I’m so excited to be teaching a new online writing course for Comma Press starting in May. You can book tickets for it here. About the course: This online writing course will give you the skills to write a great crime story. You will practice crafting memorable characters, writing believable dialogue, and bringing the world of your crime story compellingly […]
I’m thrilled to have some new writing published in Needle Magazine, alongside some amazing poetry, prose poems and experimental pieces. My flash fiction piece is called ‘The Glass Delusion’ and tells story of the Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who was afflicted by a psychological illness known as ‘The Glass Delusion’, which caused him acute stage fright on the opening […]
I recently judged a short story competition for Sentinel Literary Quarterly and they have just announced the results. A lot of fantastic stories were submitted. I enjoyed the variety of literary styles and genres represented, ranging from crime fiction to sci-fi to comedy. The six winning stories are very different in style, but they all take a courageous approach to […]
Look out for New Short Story competitions at Sentinel Literary Quarterly, including the African Prisons Project competition judged by Alison Lock and the Quarterly Short Story competition judged by me. SENTINEL NIGERIA ALL-AFRICA SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2013 Closing Date: 28-Feb-2013 Theme: Open Length: 1500 words maximum (Excluding title) Prizes: N35,000 (1st), N20,000 (2nd), N10,000 (3rd), N4000 x 3 (High Commendation). Fees: N450 / £2.50 per […]
I had a lovely time at this year’s Manchester Artists’ Book Fair, selling books at the Hot Bed Bookstars table. As usual, there was a fantastic array of book artists from all over the UK in attendance, including Lucy May Schofield, Elizabeth Willow, Gemma Lacey and Sue Shaw, Oliver Flude and Lucy Roscoe. It was sheer pleasure to ogle and play with the beautiful and ingenious […]
I’m excited that my article, “Our Lives, Our Stories: Storytelling workshops in Uganda’s refugee camps”, has just come out in Issue 2 of Short Fiction in Theory & Practice, edited by Ailsa Cox, Alison Mcleod and Alan Wall. The article is based on my experience of leading oral narrative workshops for displaced Acholi women in post-war Northern Uganda. Whilst I was […]
I’m thrilled to be judging the Sentinel Literary Quarterly Short Story Competition, deadline April 2012. Details below – Competition Details Short Stories may be on any subject or style and MUST NOT have been previously published, or posted on a website or blog. Short Stories posted on members-only writing groups for workshop purposes as part of the creative process are not […]
A collection of the winning stories from The Fine Line Short Story Prize, Even Birds Are Chained To The Sky and Other Tales is now available from Amazon, who describe it as follows: Some are tales of joy and others woe; some tell of destructive lust and others slow-blooming love. They are lavish, restrained, fantastical and beguilingly everyday, drawing the reader into […]
My short story ‘Jungle Boogie’ was originally published in the Pulp Ink Anthology, which you can buy as an ebook on amazon. It will now be republished in The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 9, which Amazon describes as follows: The must-have annual anthology for every crime fiction fan – the year’s top new British short stories selected by […]
I’ve just been to the 6th Manchester Artists’ Book Fair, a free yearly event that celebrates book arts, small press publishing and traditional printmaking methods such as linocut, woodcut, etching, screen printing and letterpress. The fair included 50 stands showing artists’ books, zines and the works of small publishers from all around the UK. There were workshops and demonstrations for all to enjoy […]
