Tag Archives: short story workshop

Writers’ HQ Online Writing Short Fiction Course (plus membership discount!)

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Short stories aren’t just easier versions of the novel. They’re a broad, complex and rewarding art form in their own right. Writers’ HQ’s new online short story course will help you see the bigger picture and compress it into short stories with real punch.

Short stories have been here since the dawn of time. Based in the oral tradition (stop sniggering at the back), they’re the apocryphal family legends our grandmas/weird uncle used to tell us over Christmas dinner; they’re the school-yard urban myths; the sleepover ghost stories; the soliloquies in our diaries; the wine-soaked rants to that random person you cornered in the kitchen at that party after so-and-so dumped you. Short stories are all around us.

But super short stories are not super easy for writers, natch. In fact, the shorter your story becomes, the harder it is to distil what really matters onto the page. I would have written a shorter letter, so the famous quote goes, but I didn’t have the time.

So what makes truly great short fiction? The kind that leaves you dribbling, slack-jawed, and slap-faced when you finish it. The kind you remember forever, like some weird dream-memory. Well. We can’t write it for you, but we can give you a nudge, a shove, and a poke with a sharp stick (whatever floats your boat) to help you on your way. With the help of writing prompts, advice from award-winning short fiction writers, inspiring exercises, and the awesome little Writers’ HQ online community, you’ll come out the other side with at least one fully formed short story to call your very own – and maybe even send out into the world of literary magazines and competitions…

BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW or sign up for the full WHQ MEMBERSHIP for access to all seven of our online courses and exclusive discounts and freebies!

Sign up for monthly membership before 31st December and get 25% off your sign up fee with promo code WHQERSRULE25

short fiction online writing course

 

London Lit Lab: Write and Edit a Story in a Weekend 7-8 Oct

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We had so much fun teaching Write and Edit a Story in the spring that we’ve brought it back again this autumn. Only this time we’re not only dissecting the short story, but also the personal essay.

We all have different strengths and weaknesses as writers. For some, getting a first draft down is a necessary torture before the fun of editing begins. For others, editing is the agony after the ecstasy!

This two-day course is designed to get you both writing and editing, by combining dedicated creative time with an intensive tour through ways to improve your craft.

On day one, we’ll kick off by exploring ways to turn our ideas into full stories, whether we’re writing fiction or creative nonfiction, from getting first words down to finishing a draft. You will then have ample time and space (and tea and cake) to write, in the quiet company of fellow scribblers.

On day two, we will work through a series of editing approaches, which you will be able to apply to your own work. Think of these as a series of editorial experiments that will throw new light on plot, style, characterisation, setting, dialogue, openings and endings. We suggest that you bring your draft from the previous day (or another story or essay if you prefer), in multiple copy or on a laptop, so that you can test out approaches even if you choose not to apply all the editing techniques we teach in the session. We’ll discuss the results and share our work if we wish. In the spring both Zoe and Lily shared a very rough draft of their own writing, to be pulled apart by the group, but it was a great learning curve for everyone. So we’ll most likely do this again as well. Eek!

You don’t have to come up with an idea on the spot. You might have an idea you’ve been wanting to write, or a piece you have already started. Please bring this with you, to draft on day one. For those who want a new idea, we’ll provide optional idea-generating material to get you going.

This course is suitable for both beginners and committed writers. For both those writing fiction and creative nonfiction. Whether you’re dabbling in your first short stories or personal essays, or you’re compiling a short story collection, or writing a memoir, we welcome you. By the end of the course we’ll endeavour to help you have a new draft of a story or essay, and a range of editing skills to help get it into shape.

Course fee: Early Bird £189. Full fee £229

Date and Time: Weekend of October 7th & 8th, 10am-4pm

Location: Clapton Laundry, London – a luxurious, inspiring space in East London, where you will have plenty of space to spread out and find a quiet spot during the first day of writing. Lunch will also be provided

Tutors: This course will be taught by both Lily Dunn and Zoe Gilbert of London Lit Lab. By leading workshops together, we are able to bring two perspectives to everything we teach, and therefore everything is up for discussion! Sharing our differing approaches to writing helps to create a richer learning experience, which we believe benefits everyone who comes on our courses.

