UK and Irish Lit Mags List - Oct 2013

NEWS: For an updated and enhanced lit mags list (and so much more!) head over to ShortStops...>>>

 

I'm having a bit of a break from blogging for the moment so I thought I would highlight my ever-growing list of literary magazines in the UK & Ireland that want your short stories... here they are, happy reading/submitting!

 

Literary magazines in the UK &Ireland 

that publish short stories

 

Download a PDF of the list here.

Nov1st 2013 - 193 magazines (including closed.)

1. 20x20 - " a square platform for writings, visuals and cross-bred projects. Writers are invited to submit works up to 1,500 words. Please submit up to 3 written pieces or poems."
2. Two Hundred by 200: - "We welcome submissions from anyone with a creative flair including – Photographers, Designers, Illustrators, Writers, Typographers, Artists, Graffiti Writers, Makers, 3D Artists, Product Designers, Sculptors & Architects" EZINE
3. Four Thirty Three - " a new audio magazine. We'll be broadcasting and podcasting short stories of around five minutes (up to 1,000 words), written and read by some of the best contemporary writers.We're looking for edgy, engaging stories about modern life - stories which work well when read aloud." AUDIO
4. NEW A New Ulster: "Northern Ireland's newest literary and arts ezine, magazine. We hope to work closely with local writers as well as talented artists from around the world." EZINE
5. A Tale of 3 Cities: A Tale of Three Cities is the first printed arts journal to join up the points of Europe’s golden triangle: London, Paris and Berlin. Showcasing work from the best emerging – and also more established – writers and artists in each city, our first issue launched in October 2011." PRINT
6. Aesthetica - "Aesthetica engages with contemporary art, contextualising it within the larger cultural framework." PRINT
7. African Writing  - "new, unpublished work. Our natural constituency of writers and material are African or Diasporan (please interpret boldly) but we will publish any writer who writes into the African Condition (please interpret boldly). We are adventurous in our definition of Africana, but we will also publish good literature generally." PRINT
8. The Alarmist: We're after work that has to be seen or read to be understood and appreciated. If you can explain your work quite easily to your mates at a pub, then it’s probably not for us. We want funny, we want dark, we want darkly funny, we want surreal, we want experimental, we want surreally experimental, we want maniacal, we want the absurd. We like writing: poems, prose, stories, snippets, plays, letters." PRINT
9. Albedo One - " Ireland's longest-running and foremost magazine of the Fantastic. Since 1993, we have published stories of both Irish and international authors which push at the boundaries of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror." PRINT PAYING
10. AltHist "the new magazine of Historical Fiction and Alternate History. Lovers of historical fiction for too long have been denied outlets for short pieces of fiction, as the number of print and online magazines for historical short fiction is very limited compared to the popularity of fiction set in past times. Alt Hist’s mission is to provide readers with entertaining and well-written short stories with a historical setting, whether portraying actual events or events that could have happened. If you read and enjoy historical fiction, alternate history or historical fantasy then we think you will like Alt Hist.… "  EZINE
11. Ambit - "quarterly, 96 page magazine that prints original poetry, short fiction,art and reviews." PRINT, PAYING 
12. Annexe Magazine: - "We post articles and fiction online every week and we consider all work for this. The Annexe Introducing Series is published, in print, every four months. " PRINT EZINE
13. Arete Arts Tri-Quarterly - Fiction, poetry, reportage, reviews PRINT
14. Ballista speculative fiction. just published last issue PRINT
15. Banipal -  "publishing contemporary authors and poets from all over the Arab world in English translation" PRINT
16. NEW Bare Fiction: " we want your work to reach out, grab us by the hand and immerse us fully into your world from the very start. Whether it’s flash fiction of a 100 – 1000 words or short stories of up to 5000 words, we have space for it in our magazine. We will look at submissions in most genres except Erotica." PRINT
17. The Battered Suitcase - "We welcome all work that explores the human experience of any genre: literary, experimental, mainstream, speculative, paranormal, poetry, narrative non-fiction, and humor.  We don't wish to hang labels on good writing. We hope to provide a safe space for writers who've gone underappreciated because the industry has led them to believe that they don't fit a particular format.  We hold no editorial bias in regards to stories for or about individuals of any race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or planet of origin." PRINT EZINE
18. The Beat - " a showcase for new and exciting writers and artists. The site is now published on a rolling basis, so we will post any new work as and when we see fit (rather than on an issue basis that we began with)" EZINE
19. Beat the Dust "Submissions to Beat the Dust are by invitation only, with the exception of the July edition, which is open to all writers to submit. For this issue we are keen to hear from writers with ‘kiss my shades!’ attitude who 'live life in the raw, grapple with it bravely and attack it with naked fists' when they put pen to paper (quote by John Fante in Ask the Dust). Beat the Dust is about inventive, hard-hitting, intelligent, honest, emotive, thoughtprovoking writing. Of particular interest is writing that involves some kind of contradiction or breaks a rule or convention in some way… "  EZINE
20. Bewilderbliss - " a quarterly magazine published in Manchester; it’s a high-quality publication showcasing the capabilities of new writers in the area." PRINT CLOSED
21. Black and Blue: "We are looking for poetry, drama, prose & other. " PRINT
22. Black Market Review  -poetry, flash fiction, short stories EZINE
23. Black Static - horror fiction PRINT PAYING
24. Bloody Bridge Review - "publishes short literary fiction and poetry, with new material uploaded weekly. We like things that are surreal, difficult, imaginative and darkly comic in terms of content, but relatively traditional in terms of form. We're not really into experimental writing, but we might be surprised, so send it anyway."EZINE CLOSED?
25. The Bohemyth: "open for submissions of previously unpublished works of short fiction and personal essay. We are based in Dublin, Ireland – but there are no geographic restrictions for submitting. We are looking for contemporary short fiction with a literary bent. We want ideas that affect, engage, move and entertain. We want writing that is beautiful, poetic, thought-provoking, edgy, original and inspiring. We want images that linger in minds. We want words that beat out the beat of broken hearts. We want stories that seduce and savage souls." EZINE
26. Bonfire - fiction, poetry and art. closed. PRINT
27. NEW Bookanista: "the place to find author interviews, essays, new fiction, extracts, book news, diary pieces and blogs about the published word. In the coming months we will launch an occasional salon at London venues, and introduce a new strand for reviewing and discussing children’s books. New writing is at the heart of what we do, and we welcome submissions from new and established authors." EZINE
28. Bottom of the World - "fledgling literary magazine based in the UK. It seeks to show off new prose (and poetry) to an unsuspecting world" PRINT
29. BRAND - "specialize in the short form; left of field work; international writing. We publish high quality, original short stories, plays, poems, creative non-fiction." PRINT   NO LONGER ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS
30. Brittle Star - "a ‘little’ magazine which, for its size, contains a surprising variety of new work: poems, stories, interviews." PRINT
31. Burning Houses: “Short stories, poetry, essays, "art and anything else accepted as long as it reflects the modern worlds." PRINT
32. The Cadaverine - " publishes the best new poetry and prose by emerging authors under the age of 25.From urban gothic to high modernism, cyberpunk to scathing satire, science fiction to fictitious cookery," EZINE PRINT
33. Cake -  "new, exciting literary magazine based at Lancaster University, calling all fresh-baked submissions of poetry, flash fiction and more!" Subs: themixingbowl@hotmail.co.uk PRINT
34. Cambridge Literary Review - " welcomes submissions of previously unpublished poetry, short fiction, literary criticism and political commentary." PRINT NOT CURRENTLY ACCEPTING UNSOLICITED WORK
35. Carillon -"wide-ranging poetry and prose from contributors across the world, plus book reviews and a readers’ competition." PRINT PAYING subscribers only
36. Cassiopeia: "a new online creative arts and culture magazine for original writing, reviews and practical inspiration for the home and garden. We're dedicated to showcasing your talents and giving voice to your passions." EZINE CLOSED
37. Chimaera -  "verse and prose in serious and lighter vein on a range of topics. Philosophical, confessional, satirical, polemics, speculation, pastiche, essays, reviews, fiction"  EZINE ON HIATUS
38. Chapman - "publishes the best in Scottish writing" PRINT PAYING
39. Cherrypicked Hands "I prefer short stories to be short. Poems can be as long or as short as you want, as long as I like them. like poems that describe all kinds of things in all kinds of wonderful ways. I don't like experimentation for experimentation's sake - although I do like it, sometimes, for the poem's sake. Talking of prose, I like short stories that are short - say, below 2,000 words, though I might consider slightly longer pieces. I also like them to be funny, and strange. I like short stories that leave a quiet hum in my head, and that contain characters who I would like to know in Real Life"  EZINE ON HIATUS?
40. Chroma Journal -  "is published twice a year. We accept submissions from all people who identify as queer, regardless of sex and sexuality. Each issue is themed." PRINT  CLOSED
41. The Clearing: "an occasional magazine of bold new writing that seeks to explore and energise the cultures of place in the twenty-first century, adventurous in vision, experimental in form, and generous in exposition. Here you will find writing that challenges conventions of landscape and nature in order to imagine anew the world into which we have emerged... We charge our authors to go forth and find distinctive visions that startle us, rural or urban, modern or prehistoric, industrial, post-industrial, fantastical, natural, political, however they come, but each meaningful, surprising, felt: each aflame for its reader. We welcome cross-fertilisations of genre and discipline, collaboration and innovation, all of the kind that helps to open our eyes to cultures, practices and stories of places that may presently be going untold. " PRINT
42. NEW Cohorte: "Cohorte is a collective, a constantly growing group of contributors independently publishing words, pictures, music & more." EZINE
43. NEW Colony: "In fiction, we are interested in work that looks beyond the mode that has dominated Irish writing for a century - broadly, melancholy naturalism, the delicate story of minor epiphanies and subtle emotional shifts. Very nice, very nice: but give us, instead, your velocity. Give us enigma, trespass, and the glee of vandals. Disrupt and derail." EZINE PRINT
    
