Tag Archives: Neon

January Round-Up II

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Greetings, short story lovers!
Here’s what’s been on a packed ShortStops blog over the past few weeks…

Tania x

Live Lit
We welcome a new live lit event to our list, Verbose, Manchester: “bring words to the ‘burbs – prose and poetry, with special guests and an open mic”.

Verbose invite you to their first event, Jan 26th.  White Rabbit want your short stories for their Curioser and Curioser storytelling tea party on Feb 20th in London. Stand-Up Tragedy’s next event, Tragic Winter, is in London on Feb 28th and they are calling for submissions for the SUT blog.

Lit Mags

We’re delighted that 2 new lit mags have joined our list: Trafika Europe, which “brings you some of the best new literature from Europe… and later in 2015 the first “online” literary radio station”; and Shooter Literary Magazine, “supporting emerging writers of literary fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry and narrative journalism”. Welcome, both!

Shooter Literary Magazine is already blogging, with a call for submissions for Issue #2, on the theme of ‘Union.’ On the theme of themes, Brain of Forgetting’s first issue, Stones, is now available, and submissions for Issue 2 open shortly. Neon Magazine has opened submissions for Battery Pack II, its second anthology of tiny stories.  Other mags still want your stories too: The Manchester Review has is calling for your submissions. Jotters United is calling for submissions.

Anthologies
Freight Books wants short story submissons for an anthology inspired by Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

Competitions & Festivals
Ann Summers has launched an erotic fiction-writing competition, deadline Jan 23rd, so get your skates on! The Short FICTION short story prize is open for entries, deadline March 31st, as are the Felixtstowe Book Festival’s 2015 short story competition, deadline May 16th and The Moth’s International Short Story Prize, deadline June 30th. Words and Women announced the winners of their writing competition.

Workshops and Courses
Clevedon Community Bookshop is holding a flash fiction workshop taught by Gail Aldwin this Thurs, Jan 22nd. Paul McVeigh is running a one-day workshop on That Killer First Page- Submitting to Competitions and Journals, in London on Jan 31st. Alison Clayborn is running a Focus on Fiction course at the Brunel Museum in London.

And Ireland has a new national residential writing centre – The Story House in County Waterford, which is running a short story course from Mar 23-28th.

Last Minutes and Gentle Reminders
You have until Jan 23rd to submit stories on the theme of ‘Outsiders’ to Popshot, and January 25th is the deadline for prose pamphlet submissions for The Emma Press.

If you are eager for even more short-story-related news, do follow ShortStops on Twitter where, when we should be writing, we spend (far too) much time passing on news from lit mags, live lit events, short story workshops and festivals! If you’d like to review an event or a publication, drop me a line.

July Fortnightly Round-up II

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Hello everyone,
Here’s all the short story news from the ShortStops’ blog over the past fortnight.

Lit Mags

Things on the lit mag scene are rather “powerful” this month – check out Issue 38 of Neon Magazine – and Battery Pack makes its debut. And Don’t Do It has unveiled Issue 5, the Electricity issue. For your further reading pleasure, Bunbury’s fifth issue is the Mythology special. The deadline for this month’s Writing Maps contest has passed, but it has launched its new map, The Big Gay Writing Map.

The Manchester Review Issue 12 is now live and they are also calling for submissions for Issue 13. The Casket of Fictional Delights is calling for your Christmas stories! HeadStuff wants your writing, as does The Cro Magnon, for their website and perhaps for their travelling show.

Competitions

The London Short Story Prize is now open for entries, deadline Sep 19th. The new short story competition from VCLL is aimed at those from Leicester and the surrounding areas, deadline 12th Sept, and Magic Oxygen are running a new short story and poetry contest to create a tropical word forest, deadline 30th November.

More competitions: The 3rd annual A Spot of Hysteria Writing Competition run by the UK Hysterectomy Association (deadline Aug 31); the RAC’s national short story competition on the theme of Driving in Europe, deadline 11 Sept; Creative Industries Trafford’s flash fiction competition, deadline Sept 15th; and the Historic House Short Story Comp (26 Sep) wants stories inspired by or set in a historic house.

Workshops

The Berko Summer School is holding a series of one-off masterclasses, including a short story masterclass with Adam Marek tomorrow, July 29th.

Last Minutes & Gentle Reminders

The Sean O’Faolain short story competition and  Writeidea’s national short story contest, The Writeidea Prize both close on July 31st.

If you are eager for even more short-story-related news, do follow ShortStops on Twitter where, when we should be writing, we spend (far too) much time passing on news from lit mags, live lit events, short story workshops and festivals! If you’d like to review an event or a publication, drop me a line.