Places are limited, so if you would like to reserve a place, or for more information, please get in touch at info@londonlitlab.co.uk

We have one place on this course available at a 75% discount for a writer who would struggle to pay the full fee. If you, or someone you know, would like to apply for this place, please write to us at info@londonlitlab.co.uk, by 23rd September. In no more than 200 words, please tell us why you would like to come on the course, what you write, and why a discounted place would be valuable to you. We won’t be fact-checking but we really want to give this place to someone who genuinely needs it, so please be honest. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you.

http://www.londonlitlab.co.uk/

Medieval Murder and 17th Century Romance – Two free workshops in Devon

‘Cullopmton’s Wool Trade, Coldharbour Mill and the Walronds –

 A Historical Fiction Romance and Adventure Creative Short Story Workshop’.

Thursday the 14th of September – Free Morning Workshop

(9.45am registration and a 10am start. Finish at 12 o’clock.)

To book contact:  cullompton.library@librariesunlimited.org.uk

 

 

Your Workshop Facilitator will be Myfanwy (Vanni) Cook, who is currently the ‘New Voices’ Feature Editor for ‘The Historical Novel Society Review Magazine’ and an Associate Fellow at two Universities. She is the author of ‘Historical Fiction Writing – A practical guide and tool-kit’ and is passionate about bringing local history alive.

www.historicalnovelsociety.org  

https://twitter.com/MyfanwyCook

Thursday the 14th of September – Free Afternoon Workshop

The “Golgotha” and St. Andrew’s Church –A Historical Crime Fiction Creative Short Story Workshop

for those who enjoy the writing of Ellis Peters and Umberto Eco

(1.45pm Registration and a 2pm start. Finish at 4pm.)

To book contact:  cullompton.library@librariesunlimited.org.uk

Vote Now and Help The A3 Review Decide

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This month’s contest theme over at The A3 Review is inspired by The Raw Soul Food Map and Writing the Love Writing Map. Dates and Dating, respectively!

We’re looking for flash fiction, poems and artwork about sweet fleshy things. Dates! And yes, about dating, too. Sweet fleshy moments of love, potential love, and times when the sugar’s just not there! Write about a couple on a date in a noisy bar. Turn a Tinder, Findhrr or Grindr profile into a poem. Compose a praise song to the perfect dating partner, or an elegy to the date that went wrong!

Deadline is the 24th of June. The only restriction is a word-limit of 150 and images should fit well into an A6 panel. Visit our Submittable page for more details and to enter. Follow us on Twitter, too. There’s publication, Writing Maps and cash prizes for the winners.

Choose contest themes for The A3 ReviewNow, we need your help… Have your say in the new themes for our next issue, The Gold Issue. If you click here, you’ll be taken to the poll. As a thank-you, we’ll pick three winners from all respondents to receive a full set of The A3 Review (Issues 1 to 6).

Happy writing, and we look forward to reading your work.

PS. There are still three places left on the Write Around Town online course with The A3 Review‘s editor, Shaun Levin. Six weeks of inspiration, writing, feedback, and community. Check out all the details here.

 

Seven Days of Story Inspiration from Writers’ HQ

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writers' hq seven ideas in seven days online writing course

SEVEN IDEAS IN SEVEN DAYS – 1 WEEK ONLINE WRITING COURSE – STARTS 5th JUNE (£20)

Learn how to see, hear and think like a writer with Writers’ HQ’s 5-star online creative writing course, Seven Ideas in Seven Days.  Designed to fit around every day life and a busy schedule wherever you are in the world, we’ll give you techniques and exercises for generating ideas and turning them into usable outlines for brilliant stories.

If you’ve ever sat down with good intentions to write a short story but find your brain (and the page) utterly blank, then this is the writing course for you. Ideas are the bedrock of story writing. Sometimes they come thick and fast, and sometimes they seem to languish in the dank cellar of your subconscious and refuse to come out to play. Seven Ideas in Seven Days will help you to turn into an idea-generating machine using inspiring exercises, forum discussions, writing prompts, feedback and support.