44. Cossmass Infinities "is a Science Fiction and Fantasy audio magazine. Our first episode was published in January 2010. We are looking for short stories, ideally, between 4000 -- 8000 words.Stories should be either Science Fiction or Fantasy, or even a blend of both. Try to avoid mediaeval-fantasy though. Previously published stories are welcome."  AUDIO PAYING CLOSED
45. Countryside Tales -" illustrated magazine in A5 format and is published quarterly...interested in any material with a countryside/rural theme." PRINT PAYING CLOSED
46. Crannog - poetry and prose PRINT
47. Crimewave -  "outstanding modern stories of crime, mystery and suspense, as well as borderline material which uses genre elements in a new way" PRINT
48. Cutaway Magazine: "We’re looking for literary fiction, genre fiction and a little that blurs the two. Mix poetry with prose, text with numbers, your shopping list with a love letter, dragons with teenage angst or just push yourself to create something dynamic..." PRINT
49. Cyphers -  Ireland's longest running literary magazine founded in 1975, publishes Irish poetry, in Irish and English, and poetry in translation, as well as some prose fiction and criticism and graphic art." PRINT
50. Dark Tales - "horror and speculative fiction",  PRINT
51. Dead Drunk Dublin: - "online literary arts magazine dedicated to attracting poets, writers and artists who are looking through the obvious"  EZINE
52. Dead Ink: "is a publisher of contemporary writing in various formats. We believe in using our online magazine and social media as forums for developing an engaged readership we can introduce our authors to. We are seeking submissions of poetry, reviews, and literary fiction. We accept full length manuscripts, proposals and stories up to 3000 words ..."EZINE
53. Dream Catcher - "a terrific mix of poetry, prose, artwork and reviews" PRINT
54. East of the Web - "is keen to provide exposure for writers by offering them a place where their work will be seen and read in a high quality, respected setting. The site receives about half a million unique page views per month"
55. The Edge - "publishes short stories of more than 2000 words (not whole novels or sequels to work published elsewhere). Many have urban themes, and/or could be described (by others) as modern and borderline gothic horror/fantasy/sf, slipstream, crime fiction or erotica; please don't send clichéd stories. Experimental work is welcome. There is always room for new names." PRINT PAYING
56. Edinburgh Review - publishes essays, short fiction, poetry and reviews aimed at an educated reading public with an interest in critical thought. Since its inception in 1802, the magazine has balanced a strong Scottish focus with a keen interest in international intellectual currents" PRINT
57. Epicentre - Epicentre is a free online literary magazine featuring mainly poetry, along with reviews, interviews, feature articles and occasional literary prose. We originate in a geographical sense from the UK Midlands, and also now the South-West, but maintain an international flavour and outlook. "  EZINE
58. ESC[zine]: "Microfiction, poetry, mixed media visuals, audio recordings, painting, drawing, illustration, photography, footnotes, asides, punctuation, typographically-based design. We publish work by people outside of the ESC team (and credit them), and we also publish our own work anonymously." EZINE
59. Far Off Places: "a brand new magazine featuring creative writing and illustration to be launched in spring 2013. Despite being based in Edinburgh, we spread our loving tentacles across Europe and indeed over the Atlantic. Our mission in life is to make you laugh, ponder, and wince. We seek stories and poems to twine into a rope thrown from a lifeboat or to build into a yellow brick road. We aim to create a stage for emerging writers to strut their stuff, both traditional and experimental." EZINE
60. First Edition - "Whether you've written a short story, poem, complete novel, or book review we want to hear from you. We run a monthly competition in each of these categories that is completely FREE to enter." PRINT CLOSED
61. Five Stop Story: "an innovative electronic publisher, specialising in short stories by new writers. Our short stories can be read in five stops on the London Underground, on our iPhone and iPad app or in our Kindle books. The mobile app and Kindle books feature short stories by new writers who have been discovered through Five Stop Story's writing competitions. For the chance to see your own story on the iPhone and iPad app and win a cash prize of £100, enter our latest competition." ELECTRONIC
62. Flash - a biannual literary magazine, publishing quality short stories and occasional articles and reviews of up to 360 words. PRINT
63. Fleeting: "Fleeting publishes exclusive short-form fiction, nonfiction and poetry by new and established writers. We like daring, lucid, erudite, amusing and infectious writing."
64. Fractured West - " seeks stories of honesty, fury, humiliation, and unusual beauty for first print issue. 500 words max...new and emerging writers particularly encouraged." PRINT. CLOSED.
65. Friction "the new online space for creative writing and non-fiction published by the Newcastle Centre for Literary Arts and edited by the students on the MA and PhD programmes in creative writing at Newcastle University. will publish work from leading writers, nationally and internationally, both established authors and first time writers. We’ll publish a selection of stories, poetry, flash fiction and other creative work that won’t easily fit into categories. "  EZINE CLOSED
66. Frogmore Papers - mostly poetry but also "prose may be experimental or traditional, but is unlikely to be accepted if it's either very experimental or very traditional." PRINT
67. Fuselit - "is looking for work that you wrought or forged using the next issue's title (a spur word) as your inspiration point."
68. Gold Dust - "exciting and original prose and poetry" PRINT
69. Granta  - "committed to discovering and publishing the finest new fiction and non-fiction from around the world" PRINT PAYING
70. Gutter magazine - "a new, high quality, printed journal for fiction and poetry from writers born or living in Scotland. The editors believe there is a need for an energetic, ambitious magazine dedicated exclusively to the best in new Scottish creative writing." PRINT
71. NEW Here Comes Everyone: "a community-led magazine that brings together creative people from our network to produce a magazine of poetry, fiction, articles and artwork based around topical current issues" EZINE
72. NEW HOAX: " HOAX is a counter-argument to commonplace ideas of what is and what is not "art" or "literature" and the notion that art and creative writing are mutually exclusive. Started in early 2012, HOAX is an independent, artist-led project with the aim of creating a space on paper to show all forms of creative, text-based works alongside each other without prejudice or predefined "rules" about the look, format, content or execution of the work. Our output is a gorgeous, free-of-charge publication featuring works by artists/writers throughout the world, with each issue curated to be strong, dynamic, interesting and innovative." PRINT EZINE
73. NEW The Honest Ulsterman: "Northern Irish literary journal. 'A Magazine of Revolution'. Est. 1968. Returning late 2013 in print & online." PRINT EZINE
74. Horizon Review - short stories and poetry EZINE SEEMS TO BE CLOSED
75. The Island Review: "an online magazine dedicated to great writing and visual art that comes from, is inspired by, celebrates or seeks to understand the extraordinary appeal of islands, as places and as metaphors. Seeking submissions of poetry, short fiction, non-fiction, photography and visual art from islanders everywhere, as well as from those whose work is influenced by islands or which explores ideas of islandness. Due to be launched in early 2013, the editors hope to provide an online home for islanders and island lovers everywhere." EZINE
76. Ink, Sweat and Tears - "webzine that explores the borderline between poetry and prose in the digital age" EZINE
77. Inkapture - " Inkapture is a new literary e-magazine, providing a medium for international writers to communicate their art to others on the largest scale – through the web. Published quarterly Inkapture aims to find creative writing of diversity and originality, to publish unique and quality work – from authors of poetry, fiction and other writing – which may have previously been overlooked. We intend to discover and explore the new voices emerging in literature today, and hope that the writing we showcase provides fresh and inspiring ways of seeing and capturing the world in literary form." EZINE
78. Inkspill magazine - " The aim of Inkspill Magazine is to publish great quality work, with a creative internal layout. Not only will it publish short stories and poetry, but articles, debate, art, readers' letters etc." PRINT EZINE
79. Inside Out - "Confessional/autobiographical prose, on any subject." PRINT CLOSED
80. The Interpreter's House - poetry and short stories   PRINT
81. Interzone - "new science fiction and fantasy short stories" PRINT PAYING
82. NEW Irish Literary Review: "Celebrating new poetry and short fiction from Ireland and around the world This quarterly online journal will launch the first edition of new work in December 2013" EZINE
83. Kerouac's Dog: " an Independently published quarterly, inspired by American writer, Jack Kerouac and the 1950s Beat generation. It's a bold and exciting platform for new writing, design, illustration, photography, architecture, fashion, and creativity in general. Bound together with overarching themes of freedom; truth; beauty; love; travel; wanderlust; sex; taboo; and fringe." PRINT SEEMS TO BE DEFUNCT
84. LabLit -  "dedicated to real laboratory culture and to the portrayal and perceptions of that culture – science, scientists and labs – in fiction," EZINE
85. The Lampeter Review: " the online magazine of the Lampeter Creative Writing Centre (part of the University of Wales, Trinity St David.) Its goal is to promote the best in new writing from published and unpublished authors alike. It features work from the students of the centre as well as an exclusive short story from its director, the internationally acclaimed playwright Dik Edwards. Submissions are welcome from absolutely everyone" PRINT
86. LauraHird.com - "Submissions of previously unpublished short stories (4,000 words max), flash fiction, poetry (send 6-8 poems at a time), film / book / music / best tunes (300 words on a favourite song) / gigs / exhibition / lit mag / chapbook reviews (send samples of previous work), interviews and articles" EZINE  NOT UPDATED SINCE 2009
87. NEW The Letters Page: "a literary journal which takes correspondence as its theme and the written letter as its primary form. Published three times a year, each issue is available as a free downloadable PDF for our readers to print at their own leisure; a limited-edition annual printed version will also be available to purchase." EZINE PRINT
88. Liars League - "monthly, themed short story reading event based in central London, where the stories are written by emerging authors, performed by professional actors, and watched by a literature-loving crowd. Winning stories are read live (and recorded for later download) every second Tuesday of the month, and then published to our website." LIVE EZINE
89. The Liberal -"invites submissions of new poetry and short fiction"  PRINT
90. Lighthouse: " new journal published three times per year to give space and support to new talent. We look to publish the best short fiction and poetry emerging from the UK writing scene." PRINT
91. The Liner: "a transatlantic magazine featuring stories, poetry, visual art, and our very own Thornkim Questionnaire, which provides insight into the minds of our contributors. We aim to feature perspectives and voices that keep the wind in our sails and scurvy at bay. We are an annual print publication with our first issue launching in spring of 2012." PRINT
92. Linnet's Wings - "We are looking for well-crafted fiction with full plots and strong characters that you own the copyright to, but do remember if the work you submit is of an adult nature, provide a warning to that effect in its title or promotional sentence we won't publish pornographic or racist based work" EZINE
93. The Literateur - "new online literary magazine featuring interviews with luminaries of the literary world, articles, reviews and exciting new creative works."EZINE 
94. Litro - "free monthly literary magazine. We publish new, original short fiction that excites us.... distributed widely near London Underground stations, in libraries, galleries, bars, cafes and other venues in the Capital and beyond" PRINT
95. The London magazine -"article and feature ideas, as well as poetry and short fiction submissions." PRINT
96. Long Story, Short: "a literary journal that publishes a short story every month, favouring tales that take their time. Longer than flash; fewer strings attached than a novel. Between 4000-9000 words." EZINE
97. The Manchester Review -  "existing only online, with new issues appearing each spring and autumn. These will often include broadcasts of new music, public debates and video pieces, as well as visual art, fiction and poetry."  EZINE
98. Matter magazine -  features the best new writing by past and present students of the university’s respected MA Writing programme alongside work by established guest writers." PRINT 
99. The Metric: "an online literary publishing project. We aim to promote literary interestingness on the web at a grassroots level. METRIC’s origins are sprung from smaller e-zines. Having emancipated ourselves from these roots, we now dream of a magazine which allows for the critical freedom of anonymity, whilst maintaining the satisfaction of individual authorship. We endorse no one identity." EZINE
100. Midnight Street -horror, science fiction, dark fantasy and slipstream EZINE 
101. NEW Miso Magazine: "MISO is always looking to support and motivate emerging talent. If you are currently studying on a Creative Writing BA, PGCert, PGDip, MA, MPhil or PhD, you are very welcome to send your work to be considered for publication. Issue One launching Feb 2014" PRINT
102. More Said Than Done: "Edinburgh-based online and print zine publishing short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and art that will knock your little woolly socks off. We will be publishing content online on a rolling basis, supplemented by a print-zine of flash-fiction, poetry and illustrations. Fiction of 2000 words or less, but the shorter the better. If it’s on the longer side we’re more likely to publish online; stories under 500 words are more likely to be in the printed zine" EZINE PRINT
103. The Moth Magazine: "The quarterly arts literature magazine features poetry, short fiction and pictures by established and up-and-coming writers and artists from Ireland and abroad. Each issue also features two interviews with such Irish luminaries as Anne Enright, Patrick McCabe, Leanne O'Sullivan, Paddy Campbell, Michael Harding and Christine Dwyer Hickey. The Moth appears in March, June, September and December.." PRINT
104. Mslexia - poetry, flash fiction, short stories.  PRINT PAYING
105. Moving Worlds - "a forum for creative work as well as criticism, literary as well as visual texts, writing in scholarly as well as more personal modes, in English and translations into English. It is open to experimentation, and represents work of different kinds and from different cultural traditions" PRINT
106. Neon (previously FourVolts)- "UK-based literary magazine, published online every quarter, and featuring the kind of imaginative, stylised poetry and prose not generally found in British magazines. We focus particularly on the new, the experimental and the strange." EZINE PAYING
107. New Walk magazine -  "We welcome letters,essays, reviews and other poetry-related features. Please contact us if you have any ideas or wish to submit. We are also looking for a small amount of short fiction and artwork." PRINT
108. New Welsh Review -  "best new writing from Wales" PRINT PAYING
109. The New Writer - "Short stories from subscribers and prizewinners only. The magazine does not consider unsolicited manuscripts but each issue contains up to four short stories from subscribers and guest writers, limited to a maximum 4,000 words on any theme and in any genre." PRINT PAYING
110. Nib: "an online magazine that showcases short literary fiction and poetry. Our primary mission is to provide a voice and a platform for brilliant emerging writers and to provide readers an equally good experience by only publishing what we believe to be exceptional short fiction and poetry. The people involved in Nib, and those who helped set it up, are based in the UK, but we’re completely open to both international writers and contributors and see ourselves as a digital publication that will attract an international audience of readers." EZINE
111. The Night Light: "The Night Light is an online magazine based in Manchester, England. We’re a disorganised cooperative publishing stories, plays, poems, essays and artwork." EZINE CLOSED
112. Notes from the Underground - Comic stories, sketches, cartoons and comic poetry, Longer short stories up to a maximum of 1800 words, Very short stories of only one or two sentences, Travel Writing and reportage, Poetry  PRINT EZINE
113. Nth Position: "a free online magazine/ezine with politics & opinion, travel writing, fiction & poetry, reviews & interviews" EZINE
114. Nutshell Magazine: Nutshell is a brilliant independent literary magazine . It’s small, sturdy, and the perfect space for poetry, short stories, interviews, illustration, art, and photography to meet and work together. Some of the work we publish comes to us unsolicited via email and some other we go looking for and commission from people we follow or find randomly browsing blogs." PRINT EZINE 
115. Oblong: " literary magazine based in Brixton, London, which publishes works of flash fiction (< 1000 words). The online edition features a new piece of writing every fortnight, or thereabouts. A 8″ x 5″ print edition is released quarterly. The first issue was released on 1st September 2012. ." PRINT EZINE
116. Open Pen: "Open Pen is London’s first ‘Open Literature’ magazine, comprised entirely by reader-submitted creative writing. Each issue’s content is decided by competition, where the submitted piece, whether prose, verse, or other type, judged by our editorial team as the most deserving is awarded first prize and top billing on our next issue. With issues published once every ten weeks, Open Pen is distributed completely free of charge to independent bookshops, libraries, university campuses and even coffee shops and bars across the capital." PRINT 
117. NEW Oubliette: " a new biannual journal, in the format of a small art book, which prints writing,photography and art from, largely unpublished, artists from across the globe. Each issue is themed around a concept linked with Oubliette and the forgotten places of the world." PRINT 
     
