something about line breaks, the power of the word chosen to end a line, the word chosen to begin the next. Wow.

So I am being beautifully bombarded (by choice) on all sides by poetry, perhaps it's no surprise when sometimes that's what comes out when I write. I am remembering that as a kid it was always easy for me to makes up rhymes to impress classmates (it was the only thing I did that did impress them - my maths skills weren't really very cool). Maybe I am tapping into something that was always there? Whatever it is, I am enjoying playing around with other forms, all other forms. I am going on an Arvon Foundation course in Writing for Radio in the summer - another form that really appeals to me - and one of the tutors is Simon Armitage, so I am very excited about that! The other is Sue Roberts, executive producer for BBC Radio Drama in the North, I am really looking forward to meeting her too.

And on that note - yes, the wonderful Sarah Salway and I are teaching an Arvon Foundation course on the short story in May, and booking is now open! We'd love to meet you...!

A prose poem and some upcoming deadlines

I am now officially a writer of prose poems! My first one has just been published by the Prose Poem Project, and that's how I found out that it actually was a prose poem. Sometimes it's wise to leave the labels to other people.

I wanted to say enormous congratulations to my writer friends - online and offline - who have been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize in all three categories, short story, flash fiction and poetry. The official shortlists won't be unveiled til Oct 31st, so for the moment, you know who you are!

On that note, a few upcoming deadlines, in all three of those categories:

Opium magazine's Shya Scanlon 7-line contest, October 4th: "The rules? Write a story or prose poem that is seven lines or less (8.5" x 11" paper with 1" margins). The winning story along with runners-up — and as many as 10 finalists — will be featured in Opium11, slated for release in March 2011. (We will not accept previously published work.) Grand prize of $1,000 (or the second- and third-place prize of $100)"  The wondrous Amy Hempel is judging!


Genomics Forum Poetry competition, Oct 7th:  "Write a poem of no more than 50 lines on the theme of ‘improving the human’. First prize is £500, second prize is £200, and third prize is £100." This sounds like fun, I might even have a go, prose poems count too, don't they?

PANK magazine's 1001 Awesome Words contest - new deadline 15th October: "Any form or formlessness, 1,001 words or less. You know who you are. Now go to it. 1st Place: $650* and publication in PANK 5.2nd Place: $150 and Publication in PANK 5 ." PANK loves wierd stuff, so if that's what you write, send it in!

Sunday Times EFG Private Bank short story competition, Oct 30th:  £30,000 first prize (yes, really! that's what happens when you run a competition in partnership with a BANK). "The award aims to honour the finest writers of short stories in the UK and Ireland. It is open to authors with a previous record of publication in creative writing. Entries may be previously unpublished, or first published or scheduled for publication after 1 January 2010. All entries must be under 6,000 words and entirely original."  And... entries by POST only. They publish the longlist, so if you're eligible to enter, it's worth it. I know two of those who were longlisted so it's not all star-studded Big Names, and in fact almost all the BNs didn't get from the longlist to the shortlist, so there.

Writers Digest short story competition, Dec 1st: "We're looking for fiction that's bold, brilliant...but brief. Send us your best in 1,500 words or fewer.First Place: $3,000 and a trip to the Writer's Digest Conference in New York City Second Place: $1,500 Third Place: $500 Fourth Through Tenth Place: $100 Eleventh Through Twenty-Fifth Place: $50 gift certificate for Writer's Digest Books" Lots of prizes on offer here and "only" 1500 words to wow them with. Get your entry in early, that's my ex-judge's tip. Who knows if it helps!

That's all for now, folks. Good luck to you all!

Addendum:

Thank you to Sarah for this: Troubadour Poetry prize, deadline 15 Oct: "Poems must be in English, must each be no longer than 45 lines, must fit on one page of A4, must be the original work of the entrant and must not have been previously broadcast or published (in print or online)- shortest turnround of any major competition: poems in on/by Fri 15th Oct, winners know by Mon 22nd Nov, results by e-mail to everyone else after announcement on evening of Mon 29th Nov;- no sifters/chuckers-out, both judges read every poem;- not just £1000 top prize but 22 other prizes and the chance for every prizewinner to read at Troubadour Prize Celebration on Mon 29th Nov;- every submission, whether one poem or ten, supports our fortnightly Monday night readings in London's liveliest, longest-running and best-loved literary landmark venue, now surviving without Arts Council support and relying increasingly on poets around the country and around the world to keep literature 'live' in London."

Addendum 2: And thanks to Nuala for this: Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Prize, Dec 15th deadline."first prize of €1,000 (on 1 October 2010 approx. US$1365 or UK£850) and publication in Southword Literary Journal. If the winner comes to Cork to collect their prize in February 2011, we will lavish them with hotel accommodation, meals, drinks and VIP access to the literary stars for three days during the Cork Spring Literary Festival. There will be a second prize of €500, third prize of €250, and ten runners-up will each have their poems published in Southword and receive Southword’s standard fee of €30. The current judge is Leanne O'Sullivan, who will read each and every entry herself". This competition is being run by the Munster Literature Centre, for whom I judged the Sean O'Faolain prize, so I can vouch for them - and I can say that Leanne's poetry is absolutely breathtaking, so even if you don't enter, check her out.