Over the course of the week, we’ll teach your brain to germinate those idea-seeds. (Seedy ideas? Something like that.) We’ll give you techniques to spot ideas in both the fantastic and the mundane, exercises to encourage them to grow and bloom, ways to record them for when you need them, and generally help you get into the habit of THINKING.

By the end you will have: seven ideas that can be grown into fully fledged stories, or inserted into existing stories to make them even better. Book your place HERE!

WHAT YOU GET

  • Seven ideas that you can use, grow, nurture, or throw on the floor in frustration (then pick up again and hope no one saw)
  • Daily inspiration, whip-cracking, writing exercises and prompts
  • Top tips from tip-top authors
  • A private student forum to discuss ideas, techniques and get advice from your tutors and fellow writers
  • Dedicated support by email from your fantastic tutors
  • Feedback and writerly conversation from the LOVELY social media community of Writers HQers

STARTS MONDAY 5th JUNE (and costs just £20!) – BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW!

Still not convinced? Check out just a few of the 5-star reviews from previous students:

“More ideas than you can shake an inspiration stick at! Fab exercises for toning up your idea muscles. A fun, inspiring week.”

“Super splendid idea generating joy! I’d been feeling like I’d lost the ability to generate ideas but this course gave me my confidence back. You’ll get the chance to play around with some really fun exercises and just see what happens! I got at least seven really decent ideas to develop further. It’s great value for money and will really give you a great big creative kick. Five gold stars from me!”

“A mysterious benefactor gives you a task a day and – shazam! – by the end of the week you’re a-fizzing with ideas. Tis witchcraft. Do it.”

“Inspiring! A really varied crash course in ideas generation. It was great sharing the course with a small group of fellow students and Sarah is a wonderful course leader. I’ll definitely use the ideas I came up with and the techniques I learned in my writing. Five gold stars!”

” Just a fab way to work. Really enjoyed myself and discovered so many aspects of the writing process I didn’t know or ignored. They throw you in at the deep end but best way to question your process and the way you work. We are so easily stuck in a rut. And this course is a real encouragement to define a box and then think outside it.”

Try a FREE taster of the Writers’ HQ Short Story course!

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The next round of Writers’ HQ’s 6-week online Writing Short Fiction course starts on the 20th of March but you can try out a FREE taster week HERE!

writing-short-fiction

Writing Short Fiction

6 Week Online Course from Writers’ HQ

Starts 20th March, £140 (Get 10% off when you use promo code SHORTSTOPS10 before the 12th of March!)

Short stories aren’t just easier versions of the novel. They’re a broad, complex and rewarding art form in their own right. Writers’ HQ’s new online writing short story course will help you see the bigger picture and compress it into short stories with real punch.

Short stories have been here since the dawn of time. Based in the oral tradition (stop sniggering at the back), they’re the apocryphal family legends our grandmas/weird uncle used to tell us over Christmas dinner; they’re the school-yard urban myths; the sleepover ghost stories; the soliloquies in our diaries; the wine-soaked rants to that random person you cornered in the kitchen at that party after so-and-so dumped you. Short stories are all around us. <cue X-Files theme>

But super short stories are not super easy for writers, natch. In fact, the shorter your story becomes, the harder it is to distil what really matters onto the page. I would have written a shorter letter, so the famous quote goes, but I didn’t have the time.

So what makes truly great short fiction? The kind that leaves you dribbling, slack-jawed, slap-faced when you finish it. The kind you remember forever, like some weird dream-memory. Well. We can’t write it for you, but we can give you a nudge, a shove, and a poke with a sharp stick (whatever floats your boat) to help you on your way. With the help of writing prompts, advice from award-winning short fiction writers, inspiring exercises, and our awesome little online community, you’ll come out the other side at least one fully formed short story to call your very own.

TRY OUT A FREEBIE WEEK HERE AND BOOK YOUR PLACE! (Don’t forget to use promo code SHORTSTOPS10 to get 10% off when you book before 12th March.)

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Writers’ HQ 6 Week Online Short Fiction Course Starts 10th October

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Short stories aren’t just easier versions of the novel. They’re a broad, complex and rewarding art form in their own right. Writers’ HQ’s new online writing short story course will help you see the bigger picture and compress it into short fiction with real punch.