118. Oval Short Fiction: " a new literary magazine with a simple remit: to publish the best new short fiction available in English. We will be launching in Spring/Summer 2013 and are currently looking for excellent new stories. If you would like to submit a short story to us, please follow the guidelines below.We don’t have any other diehard restrictions on word limits, formatting or genre; we just want to receive the best short story you have." PRINT
119. Paraxis: “an online publisher of short stories. Partial to the unnerving, uncanny and fantastic. Tired of arguments about literary versus genre and genre versus literary - we just love well written imaginative fiction. Slightly sporadic in its publishing schedule.” EZINE
120. Party In Your Eye Socket: "is an independently produced anthology of quirky prose and poetry. The word limit is 300 words for prose ..." EZINE
121. Patricide  - "All interested writers and artists are invited to submit work for publication in a new journal with a first edition to be published in the first half of 2010 as a limited edition of 100 A5 perfect bound books.Work should engage with the interface between documentary practice and surrealism. Written work should be within the range of 1 to 1000 words, images may take any form suitable for reproduction in monochrome." PRINT CLOSED
122. Pen Pusher - "We are a literary magazine for those of you who are interested in words, writing, writers' lives, literary history, philosophy and the odd bit of silliness." PRINT
123. The Penniless Press -  " The eclectic North-West based magazine of poetry, prose, reviews and comment." PRINT
124. The Penny Dreadful: "a new Cork based literary magazine and is currently accepting submissions. We accept all known forms of creative writing, and several that are sadly as of yet unknown to all but our editorial staff. And we want you. Yes, even you, as wretched and forlorn as you may well be. We want you to submit to us anything that you may happen to have written that you feel is of a certain quality and standard to appear in the esteemed pages of The Penny Dreadful. So then go forth and multiply and then tell us about it in a poem or something." PRINT
125. Penumbra - "If you've got something original to say and a fresh way of saying it, we want to hear from you. What we're after: 1. short stories (up to 2,500 words) 2. poetry 3. reviews (books, theatre, music; between 500—1,500 words)." PRINT ON HIATUS
126. Planet magazine - " bi-monthly magazine covering the arts, culture and politics in Wales and beyond. In addition to features on and interviews with contemporary Welsh artists and writers, it includes political analysis, both of Welsh affairs and international issues. Several poems and one short story are published in each issue" PRINT PAYING
127. Polarity magazine - "sets out to fill a hole in the soul of today’s culture-kestrels. Sitting somewhere between McSweeney’s magazines (The Believer, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern) and that dark blend of European surrealism forefronted by Georges Bataille (Documents, Story of the Eye), Polarity aims to tickle its readers’ hearts, minds and rude bits, with a selection of visual art, poetry, prose and articles. (But no reviews. Well, we might decide to break our own rules.) Appearing three times a year, or as often as we can manage, each issue will be organised around two falsely polarised concepts, forming an artefactual expansion of the metaphorical substance of each."  PRINT CLOSED
128. The Poor Press: "We are looking for submissions of original poetry and short creative prose unrestrained by form or genre. Although we are primarily a creative literary platform, we are also open to high quality, engagingly voiced social and political writing that takes its inspiration from our current theme." PRINT EZINE
129. Popshot: Popshot is an illustrated literary magazine that publishes short stories, flash fiction, and poetry from the literary new blood. From the pavement to the pubs to the playhouses, our peculiar little planet is full of storytelling. Popshot aims to publish just a few of the more articulate and well-observed versions of these stories, illustrated by some of contemporary illustration’s finest. " PRINT
130. Prole - "Prole promotes accessible literature of high quality. Anything that we publish will be intelligent, engaging and impact the reader in a variety of ways. We want to appeal to a wide audience and reconnect a broad readership with excellent examples of poetry and short prose. Anything that sniffs of literary elitism is highly unlikely to make it through the editorial process. If it does, it's only because we won't have noticed and the piece has other areas of merit. Obscure references and highly stylised structures and forms that exist only to aggrandise the writer and appeal to the coffee lounges of our older universities are not welcome." PRINT
131. Puffin Review: "The Puffin Review wants to help writers take those first steps to begin making their name. We have no limit on subject matter. Send us your delicate haiku poems about moonlight or meaty opinion pieces on welfare reform. You are the writer, and the floor is yours. Our only rule is that we demand quality.we accept flash fiction of up to 500 words, and short stories or stand-alone novel extracts of up to 3,000 words." EZINE
132. Pulp.net - short stories - on a break right now.EZINE
133. The Pygmy Giant - "an online home for UK flash fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and pretty much anything else under 800 words. We aim to publish something new on the site approx. every other day." EZINE
134. NEW The Queen's Head: "a handpicked & illustrated menagerie of weird and eclectic short fiction, poetry, investigations & musings. We like the surreal, the sharp and thoughtful; essays, treatises, rants; vows, expletives, explicits; drawings, memoirs, stories, farce, free verse, free speech, freebees; dissections, short shorts, excerpts; real-life testimonies or identity heists; supplications, libations, adlibs, adloves, amamus, amatis, amant, et cetera; new scoops, double scoops, triple scoops, scops; hearts, brains, charcoals; letters, to the editor, to the authors, to the dregs and the dukes; of what everyone knows, of what you know we don’t; scribbles and scribbles and scribbles on napkins; apologies, apogees, well-timed apostrophes; no scrubs." PRINT
135. Random Acts of Writing - "a Highlands-based writing magazine, and we are keen to publish writers who are either based in the north of Scotland, or whose work is relevant to the area. We have a commitment to new writing and unpublished writers" PRINT CLOSED
136. Ranfurly Review - We accept fiction and poetry on almost any subject and in any genre. We will from time to time publish special genre editions, so if your work is accepted it may be held over until publication. We are looking for fiction that is engaging and thought provoking, maybe a touch humourous or a tear-jerker. Whatever it is, it must be well-written and engaging." EZINE
137. The Reader - "Poetry and short fiction accounts for 20-25% of each issue of The Reader."  PRINT and we encourage published and non-published writers to send in their work
138. The Red Line: "an online magazine publishing English Language short stories from International writers. Every major metro network seems to have a single red line cutting right through the centre of the city: London, Beijing, Moscow, Berlin, Edinburgh and Tokyo to name but a few. In this way it seemed like a universal, or at least global, symbol for anyone who lives or works in a major metropolitan area. It also seemed like a good symbol for the divisions that make our lives interesting; the battle line on a map, the line between haves and have-nots, between countries, between communities, whether they be based on religion, culture, ethnicity, gender or sexuality. It is our belief that difference, even with the resultant frictions, is a force for good." EZINE
139. Roadside Fiction: "a new realist fiction magazine with a passion for the sharp, outrageous, yet realistic story"  EZINE
140. Ronin Press Phase 47 periodical: "We choose to focus on the alternative & subversive, but we will consider all forms of writing and subject matter....up to 10,000 words a piece, any style."  EZINE PRINT CLOSED?
141. Riptide - "bi-annual anthology of new short fiction by both established and emerging writers. We are committed to providing a forum for high quality, innovative fiction, expanding the readership of the short story genre and enhancing its standing" PRINT PAYING
142. Salt magazine - "publishes poetry, short stories, essays, articles and reviews on contemporary literature and culture. The magazine appears twice yearly in April and October" EZINE CLOSED
143. Sein Und Werden - "both an on-line and in-print publication, with different content in each. Every issue is themed and though non-themed work will be accepted, I will only consider these after a decision has been made on any themed material. Bear in mind that longer stories will automatically go in the print publication, and unless otherwise specified, colour artwork will go online." PRINT EZINE
144. Sentinel Literary Quarterly: "The magazine publishes Poetry, Fiction, Drama, Essays, Interviews and Reviews. We also run quarterly writing competitions to keep the magazine free to read."PRINT EZINE
145. Shadowtrain - "a bi-monthly gathering of poems, translations, articles and other writings, from the lyrical to the innovative, whatever stings and stuns the editor." EZINE
146. Shortfire Press - "We are a digital-only publisher specialising in short stories from emerging and established writers.Everyone is busy nowadays. But there's always time for a short story. Here you'll find stories, short and sweet, which you can buy one by one. That means you can discover new writers and new stories and read them in the time it takes you to get to work, wait for a friend in a bar, or in any spare moment you have to yourself.We're looking for great literary/upmarket fiction which is plot-driven, has an original voice and is fresh and vibrant. Word counts should be from 2,500 words to 15,000 but every one of those words must count - no flab, please." EZINE  PAYING
147. SHORT Fiction - "If you want to know what kind of fiction to submit, we direct you to see our first issue... which is another way of saying, we like exceptionally well-crafted stories and form-breaking fiction which has narrative drive and dynamic tension." PRINT PAYING
148. Short Fuse - "one of Sussex’s best short fiction nights. Writers of short stories can showcase their work at our live lit nights which take place monthly at Komedia’s Studio Bar in Brighton and at The Rooms Cafe Bar in St Leonards/Hastings"  LIVE
149. NEW The Simple Things: "The Simple Things is published thirteen times a year and celebrates the things that matter most. It publishes a short story per issue. Writers can email thesimplethings@futurenet.com for sub guidelines." PRINT PAYING
150. Smoke: A London Peculiar - " a 52-page magazine of words and images inspired by the city" ON SABBATICAL PRINT 
151. Some Ways to Disappear  - "A biannual publication of new Photography and Literature." PRINT CLOSED
152. Solander  - "published twice yearly, in May and November, interviews, articles, short fiction and comment - the only such magazine in the world for enthusiasts of historical fiction." PRINT PAYING CLOSED
153. Southpaw Journal - " a quarterly independent journal dedicated to showcasing short fiction contributions from unpublished writers. Looking for short, gritty, punchy entries. Based in reality. Originality, verve and substance are the key words." EZINE CLOSED
154. The South Circular: "a quarterly e-journal of short stories which can be read on PCs, tablets and smart-phones and is downloaded directly from our website
155. Southword Journal - "a literary journal featuring poems, fiction and reviews and published biannually by the Munster Literature Centre" EZINE PAYING
156. Sparks - "A flash-fiction evening in Brighton. Stories are accompanied by a commissioned photo, projected behind the author as they read." LIVE
157. Spilt Milk Mag - "Nothing delights us more than discovering an orgy of words woven together in such a way that we're left aching to lay them out on a dirty floor and roll around like frenzied gerbils." PRINT  EZINE CLOSED
158. Spokes - "welcomes poetry, short fictional prose and images of all kinds - with a particular interest in the culturally engaged and the fantastic. Spokes is 'published' twice yearly." EZINE NOT UPDATED SINCE 2012
159. Stand magazine -  "quarterly literary magazine established in 1952. Jon Silkin founded Stand as "an attempt to remedy the intellectual situation of reader and poet" in response to our need for "something more human . . . for art and a public which is prepared to be receptive" where the art in Stand is "what is simple in expression and human in its context; for the chances that the compound will be profound and worth reading are reasonable." PRINT
160. Staple - a magazine of poetry, short fiction, articles, reviews and images published three times each year. PRINT CLOSED
161. Stinging fly - "welcomes submissions from Irish and international writers. We are looking for writers who have something to say, and who have taken the time to say it well. We publish poetry and short stories." PRINT PAYING
162. NEW Storgy "a collaborative enterprise created to share the beauty of the short story. Consisting of a core group of emerging writers, STORGY aims to actively include the reader in the writing process and enable them to become a catalyst for creation." EZINE
163. Stories With Pictures: - "We believe that stories with pictures aren’t just for kids. We believe that stories look great when they’re published online. And we believe that online is the perfect place for writers and artists to meet, get inspired by each other and work together. We created Stories with Pictures to make all this happen in one place. Artists can send us a picture and have a writer create a story inspired by it. Writers can send us a story and have an artist create a picture inspired by it. We publish them together. Readers and art-lovers can enjoy free illustrated flash-fiction stories online."  EZINE
164. Strange BOUnce: "a ‘strange’ brew of fiction, satire and verse, with a dash of sport, all coming from a group of writers who want to bOUnce to a different beat. We make it up as we go...." EZINE
165. Stride magazine - "gathering of new poetry, prose poems, articles and reviews (or whatever takes our fancy), Stride is regularly updated with new contributions. Enjoy your visit." EZINE
166. Streetcake magazine - " the magazine for innovative, visual and experimental writing " EZINE
167. Structo - "a fiction and poetry magazine, containing original work as well as features on, interviews with, and essays by some of the most interesting writers from all sorts of fields." EZINE PRINT
168. The Subterranean Literary Journal - "The journal aims to be a timeless tribute to the written word, avoiding the fleeting moments of trends and fashion, remaining date-less with each issue numbered as it is created. It explores humanity and the lives of people the world over, through fiction and non-fictional stories. Each issue is handmade and put together by the subterranean literary journal."  PRINT EZINE CLOSED
169. Succor - "the UK’s most exciting journal of new fiction, poetry and art. We have editors in London, Manchester, Brighton, Exeter and Dublin who are committed to seeking out and publishing the very best new writing. We habitually set a title for upcoming issues, which we then ask contributors to respond to in their work." PRINT CLOSED
170. NEW Synaesthesia Magazine: "Online literary magazine dedicated to publishing prose, poetry and art, and embracing words for all their beauty, timbre & colour." EZINE
171. Tales of the DeCongested & DeCongested Tales - "monthly evening of live fiction, run monthly at The Wheatsheaf on Rathbone Place & monthly magazine. Sixty pages of new writing - featuring stories from our live events as well as other contributed writing." LIVE PRINT
172. Tears in the Fence  - "an independent literary journal, open to a wide variety of critically aware voices and perspectives. We are an international magazine and have editorial bases in England, France, Australia and USA. We publish poetry, fiction, translations, reviews and essays by known and developing writers from around the world." PRINT
173. Teller: "a magazine of stories. Stories told in pictures, in words, in both; short sharp stories, ‘so I once heard this story’ stories, stories of pure invention and stories that might just be true. "  PRINT EZINE
174. Test Centre: "engineers and facilitates the transmission of the written and spoken word. Established in 2011, it is committed to the publication of new work in tangible forms. By generating a network of correspondence, Test Centre documents and circulates the output of an emerging literary scene. Test Centre launched with a series of spoken word LPs, beginning with Iain Sinclair's Stone Tape Shuffle in March 2012, and with records from Chris Petit, Stewart Home and Tom McCarth forthcoming. Our first publication, Test Centre One, followed in July 2012. "  PRINT AUDIO LIVE
175. Theurgy Magazine: "a new journal specialising in speculative fiction, fantasy, and science fiction. We are presently seeking prose, short story, and poetry submissions for our premier issue." PRINT EZINE
176. Tomlit Quarterly -  "a home for writing, art and friends. We set up to give us somewhere to display the work we believe in by people we love. If you're not our friend yet, please get in touch because I'm sure it'd be great to meet you. We publish a range of Short Fiction, Poetry and Features from experienced writers and beginners alike" CLOSED. EZINE
177. Trespass magazine - "classy, beautifully designed magazine packed with the most dangerous and exciting poetry, art, short fiction and music." PRINT
178. Under the Radar: "Nine Arches Press' flagship poetry magazine. It is a lively mix of the best up-and-coming and established poets and writers, as well as reviews and articles. It promises what we like to think of as 'serious frivolity' - serious about poetry, with an undeniable whiff of joie de vivre.Because of the increasing high-standard of work submitted to us, and because we've aimed for some time now to be able to include more short stories, reviews and articles in each issue, we are taking Under the Radar up to the next level."  PRINT
179. Universe Magazine: "a new biannual arts and writing science fiction publication. Our content revolves around a changing ‘theme’ established within each independent issue." PRINT
180. The View from Here - "a print and on-line literary magazine with author interviews, book reviews, original fiction & poetry and articles. We exist to provide an environment for authors and poets to feel connected and inspired and to showcase new talent. We showcase the weird, unusual, thought provoking and occasionally bizarre. We classify ourselves as "Bohemian Eclectic" PRINT EZINE
181. Vintage Script: "Have you got a passion for retro fashion, the Victorians maybe, or even medieval architecture? Or have you been researching your family tree and have found some skeletons in the closet you’d like to share with us? Maybe you have lived through an interesting period in history and can tell us your memories? We are looking for short stories and articles that are original and well-written, and must be on an historical theme. Short stories and longer articles should be no longer than 2,000 words." PRINT
182. The Warwick Review - fiction & poetry PRINT PAYING
183. Wasifiri- "a literary magazine primarily concerned with new and postcolonial writers, it continues to stress the diversity and range of black and diasporic writers world-wide." PRINT
184. What the Dickens? Magazine: "...flash fiction, poetry, short stories, non-fiction articles, photography, fun and games, jokes, artwork and anything else of a literary nature on a particular theme..." EZINE
185. White Chimney - "A4, 32 page and full colour journal, was established to promote the work of both published and unpublished poets, short story writers, playwrights and artists, internationally" PRINT CLOSED
186. The White Review "quarterly arts, culture and politics magazine, published in print and online, and established on a non-profit economic model. The website is updated with new, usually web-only content several times each week....Edited, designed and defined by an emergent generation of London-based writers and artists, the magazine is creating a space for a new generation to express itself unconstrained by form, subject or genre.Writers wishing to submit fiction and poetry should make it clear whether they wish to be considered for print or web, or both. "PRINT  EZINE
187. NEW Word Bohemia:"  a webzine for poetry, prose and screen, aimed at new and established writers. Our name conjures images of artistic freedom from convention, writing with no pre-conceived formula, rules or conventions, the sense of freedom of spirit - like when we first put pen to paper." EZINE
     
