April 22nd. Writer vs Writer. Blood and ink will flow. The Flashtag Short Short Story Slam is back…

Here’s how it’s all going to go down. Twelve psyched writers will be paired off into head-to-head skirmishes, and then take turns to read out a tiny story. The audience votes for story and/or writer they liked the best and that guy or gal goes through to round two. If they survive another round, they reach the final. If they win that, they win cash. It’s like Street Figther but real, with cash, and without Ryu’s hadouken. Although you never know what tricks these writers will pull out of their bags when cornered…

The first Short Short Story Slam was held in Didsbury in 2013 for the Didsbury Arts Festival and it went down a storm. Didsbury Life described it as “…perhaps the best of the Didsbury Arts Festival – something unique, home-grown and radical, a real stand-out event.” The winner that time was one Trisha Starbrook who took to the stage having never read her stories aloud before. She won the crowd, smackdowned the opposition and grabbed the coveted victor’s belt while shouting; ‘Are you not entertained?!?’ Trisha is back for the second slam and angrier than ever, apparently. Other fighters this time include writer and film-maker Simon Sylvester, poetry slam regular Mark Mace Smith and one half of Manchester’s Bad Language collective Joe Daly.

This is an event not to be missed. This Tuesday, April 22, Gullivers Pub, Oldham Street, Manchester. The fighting starts at 7:30, the entry fee is a measly £1. Not for the fainthearted.

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