Happy reading, writing, listening and performing!
Tania x

Issue Thirty-Eight Of Neon – Plus Battery Pack Makes Its Debut

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thumb38

The beginning of July saw the publication of not only a new issue of Neon Literary Magazine, but also Neon‘s first ever tiny anthology of micro-fiction Battery Pack. This mini booklet featured stories by David Hartley, Henry Northmore, Sarah Butler, Tamasine Reilley, Jenny Mackenzie, and Tracy Fells. At fewer than five hundred words in length, Battery Pack is a quick but (I hope) stimulating read – and best of all it’s free. The simplest way to get hold of a copy at the moment is to order the current issue of Neon – each copy is despatched with a free Battery Pack. Keep an eye on the site for more information in the very near future.

Neon Literary Magazine itself has also undergone some changes. It is now perfect bound and a full thirty pages longer. This gives me the space to feature longer works and a greater number of writers. Issue 38 for example includes fiction and poetry by Steve Subrizi, Peter Branson, Ian Mullins, Holly Day, Claire Joanne Huxham, Jonathan Greenhause, Mark Vanner, Alina Rios, Sam Preminger, and Huang Kaishan. There’s also an extract from Karen Heuler’s recent novel Glorious Plague, and a beautiful cover image by Diána Farkas Fruzsina.

In order to fill all those extra pages, I’m now looking for more submissions, particularly short stories. If you think you’ve got something that would work well in issue 39, then please do drop by the Guidelines page to find out how to send it along.

March Round-Up III

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Hello story lovers,
As March draws to a close a little dryer than it opened, here’s our roundup of what’s been happening on ShortStops over the past fortnight:

Lit Mags and Competitions
We welcome 1000Words to our lit mag list – flash fictions written to a picture prompt. Bare Fiction mag are giving away Issue 1 for free as they launch Issue 2, and there’s anew writer and new luggage from The Casket of Fiction Delights. Jotters United launches Issue 2, Myths of the Near Future are offering the brand-new Revolution Issue for free until Apr 3 and calling for submissions from under-25s for the Money issue.

Stinging Fly shares with us 10 Writers on Bad Advice They Chose to Ignore. Holdfast magazine announce a call for submissions for their first print anthology, deadline June 15th, and submissions open til May 31st for their online issue #3.

Read an extract from a story from Neon’s Winter issue and check out their call for proposal for chapbooks and pamphlets. The Moth International Short Story Prize is open until June 30th.

Live Lit & Short Story Events
We welcome London live lit night The Special Relationship to our list – and they are hosting a free event: a night of short fiction from Comma Press and the Croatian Writers’ Society in London on April 8th.

Workshops
Comma Press is holding a short story writing workshop in April in Manchester.

Last Minutes & Gentle Reminders
Today is the deadline for The Brighton Prize, a short story prize with a live lit twist, so get those entries in!

Anthologies
Submit a short story on the theme of Islands and Cities to a new Tasmanian-London anthology by April 30th.

Happy reading, writing, listening and performing!
Tania x

March Fortnightly Roundup II

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Hello story lovers,
Here’s our roundup of what’s been happening on ShortStops over the past fortnight:

Lit Mags and Competitions
Mslexia’s short story competition closes today, March 17th, get your entries in quick! We welcome new lit mag Jotters United to our list. You can now enter Brittle Star’s short story and poetry competitions online, deadline March 21st. Read an extract from a story from Neon’s Winter issue and check out their call for proposal for chapbooks and pamphlets. The Brighton Prize, a short story prize with a live lit twist, is accepting entries until April 1st.

Holdfast magazine’s second issue is published and submissions are open for Issue #3 on the theme of Objects, Artefacts and Talismans, and the Moth International Short Story Prize is open until June 30th.

Live Lit & Short Story Events
Today is the deadline for submissions to Telltales on the theme of ‘Unhinged’ to be read at their next event in Falmouth on March 25th. Stand-up Tragedy’s Tragic Heroes is at the Hackney Attic in London on March 21st.

At In Praise Of Short Stories at the Daunt Books Festival on March 27th in London, KJ Orr will be talking to AL Kennedy, David Constantine and Helen Simpson. Book tickets for the next Word Factory event, also in London, on March 29th: a masterclass, short story club, then live lit event with AS Byatt, Joe Dunthorne and Will Cohu.

Last Minutes & Gentle Reminders
Short Fiction’s 2014 short story prize is still open for entries, deadline March 31st

Anthologies
Submit a short story on the theme of Islands and Cities to a new Tasmanian-London anthology by April 30th.

Happy reading, writing, listening and performing!

Winter Issue Of Neon, And Chapbooks

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Neon - Issue 37

I’m not a cigarette I said to the giant cigarette looking suspiciously back at me through the mirror in the truck stop bathroom. The room was filthy, covered in green sludge, and the toilet had committed suicide. There were pieces of brown brain spilling out of the ceramic entry wound. The plunger made some sly remark I couldn’t quite make out, and spontaneously combusted. It smelled delicious.