188. Wordlegs: "was thought up to offer literature to younger Irish readers by young and emerging writers. This website offers high standard short stories, poetry and other forms to an audience that is discovering literature in a new format – online. Though we do accept work from all writers, it is accepted in the interest of targeting Millennial readers." EZINE
189. Words with JAM: "a FREE online magazine for writers and readers who like words that stick." PRINT EZINE
190. Writers Hub -  "The Birkbeck Writers’ Hub accepts submissions of poetry, fiction and non fiction four times a year. For fiction and non-fiction we accept submissions up to 5,000 words and poetry up to five poems. We publish work under the creative commons licence and would prefer to receive work that is not published or under consideration elsewhere" EZINE
191. Wufniks -  "Submissions can be:  - Short stories. - Miscellany. - Poetry?” PRINT
192. Wyvern magazine - "specifically designed for the readers and writers of teen and young adult fiction.  The magazine is packed full with author interviews, how to articles, teen fiction, short stories, features of artists, and news from our readers and authors at Wyvern" EZINE
193. The Yellow Room - "aims to be the best literary short-story magazine around for women by women" PRINT PAYING

Quantum Shorts Open for Entries

I'm delighted to be one of the judges for this competition for quantum-physics-inspired flash fiction! Here are the details:

Are you ready for the Quantum Shorts flash fiction competition?

Quantum physics is a crazy theory but every experiment done so far backs it up: the world really is a crazy place. Particles can be in more than one place at the same time and quantum computers really could solve in a flash problems that make today’s supercomputers stumble. Even teleportation isn’t science fiction. But fiction is what we’re looking for. After last year’s Quantum Shorts film competition drew some fantastic short films, this year we want stories.

We challenge you to take inspiration from quantum theory to write flash fiction: a short story no longer than 1000 words. Don’t think you have to make it full of explano-babble, weird science or quantum powered-gadgets: as long as it is engaging, and clearly linked to some aspect of the quantum world, we’d love to read your entry. To help, we’ve suggested some themes and styles you might want to explore - visit our inspiration pages to learn more. You have until 23:59 EST on 1 December 2013 to enter.

Find out more here >>

Julie Maclean Tells Us Where She Is

One of the wonderful things about going on writing courses (and teaching them) is meeting new writerly people, and Julie Maclean - an ex-Bristolian so long ago relocated somewhere in Australia near the sea (no, geography was never my strong point) that she sounds fully Aussie - and I hit it off on our first evening as we became giggling teenagers in the face of demands to write serious poetry. Serious? Poetry?

Julie's debut poetry collection

I'm delighted to welcome Julie to the blog to answer my infamous Writing&Place questionnaire in honour of the publication of her first book, a poetry collection, When I Saw Jimi, freshly published by Indigo Dreams. These poems, says Julie, are about growing up in Bristol, and seeing Jimi Hendrix live. Here is a sample of her wonderful work.


Lost Days and Barbie Dolls

Filaments on a stamen, autumn comes soft
to my garden  Pumpkin flowers flare like
nostrils on the velvet pony I always wanted
I think of a tilting crinoline, sails of a sinking
pirate ship, the woman jumping
off  Brunel’s Bridge in a past century
Dad brought home pink silk, a parachute
from the war.  I dressed a Barbie doll
in a Fifties skirt cut roughly round a saucer.
To fit the hourglass it split stretching over
silicone breasts.  Tottering in micro stilettos,
ankles snapped in rehearsal   Cinderella lipstick bled.
Dog rose grew in the hedgerow then.  We plucked
the petals one by one.  The stigma left a stain.
Blood, the finger pricked, the blood.
Grassy breath of horse and boy; the mane I held.


And here are Julie's answers to my questions:

Tania: Where are you? 
Julie: Good question. In front of an open fire with a glass of wine pondering the last five weeks. It's winter here in Australia and about the same temperature as England midsummer. I know this having returned from there in the last two days. I go back to England every year to visit my mother in Bath and this time I launched my debut collection of poetry. When I saw Jimi, a retrospective of growing up in England in the Swinging Sixties,hence the title, which refers to the time I went to the Colston Hall in Bristol to see the great man.

Julie sits in front of this fireplace
and watches Mad Men,

 drinking a glass of Aussie wine.

   The publication of the book came about as the prize for winning the inaugural Geoff Stevens Poetry Prize. He was an irreverent Black Country poet and the launch was held in a fabulous little theatre in the outskirts of Birmingham where their next production is Calendar Girls and yes, the local gals will be baring all behind plastic sunflowers for the locals.
   In 2012 I'd been shortlisted for the Crashaw Prize (Salt) which really seemed to kick things off. Friends have been so excited for me and I have received congratulations all over the place, but I have to say that getting to the stage of having a book published has been a rough ride. Thrills, anticipation, satisfaction, fear, rejection, angst and hard work are the costs. Having just written that makes me realise that the experience of writing and being published has made me feel acutely alive and akin to having given birth. And what now?

T: How long have you been there? 
J: I've been in front of the open fire for two hours and in Australia for 35 years.

Julie grows veggies in the back garden.

Getting this book out was for me a coming home. Born in Bristol after the war I found myself writing about my past more and more. I felt the need to get this down as a journal, a way of diarising my life. Initially, I thought it was to be a legacy for my only son, but now realise it is about leaving a mark, leaving something behind like a garden or a scent on a lamp post. I really wish I could be a proper Buddhist and not feel this base need to tell the world, maybe later.