In Appreciation of Swiftly-Responding Lit Mag Editors!

This morning's response to my "surprise and delight me" request was the new issue of online literary magazine Elimae. Yes, I knew it was coming, but I had forgotten it was today - so it is possible to be surprised and delighted by something that you knew about, if your memory is a little faulty! I want to take a moment to appreciate Coop Renner, Elimae's editor. There is often much grumbling between us writer-bloggers about the slothfulness of magazines' responses to our submissions. Grumbling turns into gnashing of teeth when months or even a year has passed with no response at all. Why can't they just send out an email? we wail. Just to let us know if... maybe... or a direct no. How hard can it be.

Coop Renner puts them all to shame. Not only does he send personal and gentle rejections, he replies within 48 hours, often within only a few hours. I don't know what sacrifice he has made in his life in order that he can do this, but I do know that it has elevated him to mythical status in the eyes of many of us. We feel appreciated, our needs understood, even if we are rejected and rejected and rejected again. And again.

I was one of these rejectees who felt almost apologetic, sending flash story after flash story and receiving swift but polite "This doesn't quite fit" emails. I kept on sending them, and was utterly astonished when, a few weeks ago, the prompt response was actually

"Let's do this for the May issue, which should post about the 15th of the month. It's almost a poem."

Shocked, surprised and delighted. Here it is, my almost-poem, Up Far and Everywhere (thanks Nik for the inspiration). The whole issue looks wonderful, some names I know, some I look forward to getting to know.

Submit to Elimae. Vote with your feet/short stories. Thanks, Coop.

Nothing to do with writing... or maybe it does

OK, this hasn't got much to do with the writing life - but I just watched Say Anything, that superb John Cusack film from 1989, and well the years have not diminished its greatness. What I noticed this time around was that while in some ways it's the traditional guy-meets-girl-loses-girl-gets-girl, there is something non-traditional and very real about it that makes it so watchable. The dialogue is fantastic, nothing happens quite in the way you think it will. This is apart from JC himself, of course. Or entirely because of him. Yes, this is just me trying to justify watching a John Cusack film on faux-writerly grounds! I'll stop now.

Back to the writing life, I am delighted to report that after many, many rejections I have finally succeeded in gaining acceptance into Elimae, a wonderful ELectronic LIterary MAgazine (hence the name). My very short piece, which editor Coop Renner called "almost a poem" will be in the May issue. I seem to be writing quite a lot of "almost poems", and enjoying the process. It doesn't matter what's it's called, what shelf it fits on, does it?

My psychologically-helpful Progress Bar to the right is rather static, but that's ok too. No rush. Quantity is not my driving force. I'm enjoying myself. Have a great rest of your weekend.

Source of Lit - Online and Off

I am not very well. It's been several weeks of virtual hibernation, not really going out of the house because that raises anxiety levels. It's a combination of stress and hormonal imbalance, and I am now taking stuff and seeing people who are helping, as well as helping myself by laying off the coffee (shame) and sugar (hmm...chocolate?) and, well, not doing very much. I haven't felt well enough to concentrate on any writing, although stories are forming themselves in my head so I hope something might emerge soon, but I have, as always, been reading. So, here are a few recommendations for some wonderful sources of lit I have been enjoying:
(All links open a new window so feel free to click 'em all!)

• "The Accident", a short story by Allan Reader in Memorious, an online lit journal new to me (thanks Matt Bell for the recommendation).
• "I Never Asked You", a poem by Lee Stern in Pank Magazine, another online&print lit journal I have just stumbled upon.
  
• "The Drunk as a Kind of Beautiful Wolf", a prose poem (I think!) by James Grinwis, also in Pank.
• Ninth Letter, a print journal the size of a telephone book, stunningly designed, and with wonderful writing. I can't link to any of the content here, but I highly recommend buying an issue.
• "An Unhappy Man", a six-sentence long flash story by Nik Perring published in Six Sentences.
  
• "Pump and Ladder", a short short story by Howie Good in Issue #9 of Drunk and Lonely Men
• "Cigarette Vignette", the winning short story in the Vignette Press short story contest, by Bernadette Rafferty. Now published in print as part of their Mini Shots.
  

Happy reading!

Dogzplot

In Ireland, the Frank O'Connor short story festival is drawing to a close, and it has been wonderful! Too exhausted from it all to write now.... but soon, I promise. In the meantime, a flash story/prose poem thingy of mine that I am very fond of has just been published on Dogzplot, so do head over if you have a spare 60 seconds. More soon!

My first prose poem

Birthday Cake, is up today at Ink, Sweat and Tears,
in exalted company, alongside pieces by Sarah, Vanessa and Jim Murdoch.