– From “A Suspicious Cigarette” by Erric Emerson, Issue #37, Neon Literary Magazine

The above is a brief extract from the recently-published winter issue of Neon Literary Magazine. You can read the rest of Erric’s story, as well as the other works featured in the issue, by visiting www.neonmagazine.co.uk. PDF, EPUB and MOBI editions of the magazine are free, and a print issue costs just £2.50. This edition features the work of Paul Bavister, Shanalee Smith, Noel Williams, Christopher Owen, Tracey S Rosenberg, Erric Emerson, Meg Eden, and Joe Evans.  The cover image is by Timur Cetintas. In its pages you will find guns and knives, nightmarish exam days, a story about Facebook friends and some excellent concrete poetry.

In addition to the new issue, there’re also a number of exciting new projects in the pipeline. At the moment in particular we’re looking for proposals for chapbooks and pamphlets to be published over the next few years. Read more about this, or submit something via the webform at http://www.neonmagazine.co.uk/?page_id=4180. Submissions to Neon are open as well, and if you think you have something that might be right for the magazine please do send it along.

And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to add Neon on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or join us on Google+.

February Round-Up II

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Hello story lovers,
As February continues wetter and windier, here are some glimmers of light as we strain towards spring…!

Lit Mags, Competitions and Workshops
We welcome a new lit mag to the list, Valve, an annual journal dedicated to “the very best new experimental literature”.  We have ShortStops’ first lit mag review – Rosalind Minette gives us her impression of The Grind Issue #1! (If you fancy reviewing a lit mag, drop me a line).

Talking of reviews, Bare Fiction is looking for contributors to its Features and Reviews section. It’s last Call for submissions to Tube-Flash – you have until Feb 28th! The Siren journal is calling for submissions for its first short story anthology.

A brand new issue of Flash magazine, issue 6.2, has arrived, with new short short stories, reviews and a flash essay. And the February edition of Long Story, Short is ‘Hand Me Downs’ by Kelly Creighton – read an excerpt.

Brittle Star magazine is holding an Open Writing Competition, judged by the excellent David Constantine, deadline March 12th, and The Edge Hill Prize for published short story collections is now accepting entries, until the first week of March. Short Fiction’s 2014 short story prize is still open for entries, deadline March 31st, and you have until June 30th to submit to the Moth International Short Story Prize.

Live Lit & Short Story Events
For small short story fans, White Rabbit is presenting its new storytelling show for children, The Secret Garden, at the South Bank in London Feb 21- 32rd. White Rabbit is back on Feb 28th with Are You Sitting Comfortably? Science Fiction (for grown-ups!) in London.

On March 1st Myths of the Near Future will be holding a launch event for Issue 5: The Revolution Issue in Worcester.  The next Hubbub is on March 10th in London and features Zoe Pilger and Liane Strauss. Telltales wants your submissions by March 17th on the theme of ‘Unhinged’ to be read at their next event in Falmouth on March 25th.

You missed Open Pen’s launch event on Feb 13th – keep an eye out for the next one! But don’t miss In Praise Of Short Stories at the Daunt Books Festival on March 27th in London, where KJ Orr will be talking to AL Kennedy, David Constantine and Helen Simpson.

Last Minutes & Gentle Reminders
The National Flash Fiction Youth competition is open for entries til Feb 21st.  Smoke, the London Peculiar, is calling for submissions until end February for their London water-themed short story anthology, Smoke on the Water. Riptide Journal is open for submissions for Volume 10, on the theme of ‘Imaging the Suburbs’, deadline March 1. Also open til March 1st are submissions to Neon Magazine of tiny fictions for a new project, Battery Pack.

Writing, Publishing & Workshops
The creators of On The Same Page have launched a crowdfunding campaign to finish development of the app which will allow you to publish your own creative work as an app. And check out the Writers’ Centre Norwich’s upcoming short story workshops.

Roll on spring!

February Fortnightly Round-Up (1)

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Hello story lovers,
Welcome to February, which is wet and windy round here. A good excuse to stay in, read and write, right? Here’s a round-up of what’s been happening at ShortStops over the past fortnight.

Lit Mags, Competitions and Workshops
New to the site is The Grind, a “literary and visual arts magazine serving Scotland and its diaspora”. Short Fiction’s 2014 short story prize wants your stories, deadline March 31st. The editor of the Writers’ Hub has blogged some useful advice about How To Get Published On The Writers Hub (And Elsewhere). The Moth International Short Story Prize is now open for entries, deadline June 30. Coming soon – a call for submissions for Transportation, a new Tasmanian/English short story anthology.

Smoke, the London Peculiar, is calling for submissions for their London water-themed short story anthology, Smoke on the Water. And Neon Magazine wants your tiny fictions for a new project, Battery Pack.