T: What do you write?
J: Lists, notes, poems, fiction (anything from 50-35,000 words), creative non fiction. I try to avoid the academic essay. The demand for quotes, references and bibliographies sucks the life out of me. There are several projects on the go. A full collection of poetry on the dark side of the Aussie outback. Not an original response but a new voice, I hope. I have a chapbook ready to go with a snowy, Scandi feel. There is also a collection of short fiction and a novella that needs tweaking. I find I write sad, quirk, irony, sex and death. No different to every other writer.

Julie can see this pond from her writing room.

T: How do you think where you are affects what you write about and how you write?
J:Travel is a great stimulus and trigger for my writing. I love to feel the spirit of a place. Last year I was on a study tour in Scandinavia. It seemed so clean and well behaved it bordered on the boring so I wrote about the Neo Nazis, the neutral tones of the well behaved and the confusion and anger that the influx of refugees is creating. I loved looking for the Noir in this snow and strawberry landscape. And I found it in spades. Heartbreak is always brilliant for writing and I love nothing more than writing from a melancholy place with that little dig of irony if I can squeeze it in.


Thank you, Julie, for such enlightening and inspiring answers - having spent a week with you, I don't find it surprising that you chose to write about Neo Nazis! You can find out more about Julie and her writings on her website and buy When I Saw Jimi at Indigo Dreams or the Book Depository.

Two new stories

It's always immensely exciting when my stories find wonderful homes, and two of them have in the past few weeks - first, Also Tends, an astronomy-inspired flash story, in the excellent The View From Here. The second, There Was No Boat - a story that has taken 4 years to find a good home - is published today in the fabulous Tin House as part of their Flash Friday series! This thrill never wears off, it truly never does.

Lit Works First Page Writing Prize

Delighted to be involved in this:

We're accepting submissions! 

We’re accepting entries for the Literature Works First Page Writing Prize. We are seeking superb opening pages of unpublished novels (and a 150 word synopsis) from promising writers around the country. We’re looking for openings of a novel that make us want to read on, for that compelling first page of a novel that captures the imagination! Proceeds will support our Grassroots Literature fund, providing small grants for reading and writing activity across South West England. Please read our competition documents for submission guidelines and rules.

The Prizes
1st Prize – £1500 and a free reading of the first three chapters of the entry by a literary agent, who will provide an A4 single-page feedback on the submission
 2nd Prize – £350

 3rd Prize – £150

To Enter
Please read our guidelines sheet carefully. All entries should be accompanied by a completed cover sheet.

 Please send entries to: Literature Works First Page Writing Prize, Peninsula Arts, Plymouth University, Roland Levinsky Building, Drake’s Circus, PLYMOUTH, PL4 8AA The entry fee is £5, payable in pounds sterling, for first entry; £3 thereafter for subsequent entries. The closing date for the competition is 30 September 2013.

The Judges

Sarah Duncan is a novelist and screenwriter whose most recent novel, Kissing Mr Wrong, was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year. Her novels are published in fourteen countries around the world including the USA, France and Germany. Sarah is the Royal Literary Fund fellow at the University of Bath and has taught the Fiction Writing Workshop for the University of Bristol for the past eight years. Find out more at www.sarahduncan.co.uk

 Tania Hershman likes it short, very short. Her new collection, My Mother Was An Upright Piano (Tangent Books, 2012) contains 56 tiny fictions, and her work has been published widely in print and online and broadcast on BBC Radio. She is writer-in-residence in the Science Faculty at Bristol University and editor of The Short Review. Find out more at www.taniahershman.com

Christopher Wakling’s six acclaimed novels include What I Did, The Devil’s Mask, and On Cape Three Points. Born in 1970, he read English at Oxford, then worked as a farm hand, teacher and lawyer, before turning to writing full time in 2001. As well as writing fiction, Christopher is a travel writer for The Independent. He is also the Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Bristol University and has tutored many creative writing courses for The Arvon Foundation, The Faber Academy, and Curtis Brown Creative.

The Agent

Clare Wallace joined the Darley Anderson Agency in January 2011. As the Head of Rights, she negotiates deals for translation rights all around the world for all the Agency’s authors. Clare represents authors both in the UK and the US including Kim Slater, Polly Ho-Yen, Adam Perrott and illustrators Jon Holder, Loretta Schauer and Pete Williamson. Clare graduated with a first from a BA in Creative Writing and Cultural Studies at Bath Spa University and went on to gain a distinction on the MA in Creative Writing.

Click here for more information.

National Flash Fiction Day June 22nd - Bristol and Beyond!

I wanted to let you know about a few things going on for this year's National Flash Fiction Day on Saturday June 22nd. First, to start with the question of what flash fiction is or might be, check out this wonderful article by Michelle Elvy in Awkword Papercut, with quotes from various writers, including me.

Then on to the day itself. Here in Bristol we have an afternoon of workshops (run by Yours Truly and by Calum Kerr, the brains behind NFFD!) and then an evening of readings by truly wonderful writers from Bristol, Oxford, Reading, Brighton and further! Here are the flyers:

Facebook workshop event page & Eventbrite event booking page

and

Facebook evening event page & Eventbrite Evening Booking page

If you simply can't make it to Bristol to join in the fun, then how about this, which you can join in with from the comfort of your blog?

FLASH MOB 2013 

The International Flash Fiction Day Blog Carnival and Competition

Deadline June 10th

 To enter, post a previously unpublished work of flash fiction (max 300 words, excluding title) on your own personal blog. Then: send the link to the story, the story text, a photo of yourself and a brief bio–all in the body of the email–to FLASH MOB 2013 (flashmobjune22@gmail.com) by June 10. 

See The Contest Rules for complete information on how to enter. There is no fee to enter the competition. 

 * The Judges 

The competition will be judged by an international panel that includes Robert Vaughan (USA), Leah McMenamin (New Zealand), Marcus Speh (Germany) and Nuala Ni Chonchúir (Ireland). See the Judges page for more. 

* The Organizers 

The organizers represent various points on the globe, and work across timezones and font styles to bring this flash mob event to you. Christopher Allen does all that he does from Munich, Germany but edits for the daily literary ezine Metazen, which is actually run from Canada. Linda Simoni-Wastila resides in greater Baltimore, Maryland where she writes, professes, mothers, and gives a damn, and in her spare time serves as Senior Fiction Editor of JMWW. Michelle Elvy comes to us from New Zealand as editor of Flash Frontier: An Adventure in Short Fiction and Blue Five Notebook, though her latitude and longitude change daily these days.

So now there's no excuse for not flashing....!

What Lies Beneath What Lies Within

I am delighted to welcome Tom Vowler back to the blog today. Tom is another of my immensely talented writer mates, and he was here a few years ago when his first book, the short story collection The Method, was published (Salt), talking about writing & place. Tom's second book, What Lies Within, a novel, was recently published by Headline, an enormously intriguing and powerful book, a very moving meditation on family, trauma and pain, with a very interesting structure. Here is a little about Tom:

Tom Vowler’s debut short story collection, The Method, won the international Scott Prize in 2010 and the Edge Hill Readers’ Award in 2011. Now an associate lecturer at Plymouth University, his debut novel What Lies Within was published in April 2013. Tom is also Assistant Editor for the literary journal Short FICTION. In 2008 he graduated with an MA in Creative Writing and is now studying for a PhD, looking at landscape and trauma in fiction. More at www.tomvowler.co.uk

Here is the wonderful book trailer for What Lies Within:


I decided to chat to Tom about something I've been thinking about for a while: where do we writers get permission from in our writing? I blogged about this here. Tom gave us some insight into his writing and his novel in particular:

Tania: So, I'd like to carry on the discussion I was having on my blog about permissions - who or what has given or gives you permission in your writing, and especially to do what you've done in the novel, which has such an interesting structure? Other writers, teachers, other people's books/stories/poems, other art forms? 

Tom: Hi Tania. Thank you for having me at your aesthetically gorgeous blog. Your question is a wonderfully refreshing one, worthy of pause and consideration. Focusing on my novel, the concept of permission is, as you’ve discussed below, related to a sense of risk, and in my case this resides particularly in the decision to narrate almost all the book from a female perspective. Firstly, there was the question of whether I could pull this off, capture fully the nuance of voice and behaviour across 300 pages. But also, as you’ve reminded me, I thought long and hard about the right (permission if you like) to do so. Of course as writers we frequently inhabit characters who are wildly disparate to ourselves; why should a switch in gender be any different? I suppose because I needed Anna (the main character of What Lies Within) to carry the heft of the entire book, its themes and motifs, the pace and narrative all had to emerge from her, including several aspects of life my own gender preclude me from. Fortunately I have several good female friends who were happy to share the vagaries of their lives, from seismic happenings such as childbirth to the more mundane aspects. And yet it was Anna’s inner world, understanding her reaction to the beautiful and terrifying things that happen to her that proved hardest.

As for permission, this was a question I had already resolved before the first draft. Most of my fiction emerges from a single event, often a piece of news that both appals and fascinates me. This becomes the book’s fulcrum, the driving force for its story and characters. And so without offering spoilers, once I’d found my subject matter (or it me), I had little choice. Hardly permission, but then I realised the fact I’d found great abhorrence with Anna’s terrible situation and its subsequent contrails, left me feeling I would tell her story with sympathy and respect. Likewise during the research for the novel, hearing the terrible things some women had to endure instilled in me a fierce desire to get it right, to respect not just my characters and readers, but these wonderfully brave women also.

 As for permission to write in its wider context, my hand was forced a little by a long illness that saw me unable to do little else. I worked as a journalist, and although my love affair with books was late to blossom, I soon realised the dark art of storytelling was for me. Permission at that time was more closely aligned with inspiration, and I was desperate to mimic the impact certain fiction was having on me in my own work. So whereas richly lyrical prose, compelling characters and concept-driven stories were important to me, I quickly became interested in the tone and texture of the novel, one of the main reasons I set the book on the uplands of Dartmoor. In this sense the brooding, menacing landscape became a character itself, alive and capricious, the reader investing every much in the tors and valleys of the place as the people of the book. As you mention, the novel’s structure carries its own risk as well, but it too was driven by my research and the need to tell Anna’s story fully and with compassion. But then it’s one of the first things I tell my students – to take risks. Learn from what’s gone before, understand why it works, but do it differently. To borrow some words for a change: risk nothing, risk everything.

 As for other writers who give me permission to take such risks, I think this occurs, for me anyway, on a subconscious level, or at least a level that sits just below the surface during composition. I love much of what Julian Barnes and Sebastian Faulks have done in this regard - especially the deployment of unreliable narrators in their recent work - but with such impressive oeuvres behind them, I imagine it feels less like risk-taking to them. Two books that have had an astonishing impact on me recently for their linguistic and emotive brilliance are Sarah Hall's short story collection The Beautiful Indifference and J.A. Baker's memoir The Peregrine, the latter hugely influential on the novel I'm currently writing. Permission here, I find, is bestowed on an emotional level by the feelings aroused in me when reading them. This is not restricted to books, though; my own sense of aesthetics comes as much from film (for example the work of Mexican director Iñárritu) as it does from the literary forms.
 

Thank you so much, Tom, I find all that you've talked about to be really fascinating additions to this ongoing discussion about permission and risk. And the "risks" you took most definitely paid off here! I highly recommend you all get your hands on both What Lies Within and The Method, both of which you can find more about on Tom's website. But wait! Tom has very kindly offered a free copy of What Lies Within to one of you, my lovely blog readers. So, if you'd like to win a copy, leave a comment and tell me and Tom what's given you permission - in any way at all - recently, and that way we can extend this discussion and Tom will pick someone out of the proverbial hat. Thank you for stopping by, Tom!

Aloneness and Loneliness

Isn't it fascinating when everything you read seems to connect together even though chosen - apparently - at random? I am having one of those days, and wanted to share with you three things I watched and read today which I found fascinating. The first is this gorgeous video & poem called "How to be Alone"



Isn't that beautiful? I watched it this morning, I found it from this fascinating website, Rewriting the Rules, which is about love and relationships but from every angle, including loving ourselves, which is where being happily alone comes in.

