Dear ShortStops readers,

we want to thank you all for your contributions and support in the run-up to the most recent issue of The Manchester Review, which launched on Monday 8th December. The submissions queue truly impressed us and we think Issue 13 is one of our finest volumes to date, featuring fiction from David Gaffney, Chris Killen, Jim Quinn, Emily-Jo Hopson, Rob McClure Smith, and the co-winner of the 2013 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Sharon Millar. That’s all in addition to a fantastic selection of poetry, and artwork by Debbie Goldsmith.

As we said in the issue’s editorial, there is clearly no shortage of good literary work emerging and being published in the northwest of England and beyond. With that in mind, we will open again to submissions for our Issue 14, slated for next spring, on Monday 15th December – so please do continue to send us your best work!

In the meantime, happy Christmas to you, from all of our editors!

Valerie, Ian, and John.