Try a FREE week of the course here!

Running for 6 weeks from 10th October, this online course is structured to work around busy lives and work schedules, and to support writers of all experiences. With the help of inspiring exercises, writing prompts, advice from award-winning short fiction writers, fantastic published examples, thought-provoking literary analysis, and a great little online community, you’ll come out the other side with plenty of ideas and at least one fully formed short story to call your very own.

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Writers’ HQ is an arse-kicking, procrastination-bust­ing writing organisation based in Sussex (with plans for global online domination). Their motto? Stop f**king about and start writing. With online courses, local writing retreats and workshops, Writers’ HQ is here to help writers get the words out of their heads and onto the page with as little angst as possible. 

Early morning writing classes

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Write & Shine morning creative writing workshops take place online and in peaceful London locations.

For our next online course…

…we’ll use the theme of ‘Colour’ to inspire new poems, stories and life writing. From the darkest cherry red to a soft pale blue, colour is everywhere! Join Write & Shine’s four-week self-study online course on the theme of ‘Colour’ to discover all kinds of ways to add brightness your morning. From 24 August to 14 September, you’ll receive a set of vivid writing prompts directly to your email inbox each Wednesday at 6am (BST), ready to complete that morning. Only £15 for the full four-week course.

Our face-to-face workshops…

… continue on Thursdays in central London, starting at 7.30am and 9.15am. In each session, you’ll be set writing tasks which might include discussing poems and short fiction, examining photographs, sniffing lavender, reading that morning’s Metro, or playing with vintage Cluedo cards! It’s £12 each time, with drinks & pastries included. Next workshop is on Thursday 11 August, at Waterstones Piccadilly.
All sessions are open to new and experienced poets, short story writers, novelists, artists and makers—or anyone wanting to incorporate creativity into their busy working lives. Write & Shine classes are facilitated by writer Gemma Seltzer, a morning enthusiast!

Find out more at: www.write-and-shine.com

—
Gemma Seltzer | Write & Shine | hello@write-and-shine.com
Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook

NEW Six Week Online Short Fiction Course from Writers’ HQ

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Writers’ HQ are launching a brand new six-week online short fiction course for writers who are tight on time and money (so… all of us then!) – starting 26th September, 2016.

Short stories have been here since the dawn of frickin’ time. Based in the oral tradition (stop sniggering at the back), they’re the apocryphal family legends our grandmas/weird uncle used to tell us over Christmas dinner; they’re the school-yard urban myths; the sleepover ghost stories; the soliloquies in our diaries; the wine-soaked rants to that random person you cornered in the kitchen at that party after so-and-so dumped you. Short stories are all around us. <cue X-Files theme>

But super short stories are not super easy for writers. In fact, the shorter your story becomes, the harder it is to distill what really matters onto the page. I would have written a shorter letter, so the famous quote goes, but I didn’t have the time…

The energetic, irreverent, slightly bonkers team at Writers’ HQ will help you come up with ideas, hone them into perfectly formed nuggets of fiction and build the confidence to send them out into the world. Spend six weeks developing your short fiction skills with the support of a thriving online community, top tips from award winning authors, inspiring writing exercises, and procrastination-busting tools and techniques.

And, due to funding from the fantastic Arts Council England, Writers’ HQ are able to offer this great course at the low price of £130. Or, if you’re feeling lucky, why not enter their competition to win a fully-subsidised place on all five of their new online courses? Click here for more info.

And if that wasn’t enough, the first 25 people to book will also receive free membership to 750 Words – a fantastic productivity app that will get you writing every day! What more could you ask for (aside from someone to write the darn thing for you)?

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Oh wait, that’s not all.

If you’re based in Sussex and fancy spending a morning at the beautiful National Trust property Monk’s House (historic home of Virginia Woolf and haunt of the Bloomsbury Group) writing and reading flash fiction, come along to the Fiction in a Flash workshop on the 20th of August.

Fiction in a Flashat Monk's House (1)

If you fancy streamlining your writing down into bite-size chunks, or have always wanted to write a short story but didn’t know where to start, flash fiction is your answer! This two hour workshop covers everything you need to know to get you flashing like a – err, no never mind – to get you writing confident, impactful flash. At the beautiful, inspiring Monk’s House, home to Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group, we’ll cover the basics of form and structure, show you how to make characters come to life in just a handful of words, and experiment with prompts to get your flashy juices flowing.