Then, as part of an online poetry course I am taking part in which brings in philosophy and physics (and so much more) I was pointed towards this very interesting article on the science of loneliness - an excerpt:

Psychobiologists can now show that loneliness sends misleading hormonal signals, rejiggers the molecules on genes that govern behavior, and wrenches a slew of other systems out of whack. They have proved that long-lasting loneliness not only makes you sick; it can kill you. ... The psychological definition of loneliness hasn’t changed much...  not what the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard characterized as the “shut-upness” and solitariness of the civilized. Nor is “real loneliness” the happy solitude of the productive artist or the passing irritation of being cooped up with the flu while all your friends go off on some adventure. It’s not being dissatisfied with your companion of the moment—your friend or lover or even spouse— unless you chronically find yourself in that situation, in which case you may in fact be a lonely person. ... Loneliness - and this will surprise no one—is the want of intimacy. [The full article is here]

I also just finished reading an astonishing novel, The Woman Upstairs, by Claire Messud, which I devoured and which left me shaking by the end, so perfectly did it seem to address everything I am thinking about right now. It is about a woman my age living alone and feeling unseen, and her struggles about her anger at the way her life has gone, her desire to be an artist, friendship, family, relationships. It almost feels trite to try and summarize it this way, let me just recommend it to you highly, I think it's a masterpiece.

For me, all three of these - the film, the article and the novel -  tie up: being a creative person, I have a deep need for the proper kind of aloneness that enables me to delve into myself in order to write, and this never produces loneliness. But I have to watch out that I do what is necessary to avoid it tipping over into loneliness, if I don't ensure that I get enough social contact of the right kind  - as an introvert - with the people who feed me rather than deplete. It's quite a difficult thing to navigate, I am finding right now, living on my own without even a beloved pet for the first time for 16 years, alongside the promise that I will be able to immerse myself in writing in an entirely different way living alone, which both excites and somewhat scares me.

What do you do? Do you have strategies for "good" aloneness and avoidance of loneliness, whether with others or by yourself? How does that fit in with/feed/inspire your writing?

Lydia Davis

I can't tell you how thrilled I was to hear that one of my favourite, favourite writers, Lydia Davis, has won the International Man Booker Prize, given for a body of work rather than one particular book. She is a writer of short and very very short "things" - are they stories, poems? As I said in my Litro blog post - Who the hell cares, really? They're sublime, funny, dark, moving, insightful, memorable.

For a taste of her writing, listen to the excellent James Salter read a story here on the Guardian podcast, I found it immensely moving. And you can read my review of Lydia Davis' Collected Stories on The Short Review. It's a must-read for anyone who loves words, rhythms, wordplay, stories, the dark and light of life.

Iridescent Insects: What is Flash Fiction?

I'm over at the Litro blog again today with my second monthly "Guide to Flash Fiction" blog post - I thought this time I'd better try and figure out what flash fiction is - iridescent insect? What do you think? Let us know in the comments over there >>

Two Amazing Bristol Author Events!

If you are anywhere within travelling distance of Bristol, you should really come to these, two astonishingly great American writers! George Saunders (recently named by TIME magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people, a short story writer) is a bit of a hero of mine, his short stories are indescribably great, they have had a huge impact on my writing, talking about permission. Wacky, dark, wondrous. Come! Read a great interview with George by Ben Johncock here then book your tickets. It's a must.

 

James Salter

Watershed, Bristol

Thu 23 May 2013, 18:10-20:30 (film 18.10-19.00; interview with James Salter 19.30-20.30), £7/ £6

This is a rare opportunity to hear James Salter talk about his latest novel, a sweeping, seductive love story set in post-World War II America that draws together the great themes of Salter’s writing: warfare, love, sex and marriage, and what it means to write. Event includes first UK screening of the documentary A Sport and a Pastime, which traces Salter’s lifelong love affair with France.

Watershed telephone booking: 0117 927 5100

Further details and online booking link: http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/2013/events/james-salter/

 

George Saunders

Tenth of December

Watershed, Bristol

Thu 30 May 2013, 20.00-21.00, £7/ £6

From the undisputed master of the short story comes a dazzling and disturbing new collection. His most wryly hilarious work to date, Tenth of December illuminates human experience and explores figures lost in a labyrinth of troubling preoccupations, with dark visions of the future riffing against ghosts of the past. Chaired by Nikesh Shukla.

Watershed telephone booking: 0117 927 5100

Further details and booking link: http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/2013/events/george-saunders/

Spread the Word Writing Prize

Once again, I am getting judgemental - I am honoured to be one of the judges for the brand new Spread the Word Writing Prize, run by those excellent folk at Spread the Word, the literature development agency in London. Here are the details - only open to London residents, I'm afraid! But you do have up to 8000 words to play with, with NO MINIMUM. (I bet you guessed I might mention that...) Deadline July 15th. Surprise and delight us...

The Spread the Word Writing Prize 2013

We are delighted to announce the Spread the Word Writing Prize 2013.  Short Fiction is a form we are excited about - we feel it has growing appeal and an audience that’s ripe for development. You’ll have up to 8000 words to move, excite, enthrall and inspire us on the theme of ‘ Ritual’. We’re ready to see the best of what London writers have to offer. So get writing! Download Full Prize Rules here.

Download the Entry Form and a Cultural Diversity Monitoring Form

Closing Date for entries is midday, Monday 15 July 2013.

Judges
Bidisha is a writer, critic and BBC TV and radio broadcaster. She writes for a wide range of international publications and has judged numerous prizes. She specializes in the arts and culture, social justice issues and international affairs; and is the author of two novels. Her fifth book is out next year.

Tania Hershman is the author of two story collections: My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions (Tangent Books, 2012), a collection of 56 very short fictions, and The White Road and Other Stories (Salt, 2008; commended, 2009 Orange Award for New Writers.) She is Writer the ditor of the online journal The Short Review. Her website is www.taniahershman.com

Sue Lawther is the Director of Spread the Word. She has worked in arts and education for over 20 years. As a Creative Director at Creative Partnerships Sue worked with hundreds of artists and schools to develop creative programmes and was executive producer of The Container by Clare Bayley, which won a Fringe First at the 2007 Edinburgh festival and the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award.

Courttia Newland Novelist, short story writer, playwright and editor. His latest novel The Gospel According to Cane, was published by Telegram in early 2013. Short story collections include Music for the Off-Key and A Book of Blues. He has edited many anthologies, most recently co-editing Tell Tales 4: The Global Village (2009).

More permission...

Following on from the previous post about permission & taking risks, two things have occurred in the past two days that I want to talk about in terms of where I get permission from. Now, I did stop for a moment and wonder about writing this, since it may just come off as boastful self-promotion, but it's an important part of my writing life and my career as an author, and that's what this blog is supposed to be all about, so I decided to do it.

What occurred were two absolutely amazing reviews of My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fiction, published both published on Friday. Before I go into that, I want to first say that even now, after quite a few years of having short stories and other work published in literary magazines, after having two collections published, I still think it's quite miraculous that the result of the bizarre workings of my mind, the combination of words I've put on a page, in any way connects or speaks to anyone else, anyone outside of my mind. And, as I mentioned in the previous post, thanks to the permission gifted to me by other writers' work, I have been taking more risks in my own, and to me my stories have been getting odder and odder.  (My mother is in the habit now, when I send her a new story, of saying "Darling, I really enjoyed it, even though I had no idea what was going on.") Even more surprising then that anyone "gets" what I think I may have been trying to do (which I don't always know, either).

So, you can imagine that the fact that these two reviewers did is incredibly moving to me. Here is Martin Macaulay writing for Sabotage Reviews, who shortlisted my book for their Saboteur awards short story collection category:

Hershman writes with a lyrical precision that slices apart what it is to be human... My Mother was an Upright Piano is more than the sum of its parts. The book is structured into seven groups of six and two groups of seven, bonding this collection together as tightly as a chemical compound. It’s a solid, unbreakable and inspiring collection. Hershman creates worlds with depth and heart. She shows us lives soaked in loss; some with glimpses of hope, others dystopian.

And here is Kerry Shadid in her review in World Literature Today:

Her presentation of the tragedy and the oddity of our human lives is the typed equivalent of a performance artist at MOMA: strange, unfamiliar, captivating. ...The universe’s dark energy palpitates on Hershman’s pages; she gives emptiness form. Characters struggle to communicate, to make themselves known to others. Hopes for the world to be other than it is are met with silence. Longing blankets the text. Sentences stop before they reach their conclusion, words omitted by the author in sympathy with the reticence of her fictional creations. The unsaid contains both dagger and salve, and Hershman’s silences both break and heal the heart. 

It's hard to tell you how I feel just re-reading these two excerpts. It's like I've been heard, at a very deep level. It feels like a blessing, to be read so closely. And what's also wonderful is that they both feel that the book - whose stories were all written with no thought of being collected - works as a whole, somehow.

I had said to myself when the book came out that this time I wouldn't read reviews. Because whatever they say, they stick in your mind. Generally the less positive bits! But I couldn't help myself because I think, with these stories more than those in The White Road, I didn't always know myself what it was I was writing about, I had let go of that knowing, thanks to permission from others. And so I was curious to see what others think they are about.

I didn't think that these and other reviews would give me permission to keep doing this - and to take it further. But they do. Especially references to things I consider very odd, like leaving sentences unfinished. That's okay, says this review. And not only that, it actually means something.

Of course, there is the flipside to this, because there is no guarantee that every review will be favourable. I was delighted to be reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement, thrilled beyond belief, but the reviewer seemed to be telling me what my stories are not, and I wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

Right now, though, I am feeling very "permitted", these two reviewers have given me a great gift, an unexpected gift. I want to thank them, and everyone else who takes the time to read my book and share their thoughts. I don't take that for granted. I will never take that for granted. Thank you.

Risky Business

I was asked by the wonderful folk at Writers & Artists (yes, the people behind the excellent Yearbook) to write a blog post about taking risks in writing, following comments I made when awarding the prizes in their short story competition last month. The article, Risky Business, is here, and here is a snippet:

....Why should writers take risks? Well, I would argue that it's not just for the benefit of a reader or a competition judge. What are we doing this for, this writing thing? For me, it's about trying to make sense of the world in some way, and uncertainty is an inherent quality of existence...

There is no comment facility on the article but I'd love to hear about your experiences of permission and risk, do leave a comment here!

News roundup

What's been going on around here? Excellent question. First, I have a brand new flash story, Freshening, published today in Flash Flood, alongside a veritable deluge of excellent flash fictions! Second, some poetry - two published in the new issue of Obsessed with Pipework (such a great name, eh?), and another accepted for publication in the second issue of the excellent new mag, Butcher's Dog, whose first issue knocked my socks off, so that's immensely thrilling. Third, news coming soon about two new writing competitions I am involved in, places to send your wonderful words.

Finally, I have been beautifully interviewed by wonderful author Ramola D in the second issue of the brand new writers-interviewing-writers-and-filmakers online journal the Delphi Quarterly. It's the greatest honour for a writer, in my opinion, when anyone who is not your mother engages deeply with your words, really reads them closely, and Ramola's questions made it clear that she has done this. They allowed me to express something about my writing I don't think I have express before, even to myself. Here is an extract:

RD: Like the fictions of Clarice Lispector or Lydia Davis or Janet Kaufman, these vignettes seem to slant in to a character’s depths—the surreal focus on the moment, the sort of free-floatingness of the character nevertheless slices into the psyche of self in relationship or self alone with insight. Do you set out to use time in close-focus while aiming to mine psychological depth, or how do you approach that kind of excavation of character?

TH: I am incredibly honored to have my fictions mentioned alongside Clarice Lispector and Lydia Davis—and must seek out Janet Kaufman’s work! I really don’t set out with any aims at all, I just try and get something down the way I hear it in my head. I often write very fast, which for me seems to dampen down my inhibitions and allows me to write in a more surreal fashion. If it works, if something actually emerges from this that speaks to even one other person, I consider that a miracle.

RD: In the delicacy of the language and the almost-constant use of present tense, and compelling syntax too, I seem to hear echoes of Helene Cixous, Marguerite Duras—are you drawn to language-centered writers like those, do you look to translations or to other languages to shake up syntax or rhythm, to experiment with language?

TH: Interestingly, I have never read anything by those two writers, but I feel that yes, I am quite obsessed with writers who have a deep love for language, that is vital for me. I am increasingly drawn to writers like Gertrude Stein and Samuel Beckett, who use language for something other than its accepted meaning, for its rhythms, for some other kinds of significance. I adore reading fiction in translation—the short stories of Georges-Olivier Chateareynaud and Cees Noteboom, for example—I hate being so English-centered, I wish I could read in other languages...

