We will accept submissions with an accompanying fee throughout the month of August. All submissions will be considered and a winner and 3 runners up will be selected by our judges. Winners and runners up will get prizes. Yes.
So…you get to write, you get to win stuff and you also get to help support a cause. There is really no downside. Even if you lose, your karma will increase.
And here's what you can win:Please submit either one piece of fiction (limit 2500 words) or poetry (limit 2 poems).
There is no theme, we’re looking for something you’re proud of. Nothing filthy, nothing milfy, nothing too pithy. A little pith is okay. Not too much. Pith-ish.
Timeline: All submissions sent between July 24th and August 31st with corresponding paypal entry fee will be considered.
First Place:
Publication on metazen.ca with accompanying commentary on your piece
10% of entry fees from contest
1 Copy of Frank Hinton’s “I Don’t Respect Female Expression” print and digital
1 DVD “MDMA” by MDMA Films
Runner Up (3 winners):
- Fog Gorgeous Stag by Sean LovelaceGet to it! Full instructions here.
- Grease Stains, Kistmet, And Maternal Wisdom by Mel Bosworth
- Download Helvetica For Free . Com by Steve Roggenbuck
"Short stories are gems that light up our lives. Please retain them on Radio 4. Readers, writers and listeners all have our lives enriched by short fiction. I urge you to reconsider and then reverse this extraordinary decision."
"My father went blind in his later years and relied on audio recordings. Yes, there are audio books but the whole point to the radio is to have an opportunity to taste the unexpected."
"I've been learning English by reading AND listening to short stories. Reducing the short story output on Radio damages not only the pleasure of the listeners but culture/education/learning also."
Radio 4 has always been a beacon of light in the world of the short story - why turn off that light when it costs so little and achieves so much?
My husband doesn't really enjoy reading, but will happily listen to short stories on Radio 4 and will thoroughly enjoy them. If we're listening in the car we have stay there until the story is finished, even if we've reached our destination! Far too important to cut back.
"I LOVE the short story slot. I switch on my radio at 3.30pm purely for that and nothing else...I even listen to the end of Money Box Live so I don't miss the beginning of the story. It is the one moment in my day where I can switch off from everything else and enter another world. We all need stories: they make us understand the world in which we live. They persuade us to empathise, to see another perspective, to understand other cultures, to imagine ourselves in someone else's shoes. Stories are what make us human and interactive. Don't take them away."Click here to read more comments... and don't forget to sign!
...Philip Pullman, speaking last night in support of the Save Our Six Libraries initiative, came out strongly in support of story. And spoken story. And the importance of hearing fiction read, (he talked about children, but in context, in a celebration of language - and his remarks can equally be applied to radio, and adults...)Yippee! Save the libraries too...
... full of rich and diverse tales — the savvy, the sad, the sharp, the tender, the triumphant, the fearful, the wistful, the dark, the light, the cruel and the kind. Stories of love. All slightly peculiar. But then, so is love itself.Too true! I am delighted to be in such venerable company as Alex Epstein (we recently reviewed his flash collection, Blue Has No South, on The Short Review), Craig Cliff (read the review of his collection, A Man Melting),and Tim Jones ((read the review of his collection, Transported) - and many other writers I am looking forward to reading for the first time. Buy the book here.
The BBC National Short Story Award, managed in partnership with Booktrust, continues to serve as a reminder of the power of the short story and to celebrate a literary form that is proving ever more versatile in the twenty first century, enjoyed not just on the page, on air and increasingly on every sort of screen, but also in flash fiction events, short story festivals and slams. The short story has moved beyond the revival of recent years and is now experiencing a golden age.
BBC Radio 4 is the world's leading broadcaster of short stories and a staunch and long-time supporter of the form. Short stories are broadcast every week, attracting over a million listeners.BBC- you are a "staunch and long-time supporter", don't let us down now!
The new Controller of Radio 4, Gwyneth Williams, will be a guest on FEEDBACK on BBC Radio 4 next week. How very timely.
Would you add your name to a letter/question to ask her?
Would you pass on this email to other writers who care about the health of the short story…?
The more of us, & the better known the writers who sign it, the more likely it is to have some effect.
If so, please find below a short, polite question, proposed by Ian of http://www.nationalshortstoryweek.org.uk
Reminder: info on her decision to cut the short story’s presence on Radio 4 outlined here http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/07_july/10/radio4.shtml
If you’d like to add your signature, please email YES to
ian AT shortstoryweek DOT org DOT uk
& cc to me: info AT susiemaguire DOT co DOT uk
NB – It would be really helpful if you could reply within 24 hours so that the question can be lodged as soon as possible. This is by no means the *only* action interested parties can take, but it’s a start, and I hope you might add your weight to it with this (and further suggestions are welcomed)
thanks
Susie
*******************If you are moved to do so, please take action, following the instructions outlined above. Signatories so far include:
Proposed question:
We were surprised and disappointed to learn of the decision to reduce the short story output on Radio 4 to once a week from next spring. Radio 4 has been a great champion of the short story for many years. It is one of very few places in the UK where both new and established writers can have their short stories broadcast to a large audience, and where radio listeners can enjoy readings of the short story form. This move comes at a time when interest in the short story is growing, but paid opportunities for short story writers are still scarce. Could Gwyneth Williams please explain:
1) what has led her to make this decision?
2) whether the short stories on Radio 4 extra will be new commissions or repeats of existing recordings?
3) how this decision fits with the BBC’s sponsorship of the National Short Story Award (and indeed if this will continue?)