In this workshop we’ll look at the fundamentals of flash fiction and experiment with different ways of approach writing fantastic minimalist fiction. Learn how to wring every last drop of goodness from your words and tell a story in fewer than 1000 words.

Explore the world of short fiction, write your own flash, and if you’re feeling brave, share your work with the group. We can direct you towards a stiff drink afterwards…

 

 

 

 

 

The Literary Consultancy Self-editing workshop: Short Story

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Following the success of their recent Editing-related events The Literary Consultancy (TLC) will be running a short story self-editing workshop aimed at writers in November 2016. The workshop will run over two hours, with places strictly limited to 15 writers in each workshop. The workshop will provide practical guidance for writers wanting to develop their self-editing skills ahead of submission to an editorial service, or to an agent or publisher, and for those simply working on projects and wanting help with approaching the work objectively and afresh. It will look at the basic principles of short stories, with some practical examples, in order to form the basis for your self-editing. Narrative structure, characterisation, and voice are key, and this workshop will show you how to interrogate these principles when editing your story, to ensure it makes the impact the chosen subject demands.

The short story workshop will take place on 17th November 2016 with novelist and Peepal Tree Press Associate Editor Jacob Ross. Jacob will take writers through practical exercises and provide guidance on best practice in self-editing your own work.

 

This workshop will have a limited number of bursaried places, including travel costs (from outside of London), available for writers or aspiring editors on low income. Proof of income will be required as part of the application process for these tickets. To apply for a bursary, please email Aki Schilz on aki@literaryconsultancy.co.uk, including a short covering letter explaining your reasons for applying. Please also provide any proof of income as an email attachment and mark the email ‘TLC Self-Editing Workshop Bursary CONFIDENTIAL’, with the genre clearly indicated.

 

The event will be held at the Free Word Centre, Farringdon – and further ticket information and booking details can be found here: https://www.freewordcentre.com/whats-on/tlc-self-editing-ss

The Northern Short Story Festival

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“What a brilliant idea – our very own short story festival here in the North!“ – Avril Joy

It’s frustrating being a writer in the North, sometimes. There’s not much support for writers here – with only one literature development agency covering hundreds of square miles, and London’s interesting-sounding salon events an expensive train ride away, what’s a writer to do?

Wonder no longer – the Northern Short Story Festival is here. The festival, which is the brainchild of writer SJ Bradley and part of Leeds Big Bookend Festival, has an eclectic and appealing programme of events. On Saturday 4th June at Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds, there are workshops ranging from “The Art of Murder” with writers Alison Taft and Anna Chilvers, to Success in Short Story Competitions with Avril Joy, reading events ranging from a Bluemoose Books Reading event with prizewinning author Michael Stewart, to a Q&A with the wonderful Carys Bray, there’s sure to be something for everyone.

There’s even an open mic event, hosted by Jenna Isherwood of Fictions of Every Kind, at which writers will be invited to read stories they’ve written at workshops during the day, and an afterparty at Hyde Park Book Club with flash fiction legend Benjamin Judge and ukulele troupe The Three Amigos.

With prices ranging from £4 to £20 for a day ticket, it’s local, affordable, and exciting! What more could you want?

Word Factory #41 & Masterclass – 19th March – London

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Join the Word Factory in March for a day, or evening, of inspiration!

Masterclass: A.L. Kennedy – He, She & Me: writing in and out of gender
2-4pm

This is the second masterclass of our Sublime Women series, linking classes, salons, our reading club and offering opportunities to hear your work throughout the year

In her book On Writing, A.L. Kennedy takes the line, ‘A man walks through a door’, to demonstrate the difficulties and potential of a simple beginning. If you are a woman writing this scene, is the task even harder? Can male authors write convincingly about women? Writing in and out of gender offers liberation, complication and inspiration. In an afternoon talk looking at writing outwith and within one’s own sexual orientation and drawing on her own work, A.L. Kennedy will take approaches to character in general as a staring point for further discussion. Audience members may participate in exercises and conversation or feel free to simply listen to one of the UK’s most accomplished authors.