There are also interviews with Gretchen E. Henderson, who writes poetry, fiction and non-fiction, writer and writing coach Minal Hajratwala, and writer and publisher Dan Cafaro of Atticus Books. Read them all here - and have a lovely weekend!

Upcoming deadlines etc..

I had a fantastic time leading a writing workshop on Sunday for Spread the Word on "Art breathes through containment, suffocates from containment", as Leonardo da Vinci said. We experimented with many different kinds of restrictions to see what opened us up. I will be writing a blog about this sort of thing for Writers & Artists shortly... when I have sorted out everything in my head!

In the meantime, it's been a while since I've done one of my "writers service announcement" blog posts with lots of places that want your writing, so here goes. The first place to point to has to be Paul McVeigh's excellent blog, which over the past few months has become an invaluable resource, with links to competitions and calls for submissions as well as interviews with writers and writing folk. Add that to your "must read" list!

And here are a few handpicked upcoming deadlines:

April 20th Litro Short Story Competition: Poland and Bruno Shultz

"In preparation for our Polish issue in June and in association with the Polish Cultural Institute London, we are running a short story competition inspired by Polish writer Bruno Schulz and his book The Street of Crocodiles. The winner’s work will be published in the June issue of Litro Magazine and showcased at a London Underground Station. The theme is “Poland,” with particular reference Schulz’s short story collection, The Street of Crocodiles. For inspiration, check out the Brothers Quay’s eerie 1980’s stop-motion animation of the same name or Jonathan Safron Foer’s adaptation, Tree of Codes on the Litro site" 300 words max, no entry fee, one entry per person.

** April 30th Bristol Short Story Prize
The brilliant short story competition based here in bristol, open to writers worldwide! Max word count 4000 words, NO MINIMUM. Entry Fee: £8. First prize is £1,000, 2nd prize £700, 3rd prize £400 and 17 runners up receive £100. 20 stories will be published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 6. The winning story will, also, be published in Bristol Review of Books magazine. The 2013 Bristol Short Story Prize awards ceremony will be held as part of the 2013 Bristol Festival of Literature in October 2013. Enter now!

April 30th And We Were Hungry: Flying Elephants Short Story Prize
Judged by Edwige Danticat, no length restrictions, but longer manuscripts (8,000–10,000 words) or shorter manuscripts (less than 2,000 words) will have to be truly exceptional to be shortlisted. Entry Fee: None. Eligibility: Writers must eighteen-years of age or older, and short stories must be original and previously unpublished. Theme or Prompt: “And we were hungry…,” or “Hunger.” Grand Prize Theme: Consideration for the grand prize is reserved for stories that connect the theme with nature or the natural world. You may submit two short stories. Prizes: One grand prize winner ($2,000 + publication ), three finalists ($1,000 each + publication) and eight runners-ups (publication only).

April 30th Treehouse Unusual Lit Competition
"We’re interested in prose that does unusual stuff. In the past we’ve published stories in the form of to-do lists, invisible text with footnotes, survival guides, landlord-tenant correspondence, recipes, and also all kinds of inventive work that was linguistically, but not necessarily structurally, experimental. So if you think your story, essay, prose poem, or genrebender fits the bill, send it our way. (Sorry, no poetry with line breaks for this one.) Entries are to be a maximum of 750 words." No submission fee. Prize is set of subscriptions to a wonderful array of lit mags as well as books by Indie publishers, because, say the editors "One of the main things we’re trying to communicate with this contest is that literature is a community. We picked out the journals and publishing houses we’re most excited about because we wanted to share them with you—our favorite readers.". Open to all.

May 15th Paper Darts Short Fiction Award
"$800 for 800 words. Plus, the winning story will appear fully illustrated, all beautified and sexy on its very own custom website." Entry fee $6. Love this magazine.

30th April Lightship One-Page Prize
300 words max, £8 per entry, judged by Flash Fiction Day pioneer Calum Kerr!

30th June Lightship Flash Fiction Prize
1500 words max, £10 per entry, judged by Etgar Keret (yes, really).

30th June Booktown Short Story Competition
1. short stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words, submit online or by post, £5 for one entry, £9 for two entries and £13 for three entries, 14. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed authors will receive £200, £100 and £50 respectively and their work will be published on the Booktown Writers Website and in the Booktown Writers’ Anthology. Judge: Sam Kelly - Head of Creative Writing MA, Edinburgh Napier

30th June Scottish Short Story Competition
500-2000 words in length, entry free £10, stories can be any genre but must be Scotland-related,£300 First Prize, Inclusion in eBook Anthology of ten selected stories

That's all for the moment, enough to be going on with? I am off to do a little submitting myself. Happy writing!

April Starts Well....

It's always nice when the first of the month brings some good news! And this came after 12 so it's not a joke... but it seems that My Mother Was An Upright Piano has been shortlisted in the Best Story Collection section of Sabotage's  Saboteur's Indie Lit awards. I had no idea it had even been entered, so that's doubly exciting! MMWAUP faces stiff competition from Ashley Stokes, Laury A. Egan, Tony Williams, and Superbard, but just getting to the shortlist is delight enough. It is decided by public vote, so click here to find out more. I am not the sort of author who asks people to vote for her book, that doesn't really sit well with me. But if you fancy joining in, then a vote for any indie lit book is a good thing! I haven't heard of several of these collections so will be checking them out myself. Thank you, whoever nominated MMWAUP, you've made my April!

Reading at Word of Mouth, April 3rd, Bristol

A few things

It's been a while since I posted here, life has been so sad with the loss of my beautiful Zachary cat, it's difficult to do the blogging thing. It's getting a little easier each day, sort of, ups and downs, downs and ups. So I am distracting myself here by talking about other stuff.

Firstly, this year has been good to my stories, as well as prizes in the Fiction Desk and Salt flash fiction competitions, I found out last week that I won 3rd prize in the New Writer's microfiction prize. Congratulations to all the winners, especially my mates Rachael Dunlop, Dan Purdue, Pete Domican, Valerie Sirr, Danielle McLaughlin,  and Melissa Lee-Houghton. I am happy that my story has found a good home, and suffice it to say I already spent my prize money (all of it) on something rather nice while I was in America last week.

I love to present prizes too, and will be doing that next Tuesday in London at the Writers & Artists Yearbook short story competition awards ceremony, in conjunction with Liars League, whose actors will read the winning story and two runners-up, which I have just chosen from the shortlist. I too will be reading something, probably something very very short, I imagine. Do come along and celebrate with us! Details here.

Finally, I was asked to do something really interesting a few months ago: Faith Gardner at StorySwap asked me to video myself reading one of Norwegian writer Berit Ellingsen's short short stories and asked Berit to video herself reading one of mine. Despite the fact that I'm not keen on myself on video, I rather love the result, love hearing Berit read my story, and enjoyed reading hers. Watch our story swap here. What a brilliant idea.

Mother America on Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! When my great friend and fabulous writing colleague Nuala Ní Chonchúir and I realised a few months ago that we both had new short story collections with the word "mother" in the title, we decided we'd do something a little special for this day, a different twist on the old book promo, where I would bring you a story from Nuala's book, Mother America, and she from mine.  I hosted Nuala on her Virtual Book Tour here last year, we played word association. I talked about Nuala - author of 4 story collections, 3 poetry collections, a poetry anthology and a novel and - then so I thought this time I'd let her writing speak for her. Suffice it to say this is an absolutely wonderful collection of stories, rich and varied, lush with atmosphere and language. Here is one of my favourite stories in the book:

Letters

Mattie’s letter arrived on Tuesday morning and I saved it, like always, for the evening. For after my walk on Avenue of the Americas, which I take to feel like I am alive. For after a coffee with Vito in the Washington Square Diner, where we indulged in our small ritual of winks, smiles and chat. For after a meal of tortellini and a glass of milk, alone in my apartment; I had no vegetables – the asparagus and broccoli looked groggy in the heat, so I left them at the store. These days I say store instead of shop; messages are now groceries; I say sidewalk not footpath. I will never blend in but, with words, I make some effort.

           Mattie was always my favourite, though they say a mother doesn’t have such a thing. He was my best boy before we left the old country, right up until we came to New York. His brothers were tougher, gone from me sooner; Mattie had stuck around my ankles since he was a baby. I named him for his father and, though I don’t like to think of that old fool, I always enjoy remembering Mattie as a boy, before he made us come away, leaving all behind.

~

Steam swelled from Mattie’s woollen socks.

‘Would you ever keep your feet back from the fire, son?’ I said.

Mattie grunted, resenting the interruption. He was reading to me from the Evening Press, an after school habit he took on when his father died. I sometimes listened, sometimes didn’t; all the stories were sad.

‘What?’ he said.

‘Will you go to the pit? I want to start the dinner,’ I said.

He sighed, hunched his body further into the chair, and rattled the newspaper. ‘Do you not want to hear the last bit of this?’

‘Go on and get me the spuds,’ I said, knowing he wouldn’t.

I heaved myself up, got the bucket from the pantry, and lifted the back-door latch. The potato pit was covered with flour sacks; I flicked one off and leaned forward, ready to fill the bucket. I stopped. There was a frog on the pile, squatting fat and perfect like a little king; I let a roar and jumped away from the pit. Mattie came running.

       ‘Ma?’

       ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Get it!’ I shouted.

       ‘What? What is it?’

       ‘There’s a frog. Bring something to trap it in.’

       He ran back into the kitchen and fumbled in the dresser. I could hear him banging the drawers and cursing while I stood, trying to keep the frog fixed to its spot by staring at it. The frog’s body pulsed and made me feel sick; I willed it not to move. Mattie came out and walked slowly to the pit, his face worried.

       ‘It looks wicked,’ he said. The frog lunged forward, a jump that didn’t move it far, and I imagined I heard the squelch of its insides; Mattie leapt. ‘Jesus, it looks wicked. Wicked!’

       ‘How are you going to catch it?’ I said. He held up a sugar bag and a spoon. ‘God almighty,’ I said, thinking I’d have to throw away the spoon after. A waste.

Mattie knelt by the pit, holding the bag and the spoon. He worried his bottom lip with his teeth. I looked again at the frog; its skin was like an autumn leaf, mottled and dry.

            ‘He’s not slimy at all,’ I said.

            ‘It’s awful big. For a frog.’

‘Go on, son, get him.’

The frog looked ahead lazily, its cheeks twitching. Then it belched and jumped again; its skin changed from brown to green in the evening light.

‘The fecker,’ Mattie shrieked, and fell onto his behind.

            ‘Catch it, Mattie. Spoon it in, come on. Oh God.’ I felt giddy and wanted to laugh, though I was afraid; I pulled my skirt closer to my legs, thinking of the frog’s skin touching my own.

‘I’m telling you, it looks wicked,’ Mattie said.

His brothers came back in the middle of it all; Stephen stood in the doorway.

‘What’s going on, Ma?’

‘Look, there’s a huge frog on the potato pit. He’s lepping about.’

Stephen laughed. He lunged forward, grabbed the frog into his big hands, and hooshed it over the back wall. Johnny crowded behind Stephen, laughing at Mattie, who was still holding the sugar bag and spoon. I clipped Johnny on the ear to shut him up, but he laughed more.

Stephen and Johnny called Mattie ‘Wicked’ for a while after that; I said not to mind them.

~

Now there’s no back yard, no fireplace, no potato pit. There are seven storeys below me and three above; I never imagined people lived in any way but our own, until Mattie brought me here. He brought me here and left me here, to go as far away again to the other coast, to a place full of Mexicans.

My view is of glass-fronted blocks and an old brownstone that huddles between two taller buildings; I have to lean out to see the street below, but its noises come clearly to me: sirens, banging trash-cans, shouting, and endless cars with tooting horns. This city is always on the go.

I walk on Tuesday along Avenue of the Americas. Mattie’s letter is a comforting, papery wad in my pocket. I haven’t carried a handbag since a dirty-faced girl dragged me to the ground trying to pull it from my hands. My legs got scraped but the little bitch didn’t get my bag; she hadn’t reckoned on the strength of an Irish mother. These days I carry all my bits and bobs – money, hankie, keys – in my pockets, like a man.

           The Avenue is throbbing as it always is with hucksters and mad-men and ordinary people doing ordinary things: shopping, arguing, hurrying. I’ve never known such a place for haste. I’m glad to leave the busy Avenue for The Washington Square Diner. My back is clammy with sweat when I push open the door; it’s cool inside. Vito is sitting at the window, his behind lapping over the sides of a high stool like rising dough.