12.00 – 1.00 Women and Short Stories - panel discussion chaired by writer, broadcaster and critic Bidisha. Often ignored in ‘greatest’ and ‘best of’ lists in other areas of literature, it is widely acknowledged and chronicled that women have led the way in the development of the short story. Is there something specific to the form, missing in other genres, that enables women writers to be taken as seriously as their male counterparts? Are short stories the most emancipated form of literature? Bidisha explores the bond between women and short fiction with 3 of the UK's most celebrated short story writers: Janice Galloway, Alison MacLeod and Sarah Salway. Tickets £3
1.30 – 2.30 Reading Short Stories - panel discussion chaired by acclaimed short story writer Tania Hershman. Is there an art to reading a short story? Is it very different from other forms of fiction? Does it depend on where a story is read: a collection, single story in a magazine, on an ereader? Tania is joined by three passionate short story readers- book reviewer and blogger David Hebblethwaite, Clare Hey, former editor at HarperCollins and founder of trailblazing, digital-only short story publisher Shortfire Press and Scott Pack, publisher at The Friday Project, influential blogger, commentator, reader, and creator of the popular meandmyshortstories blog. Tickets £3
3.30 – 4.30 Helen Oyeyemi and Stuart Evers - Editor of Venue magazine, Joe Spurgeon, interviews two of the UK’s most exciting writers. Helen Oyeyemi’s Mr Fox (Picador) and Stuart Evers’ Ten Stories about Smoking (Picador) are two of this year’s most anticipated books of short stories, both taking a different approach to the linked stories tradition. Helen and Stuart will be signing copies of their latest books in the Arnolfini bookshop after the interview. Tickets £3. Sponsored by Venue magazine.
5.00 – 6.00 Choice Cuts - The Bristol area pulsates with an abundance of brilliant short story writers. Sample some of the finest exponents’ stories, including Patricia Ferguson, Tania Hershman, Sarah Hilary, Amy Mason, Emma Newman and Gareth Powell. Compered by poet, publisher and performer Bertel Martin. This is a free, ticketed event and likely to be very popular so please book early.
Light Studio – Following on from their brilliant exhibition last year, Henbury School art students present original mixed media prints inspired by Nastasya Parker’s short story ‘The Meek Inherit’ published in last year’s Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology. Free, no ticket required.
Dark Studio – Showing throughout the day, Fairfield School’s Year 11 animation students adaptation of Craig Hawes’ short story ‘Pictures in the Dust’ published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 2. Free, no ticket required.
Reading Room – Display of magazines and journals that publish short stories - one aspect of the vibrant and diverse world of short story publishing. Lots of real gems on show.
The 2011 Bristol Short Story Prize Awards Ceremony will be the closing event of the festival.
Tickets available from Arnolfini box office : phone 0117 9172300 or visit www.arnolfini.org.uk
We are extremely grateful for the funding and sponsorship help of Arts Council England, Bristol City Council, Venue magazine, Arnolfini and The Bristol Hotel in making this exciting event happen.
Imagination and interpretation: Writing science into fiction
Starts: 6pm on 20 July 2011
Finishes: 7.30pm on 20 July 2011
Venue: The Royal Society, London
Speakers: Pat Barker CBE, Philip Sington
Chair: Prof. Sally Shuttleworth
Join Pat Barker CBE and Philip Sington in a discussion about representing scientists and science in contemporary fiction. Both authors have imaginatively used the archives of early 20th century scientists as the basis for major works of fiction. They will reveal what attracted them to these historical sources in particular, and discuss the pleasures and pitfalls of interpreting modern science in fictional worlds.
The event is free and all are welcome to attend. No ticket or advance booking is required - doors will open at 5.30pm and seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
I get a kick from a great short story that is unlike any other reading experience, and I read everything, novels, poetry, non-fiction. But the short story discombobulates me, shakes me, moves me, in only a few pages or less, and it is these short stories I find I carry around with me, like whispering voices, for months, even years. I don't forget a short story I have loved.And a few weeks ago I was interviewed over at the excellent Shortfire press about, umm, yes, short stories:
I prefer a 'messy' story that may not be perfect but takes risks to a carefully written and 'safe' story that never strays into dangerous territory – and 'danger' can mean something incredibly small, but something risky nonetheless. I'd rather be slightly confused for lack of information than given far too much information and know exactly what's going on, what's happened and what's going to happen.I was so honoured to be included in this amazing project, Photo Stories "an experiment in writing, photography, and design" - all the writers involved picked a photo, wrote a 500-word story inspired by that photo, and then a designer combined the photo and the story into a third, brand-new entity, a "typographic print" - and all the typographic prints are being exhibited at the Saatchi gallery in London RIGHT NOW (and no, I haven't seen it, sadly I missed the launch). If you are in London, head down there. But even if you can't, the typographs are for sale, check out the website. You can see the typograph of my story here.
GEOMETRY
by Andrew Oldham
Some grey, wet afternoon in the lower set,Thanks so much for stopping by, Andrew. You can buy Ghosts of a Low Moon from Lapwing and find out more about Andrew on his website.
The blackboard is full of size, shape and lengths.
Two girls sit behind me; one smiles, smirks
and asks to see the length of my middle finger,
the circumference of my forefinger and thumb.
She looks under the table at my shoes, turns red.
Eyes widen at they look at the space my fingers conjure,
the empty round circle hangs in the air between us.
They’re adding me up and subtracting my volume,
I go red; stare at the board, stare at their legs,
polished and matt, one set bare, one set in tights.
...we “decide” how to write by doing it over and over, all the while trying to avoid nauseating ourselves—and then we look up afterwards and maybe try to figure out what we’ve done, and what we, therefore, must “believe” about writing.Read the rest of the interview over at BOMB magazine's blog.
