Pushcart nomination!

The lovely people at Reflex Fiction (looking at you, Dave) have nominated my flash story, Get Gone - which won 2nd prize in their Spring contest - for a Pushcart Prize! So very nice to have some lovely news to share, and a great way to start 2021. You can read the story here >>

Get Gone - 2nd Prize

I'm delighted that my flash story, 'Get Gone', is 2nd prize-winner in Reflex Fiction's Spring 2020 flash contest! Here's a snippet:

Get gone, girl, she snarls and the girl, who never knows what she might be getting, goes. Galloping across roads, the girl feels herself small, feels herself dissolving. Giant clouds at the level of her shoulders try to make her laugh but the girl is not amused. Get gone, she herself says to the clouds, and to the snails that line the way, watching. Girls and snails never mix, this she knew from early on. 

Gathered in to herself later, after a day or week...

You can read the whole story here. 

Groceries - flash fiction prize

I've only recently started writing flash fiction again after a few years off, mostly writing poems. It's a joy to get back to characters, to making things up - and a true delight that one of my new flash stories recently won the Writers' HQ LGBTQ Flash Fiction contest! You can read the story, Groceries, here, if you'd like to. Thanks so much to the judges, Paul McVeigh and Kirsty Logan and the fab folk at Writers HQ.

Poetry!!

So, I got some Very Nice News a few weeks ago that I couldn't share - until today! Here it is - it made me cry when they told me, and seeing it in print has moved me all over again, Congratulations, all!

FOOL for POETRY CHAPBOOK

Results

 

Two British Poets Take Top Spots in Munster Literature Centre's Fool For Poetry Chapbook Competition.


Victor Tapner has taken top prize with his manuscript Banquet In the Hall of Happiness. Tapner's full collection Flatlands was published by Salt in 2010. Among his previous honours he has won the Cardiff International Poetry Competition, the Wigtown Prize and Flatlands won the East Anglian Book Award for Poetry.

Tania Hershman came second with her manuscript Nothing Here is Wild, Everything is Open. Tania has published books of short fiction previously but this will be her debut poetry volume. Her fiction books are The White Road & Other Stories (Salt, 2008) and My Mother Was An Upright Piano (Tangent, 2012).

The following poets were also selected as finalists from a field of over 200 entries:

Liz Bahs, Berkshire, UK
Garret Bryant, California,
Catherine Cole, Wollongong, Australia.
Kevin Conroy, Naas, Ireland
Paul McMahon, Sligo, Ireland
Lauren Rusk, California
Ryan Vine, Minnesota

The judging process consisted of Patrick Cotter selecting the finalist manuscripts and past and present Southword Poetry editors, James Harpur, Thomas McCarthy, Leanne O'Sullivan and Matthew Sweeney, ranking (without mutual consultation) each finalist in order of preference. When points were added up Victor Tapner and Tania Hershman came out tops.

The winning chapbooks will be launched at next February's Cork International Poetry Festival.

 

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.

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).

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.

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! 

Congratulations, Vanessa!

I can't resist talking about my very talented friend, especially since she is offline right now at a writing retreat... so it's up to me to say

CONGRATULATIONS

to Vanessa Gebbie, already a prize-winning short story writer and novelist, for winning FIRST PRIZE in the Troubadour Poetry Competition! Is there no end to her talents? I suspect there isn't! I'm so proud of her, she's only been writing poetry for a few years, and this prize comes with a very nice cheque for £2,500, which will buy quite a bit of cake when she and I next meet for a writerly chat! She's a true inspiration, I'm raising a glass! Cheers! Read her winning poem here.

Here's the full list of prizewinners, congratulations to all!

• First Prize, £2500: ‘Immensi Tremor Oceani’, Vanessa Gebbie, East Sussex
• Second Prize, £500: The Teenage Existential, Paul Stephenson, London
• Third Prize, £250: Explaining the Plot of ‘Blade Runner’ to my Mother who has Alzheimer’s: C.J. Allen, Notts

and, with prizes of £20 each:

• Horse As Accordion, Nicky Arscott, Powys
• A Tale from the Town Maze, Mike Barlow, Lancaster
• East 17th Street or How I Met My Husband, Mara Bergman, Tunbridge Wells
• The Third Umpire, Judy Brown, London
• The Ledge, Miles Cain, York
• Brood, Claudia Daventry, St. Andrews
• The Language of Memory (The Bees), Gerrie Fellows, Glasgow
• Lost, Rebecca Goss, Liverpool
• When Jesus Played the Piano, David H.W. Grubb, Henley-on-Thames
• Woman on a Cliff, Peter Gruffydd, Bristol
• X-Ray Vision, Alex Josephy, London
• Woolpit Child, Gillian Laker, Kent
• October 1962, Shelley McAlister, Yarmouth
• Burning the Clocks, John McCullough, East Sussex
• HazMat, Dawn McGuire, Orinda, California
• A Psalm for the Scaffolders, Kim Moore, Barrow in Furness
• The Mercedes, Helen Overell, Surrey
• The Scarlet Lizard, Caroline Smith, Rickmansworth
• Underworld, Judi Sutherland, Berkshire
• Peter Doig’s Studio, Betty Thomson, Co. Wexford

Congratulations are in order!

There's nothing greater than being able to congratulate my smart and talented friends, and there's a lot today! First, the wonderful Lauri Kubuitsile is shortlisted for the highly prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story “In the spirit of McPhineas Lata” from The Bed Book of Short Stories published by Modjaji Books! Winner announced in July, fingers crossed, Lauri!

Second - huge congratulations to Andrea Ashworth and Jon Pinnock who, along with Cassandra Parkin, are the three winners of this year's Salt Publishing Scott Prize for debut short story collections. Their collections will be published in November, the UK's National Short Story Week. Can't wait to read them!

Addendum: Third lot of congratulations, to Tom Vowler, whose collection, The Method, has been shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, alongside collections from Helen Simpson, Polly Samson,Graham Mort and Michele Roberts. Winner announced in July. Read my interview with Tom here.