Live lit & other news

Just a very quick post, so much going on, it's hard to know where to start! Well, firstly, I am reading at Ragged Stone tomorrow night (Tues 16th) in Portishead - come, sign up for the open mic and read too! I'm also reading at the Bristol Lit Fest Flash open mic on Saturday 20th at 4pm at the Hooper House cafe, in the excellent company of Sarah Hilary, Valerie O'Riordan, Kevlin Henney and more...! Then, a few hours later that same day, you've got me reading again (different stuff, I promise) at the Unputdownable Speakeasy, with  Nikesh Shukla, Valerie O’Riordan, Sanjida O’Connell, Miles Chambers & Maria McCann. Do come if you're in the area, it'll be a great party!

Next Tues Oct 23rd, I'm delighted to be one of the two guest writers - along with Kerry Hudson, who I interviewed on my blog here - at Stories Aloud in Oxford. Actors will be reading our work and then we'll be answering questions, probably about what our favourite fonts are! If you need to know, then come along.

In other news, I'm thrilled beyond words to have been shortlisted for the poetry section of the 2012 Bridport prize - my first time entering a poem! The full shortlists are here, great to see so many familiar names, congrats to: Martha Williams, Jon Pinnock, Roshi Fernando, Josephine Corcoran, Afric McGlinchey, Joanna Campbell, Kay Sexton, Cassandra Parkin, Kerry Hood, Dave Swann and Barbara Leahy! And my friend Sandra Jensen, who was highly commended in the short story section!

Sorry about all the exclamation marks. Overexcited.

Happy National Flash Fiction Day - And A Giveaway!

It's National Flash Fiction Day!! Here's hoping you all have a good one... head over to the official website to find out what's going on around the country! A huge round of applause for founder and organizer Calum Kerr, what a job this man has done. Wow. Check out his Flash Flood journal, with a veritable cascade of fantastic flash fiction posted since midnight last night, and ongoing! The Thresholds short story forum has a great article celebrating the day, and Twitter-length flash fiction that has been submitted.Also: the amazing anthology he has produced, Jawbreakers, which includes stories by Ali Smith, Ian Rankin, and more (including me) is FREE to download just today for the Kindle. Get it here. And the Flash Fiction South West's gorgeous anthology, Kissing Frankenstein and Other Stories, is available here.

And me? Well, I'm heading off shortly to Oxford to the gorgeous Albion Beatnik bookstore (see the pic) for Eight Cuts' Flash Fiction Slam which starts at 6.30pm tonight, a feast of flash fiction slammers going head to head (not me, I'm too cowardly). I shall be offering gentle comments on the proceedings and some stern words about the joys of flash fiction. Come join us!

If you can't make any of the events, not sure what this is all about, a great place to start are the anthologies that first inspired my love for the short short story:

This is a pic of them on my desk... they were published from the 1980s onwards (no flash fiction was not invented in the 21st century), all edited by the indominitable Robert Shaphard and James Thomas, and include luminaries such as Grace Paley, Aimee Bender, Barry Yourgrau, and many many more.

The eagle-eyed amongst you many notice that I actually have TWO copies of Sudden Fiction: American Short Short Stories, and so to honour this day I am going to give away a copy to one lucky blog reader. No need to do anything, just express interest in the comments section and one person will be picked out of a hat later in the week. I will send it anywhere in the world...

Happy happy flash fiction day!