            ‘Bridie,’ he says, getting down off the stool, ‘when will you be my bride?’ He kisses my hand and leads me into my booth.

             ‘Vito, like I tell you every week, I’ve been up the aisle once already and that was enough for me.’ I smile.

             ‘You break my heart,’ he says, and claps his meaty hands across his chest. He brings us two coffees and winks. I wink back. Vito is fat – fatter than me – and he already has a wife. ‘And how is your son, Bridie?’ he says.

               ‘I have his letter right here.’ I pull it from my pocket. Vito takes the letter and fingers it; he stares at the sealed envelope, the stamp, my address and Mattie’s, as if it all might tell him something.

                  ‘So many words, so many letters,’ he says, and hands it back to me.

                  ‘Yes, Vito, there are so many words. So many letters.’

              We sip our coffee and Vito squeezes my fingers in his plump ones. ‘I love you, Bridie. Really,’ he says.

                     ‘You’re a silly old man, Vito.’

            The heat swaddles me when I leave the diner, wrapping itself around my face and body; it pulls the breath from my lungs and makes me gasp. The whole city is muffled under this blanket of still air. The coffee has made me hotter than before and the grocery store is two blocks away. Still, I’m in the mood for crisp vegetables; the taste of something clean. On the way, I think about the letter, wondering what news it might hold; I put my hand over my pocket to protect it. At the store, the vegetables in the boxes outside are browned and sagging, so I don’t buy any. The greengrocer shrugs apologetically at me from inside and I send him a little wave.

            My apartment is warm but not as heavy as the street. I switch on the air-conditioning; it bangs and thrums, so I switch it off again – one less noise in the city’s din. I warm up some tortellini that Vito has given me, but they are dry and salty in my mouth. I drink a cup of milk to loosen up my tongue; it tastes good – cold and creamy like the milk back home. When I’ve finished eating, I push the window wide and pull my chair up to it. I sit with my back to the window and let the warm air dry the sweat on my blouse. Taking the envelope from my pocket, I slit it open with the blade of a scissors. There is money, of course, and, this time, a photograph. I put the dollar bills into my pocket and study the picture.

There is Mattie, moon-faced and smiling, stouter now than when he left; his arm is draped across the black wife and she is grim and thin, holding a baby across her breasts. Is this a son? My grandson? They are standing at a railing by the sea. There is writing on the back of the picture. I study the curls and squiggles; I see ‘M’ for Mattie and another ‘M’. This is one of the letters I know; I know B makes the start of Bridie too. Maybe, I think, he has named his boy Matthew, for himself.

           I unfold the letter: it’s a long one, three pages. Poring over each sheet in turn, I run my finger under the lines, trying for letters and words, pushing into my mind for something. When I reach the end of each page, I toss it over my shoulder, out the window, to the street below. I throw the envelope out after the pages and hold the photograph between my fingers; I stare at the three faces and go to send it over my shoulder, along with the rest. My hand stops in mid-air and I look at the photo again; my darling son is smiling for me. I take up the scissors and cut Mattie from the picture. Throwing the other bit of the photograph out of the window, I bend and kiss Mattie’s happy face. Next Tuesday I will show Vito a picture of my son.

To read more about Nuala's collection - and all her writings - and to find out how to buy the book, visit NualaNiChonchuir.com.  Happy Mother's Day to all.

Short Fiction Masterclass: Art Breathes From Containment, April 7th

I am in Boston, off to the AWP conference tomorrow, but I wanted to let you know that there are still a few places left on the short story masterclass I am running for Spread the Word in London on Sunday April 7th. Don't let the word "masterclass" put you off, this is open to everyone, all levels of writing. Here's the description:

Breathing from containment…

Leonardo da Vinci said "art breathes from containment and suffocates from freedom.” Well, we can’t all claim to be a Leonardo, but many writers have found that playing with restrictions - limiting word count, writing time, physical space and more - actually liberates their writing, with boundaries forcing the brain to be increasingly creative.

Come and test out this theory at Tania’s short fiction masterclass, where we'll be experimenting with all kinds of restrictions in order to set our words free! Tania offers a guarantee that you will leave with several first drafts of new stories, as well as innovative ideas for what best stimulates your creative brain.

Sunday 7 April
11am – 4.30pm
£60 / £45 concessions

Toynbee Studios
28 Commercial Street
London E1 6AB
Nearest Tube: Aldgate East

Click here to book a place, come and write with us!

Another great-sounding workshop a few weeks later, on April 27th, is this one from the Word Factory on The Art of Story Writing, with my fabulous writer friends Alison MacLeod and Adam Marek:

Enjoy a unique day with award-winning short story writers Michèle Roberts, Adam Marek and literary agent Carrie Kania including an evening reading with Lionel Shriver. 

Join a small group of leading writers in an intimate setting for an exclusive one-day seminar aimed at finding your voice and getting published.

Improve the quality of your writing, find solutions to the editing problems that hold you back and discover how to get your work published. Michèle Roberts and Adam Marek both push the boundaries of the short story form with work that is full of sensuality, surprise and discomfort. You will write, be edited, absorb practical tips and be inspired. Agent Carrie Kania will explain what you need to know to successfully send your work out. And after, share your work or simply relax in the warm setting of The Society Club (Soho), where you can exchange contacts and meet new friends.
In the evening, the Orange Prize-winning author of We Need To Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver, will be in conversation with Cathy Galvin and share some of her short stories and an extract from her new novel Big Brother.

 Sounds great, eh? More details here.

Small Glimmers of Light

Although life is tough right now and nothing can help me through the loss of my beautiful Zac, there has been some nice news: I found out today that I am the winner of the Fiction Desk's first flash fiction contest, with my flash story, A Call to Arms. Now, it is no exaggeration to say that just this week I had decided to give up on finding a home for this story. I came to the conclusion that it's a story only its creator could love. Hmm. The universe had other ideas, and for that I am very grateful. Huge congratulations too to the finalists:

• Gavin Cameron, with ‘A Big Leap’
• James Collett, with ‘The Clever Skeleton’
• Damon King, with ‘Simmo!’
• Paul Lenehan, with ‘For Joy’
• Matt Plass, with ‘Invisible Them’
• Ian Shine, with ‘Love Stops at Ten Metres’

We will all be published in the Fiction Desk's next anthology, in the spring.

I also found a home for another story (a long one, almost 2000 words...) that I thought was perhaps too strange to get anywhere: The House of Meat was a finalist in the Words with Jam short story contest and will be published in their anthology. It takes place in a laboratory where they grow artificial meat. I said it was strange.

So, small glimmers at a time when I was having a few wobbly moments about writing in general. Wobbles are okay. Taking a break is okay (I spent a great deal of my recent writing retreat st. It's good to see if the yearning is still there. It's good to let the universe provide you with a few hints. Thank you, Universe. I think I'm getting the message.

Addendum: Another message
Today I found out I won 3rd prize in Salt's Flash Fiction contest, my story, A Song for Falling, will be published in their prize anthology. I hear you, Universe.

Zac 1997-2013

It's so hard for me to write this because on Friday night I said goodbye to my beautiful soul-companion for 16 years, Zachary.

It's almost unbearable for me. He was my familiar, the best friend a writer could have, a lap cat, an adventurer, a great talker, a champion sleeper. He was our Boy.

I had foolishly dreamed he might break all records for the longest-lived cat in history. You think that, you can't help it. But he couldn't, he was very ill, and we couldn't bear to see him in pain. At least that we could do for him.

Goodbye, my Zac. I imagine you watching us from a parallel universe, maybe one millisecond shifted from this one, where you are healed and whole, and you have all the chicken you could desire. Rest in peace, gorgeous boy.

Short Story Event Ticket Giveaway!

I will no longer be chairing this event due to the loss of my beautiful cat, but please do go, she is a wonderful writer.

I am incredibly honoured to be "in conversation" at Jewish Book Week in London on Feb 27th with renowned American short story writer Edith Pearlman, whose 4th collection, Binocular Vision, was published in 2011 - and was reviewed by Sarah Hilary on The Short Review. I've just republished the review on the site as part of our From the Archive feature. Sarah says of the collection:

On the middle shelf of my bookcase I have two piles of books, side by side. One is two feet deep and represents twelve novels I’ve yet to read. The other pile is for short story collections, and has just one book at present: this one. I’ll have read more stories, met more characters, laughed and cried and sighed more often reading this one collection than all the novels put together. Such is the skill of the author.

I whole-heartedly agree. I love this book - all her stories, actually. Edith should be far far better known worldwide - but this is her first UK event, and frankly it is unmissable for anyone who loves great stories, of all lengths. I can't wait to ask her questions about her writing and chat about stories!

And for you, my dear blog readers, I have one FREE ticket to give away! All you need to do is express interest here in the comments section and I will pick a winner on Feb 20th, giving the lucky winner a week to make travel arrangements and the rest of you time to get your hands on a ticket. If you want to read one of Edith's stories, try Capers, published in Ascent. Hope to see you on the 27th!

Guest editor for the next issue of the Ilanot Review

I have just been asked to be guest fiction editor for  the next issue of the excellent Ilanot Review, an Israeli journal of creative writing in English that is calling for international submissions which are right up my street. Please do send me something to read! Here are the details: 

The theme of our Spring/Summer 2013 edition is:

Sentences

Submission period: February 1, 2013 – April 30, 2013

We are looking for hybrid literary texts: flash fiction, prose poems, stories and memoirs in verse, lyrical essays, graphic poems, and mixtures of your own creation. This issue views genre as an affiliation, rather than a fixed point of identification. We are interested in works which, rather than replicate existing literary structures, take features from multiple literary genres and subvert them in order to create a new entity.

The malleable territory of improvisation, self-invention and disjunction of texts that are “neither this nor that,” or rather, “both this and that,” has long been used by writers whose identity cannot be defined by one single category alone. The term “hybridity” describes the dislocation of the subjective “I” in the world of the twenty-first century. Hybrid literature speaks to the increasingly heterogeneous nature of countries and societies. It invites a diversity that celebrates dialogue and exchange across checkpoints, national boundaries, languages and disciplines. We look forward to discovering the way this theme inspires you, and to reading your work.

We welcome submissions of the following:

(but only one submission (for poetry – this means up to six poems) per genre)

• Poetry − up to six poems –Please submit all work + bio in a single Word file. Submit up to six poems, with one poem per page. Poets: Please include your name and contact information on each page.
• Fiction – up to 5000 words
• Creative non-fiction – up to 5000 words

We also welcome translations of original work, providing the translator has obtained permission from the author. Previously unpublished translations preferred. Be sure to include the original poem/story in Word format. 
Please Note:

• Do include a short bio (50 -75 words) with your submission.
• We will consider simultaneous submissions provided that you indicate this upon submission and retract your work immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.

We are now using an online submissions manager.
To submit your work, click here: Submit to The Ilanot Review

Writers and Artists Yearbook Short Story Competition

I am honoured to be the final judge of this competition on the theme of "freedom" - closing date Feb 15th so get your skates on! You know what I like. Great stories. Of all shapes and stripes, voices, sizes. Surprise me. 2000 words is the MAXIMUM but short short is always sweet sweet. The comp is in association with the fabulous Liars League live lit night, and League actors will also be performing the shortlisted entries at the prizegiving in March.

Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2013 Short Story Competition

  
                          For published and aspiring writers alike - enter the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2013 short story competition and you could win:

• a cash prize of £500

• a place on an Arvon Foundation residential writing course of your choice*

• publication of your story on the Writers' & Artists' website

We're offering you the chance to win £500, plus a place on an Arvon writing course of your choice! All you have to do is enter a short story (for adults) of no more than 2,000 words, on the theme of 'freedom' and email it to  shortstorycompetition@bloomsbury.com

with "WAYB13 competition" as the subject line.

The closing date is 15 February 2013.

The Arvon Foundation runs four historic writing houses in the UK, where published writers lead week-long residential courses. Covering a diverse range of genres, from poetry and fiction to screenwriting and comedy, Arvon courses have provided inspiration to thousands of people at all stages of their writing lives. Find out more and book a course online at www.arvonfoundation.org Don't forget to read the full details, terms and conditions before you enter. Please remember to register on www.writersandartists.co.uk before submitting your entry. Good luck!