If you want some help working on your short stories before sending ’em off, check out the Writers’ Centre Norwich’s upcoming short story workshops.

Live Lit
Stand-Up Tragedy’s February event is Tragic Love, Feb 13th in London – on that same night in Brighton, head down to Rattle Tales – the line-up for the event has just been announced. On Feb 28th White Rabbit presents Are You Sitting Comfortably? Science Fiction in London.

Last Minutes & Gentle Reminders
Today, Feb 3rd, is the deadline to send your stories to the Davy Byrnes short story competition  you are an Irish citizen or resident. The National Flash Fiction Youth competition is open for entries til Feb 21st. Number Eleven mag welcomes submissions, and Riptide Journal is open for submissions for Volume 10, on the theme of ‘Imaging the Suburbs’ (deadline March 1 2014).

Tania x

January Round-Up

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Hello short story fans!
There has been so much activity at ShortStops since our last round-up that I’m still trying to catch my breath! First, congrats to Tracy Fells, the winner of a copy of the new Short Fiction journal – read Catherine McNamara’s interview with Short Fiction co -editor Tom Vowler. More interviews and giveaways of lit mags coming soon.

Here’s a round-up of the rest:

Workshops
Want to work on your own short stories? Check out the Writers’ Centre Norwich’s upcoming short story workshops.

Live 
We welcome bi-monthly Falmouth live lit night, Telltales, to our list – their first 2014 event is on Jan 28th. White Rabbit is taking Bernadette Russell’s multimedia story show, 366 Days of Kindness, on tour around the UK from Jan 10th – find out if it’s coming to a theatre near you. Seven of Gill Blow’s short stories have been adapted for the theatre  –  Take 7 will be performed in Sheffield on Jan 24th and 25th. Word Factory #19, featuring David Almond, Stella Duffy and Rebecca Swirsky, is on Jan 25th in London. And Bad Language is back for their first event of the year, on Jan 29th in Manchester.

Lit Mags
New additions to our pages include “surreal/irreal/gritty/realist” print mag Fur-lined Ghettoes, Octavius, a literary magazine for students in Scotland which is calling for submissions for Issue 3, and fortnightly online journal The Siren,

Tube-flash is back – The Casket of Fictional Delights has new flash stories inspired by the London Underground – and wants yours, too. The January edition of Long Story, Short is ‘Nutella’, by Katie M. Anderson, read an excerpt. Open Pen Issue 10 is now in the shops, get a sneak peak and a hint of upcoming events. Smoke, the London Peculiar, is calling for submissions for their London water-themed short story anthology, Smoke on the Water. And Neon Magazine wants your tiny fictions for a new project, Battery Pack.

Last Minutes & Gentle Reminders
Today, Jan 20th, is the last day to submit to Holdfast for Issue #2, ‘Animals, Beasts and Creatures’, so get your stories in. If you are an Irish citizen or resident, send your stories to the Davy Byrnes short story competition by Feb 3rd. The National Flash Fiction Youth competition is open for entries til Feb 21st. Number Eleven mag welcomes submissions for Issue 4, and Riptide Journal is open for submissions for Volume 10, on the theme of ‘Imaging the Suburbs’ (deadline March 1 2014).

Phew. I told you there was a lot going on. Enjoy! To get this by email every two weeks, glance slightly to your right and click on the link that says Sign Up For Our Email Newsletter.
Tania x

Battery Pack Seeks Submissions Of Tiny Fiction

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Battery Pack Image

This year Neon will be publishing a number of exciting side projects. The first is Battery Pack – a palm-sized anthology of very short fiction. Battery Pack will be eight pages long and folded from a single sheet of paper. It will be given away for free with the spring issue of Neon, as well as being available for readers anywhere in the world to download, print and fold their own copy.

If you want to get involved you can send in your writing for possible publication. I’m looking for short stories containing no more than seventy-five words at most. I prefer stories where there’s a clear narrative and it’s easy to tell what’s going on. Abstract or purely descriptive pieces are less likely to be selected. I have a slight tendency towards horror, but am happy to read any genre.

To find out more about the project and to submit work please visit Neon‘s website. While you’re there you can check out the latest issue of Neon, which features the work of Paul Ebbs, Simon Collings, Michael Hemmingson, CJ Opperthauser, Amy Schreibman Walter, Dan Coxon, and Helen Addy. The cover image is by Sarah Katharina Kayß. There’s time travel, mannequins, failed attempts at kindness, a haunting retreat to a cabin in the woods, and a trip on board the Anti-Titanic.

Submissions to Neon are also open, and with issue 37 just around the corner now is an excellent time to send in some work for issue 38. Have a quick read of the magazine (you can download it for free in a variety of formats, or purchase a print copy for £2.50) and then send something along!