Book your place here – limited to 25 spaces.

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Short Story Club
4.15-5.15pm

Join the Word Factory’s short story club and enjoy an espresso shot of great literature followed by a thought-provoking discussion. It’s fun – and free!

More info here, or email sophie@thewordfactory.tv for this month’s story.

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The Word Factory #41
6-8pm

Short-story writer, novelist and performer extrordinaire A.L.Kennedy leads our evening of readings as K.J. Orr launches her first collection, Light Box. They will be joined by two emerging authors selected in advance to read that night who were inspired by . Hosted by short story club maestros Sophie Haydock and Zoe Gilbert.

Get your salon tickets here.

 

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Word Factory Membership – Fellow and Friends
Become a Word Factory Fellow or Friend and enjoy priority booking and other exclusive offers.

fellowTo help you make the most of the dynamic Word Factory programme of interlinked salons, classes and other events throughout 2016 – featuring unmissable writers including Marina Warner, A.L.Kennedy, Tobias Wolff, Neil Gaiman and Tracy Chevalier, we would love to offer you access to our exclusive Word Factory Friendship Scheme.

The scheme is of particular value to writers who, in coming to our club, salon and classes, are being inspired in their work by some of the most accomplished writers in the world.

By becoming a Fellow or Friend, you are also helping the sustainability of the only organisation in the UK promoting and supporting quality short story writing – a unique not-for-profit literary company run by and for writers.

Find out about being a Friend or a Fellow.

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Year of Sublime Women

SublimeWomenMarina Warner, Helen Simpson, A.L. Kennedy, Tracy Chevalier, Helen Dunmore, Tobias Wolff, Kirsty Gunn, Deborah Levy, Neil Gaiman, Janice Galloway, Sarah Hall, David Constantine, Michele Roberts, Tessa Hadley, David Vann and many more Word Factory friends are joining us in a long overdue celebration of female short story writers.

Throughout 2016, they will be reading work by their favourite female writers, giving exclusive salons and lectures, and from this exciting literary platform we will be asking you to produce work inspired by our events.

Whether you want to savour the conversation or take up your pen and write a story inspired by Angela Carter, Alice Munro, Jean Rhys, Muriel Spark, Katherine Mansfield or Flannery O’Connor, we will find a space for you.

Full details of the classes and talks, content, class size and price, can be found on our events page.

Word Factory #36 & Masterclass – 19th September – London

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Join the Word Factory for readings, conversation, masterclasses and publication with the most inspiring short fiction writers.

The Word Factory #36 – the intimate short story salon – 6-8pm

Book your tickets here.

Our autumn salon season begins on Sept 19th at Waterstones Piccadilly with Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize winner Carys Davies, the inspirational Toby Litt and two powerful new voices, Tyler Keevil and Diriye Osman. Join us for their readings, and the Q&A afterwards chaired by Word Factory founder Cathy Galvin.

Short Story Club – 4.15-5.15pm
Ernest Hemingway:’Hills Like White Elephants’

Join us in September when we will be reading the classic Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants – one of the most iconic short stories in the English language. It’s a tale that seems simple and straightforward, but is laden with symbolism and meaning. What will you discover in Hemingway’s words?

Come and discuss this wonderful story with us at the Word Factory Short Story Club in September.

Email Sophie Haydock for more details and a copy of the story: sophie@thewordfactory.tv

Masterclasses

Our masterclass with Toby Litt sold out quickly, but you’re now able to book October and November’s masterclasses via our website. Join us for place & atmosphere with Alex Preston and how to beat digital depression with Kristen Harrison.

www.thewordfactory.tv/events

Also in September…
Word Factory at Small Wonder
Wednesday 23 to Sunday 27 Sept 2015

Word Factory is delighted to partner with the Small Wonder Festival within the autumnal warmth of Charleston in Sussex. Reading at this event will be Kirsty Gunn, Stuart Evers and Janice Galloway, followed by a Q&A with Cathy Galvin.

Book your tickets here.

Word Factory #35 & Masterclass – 25th July – London

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Join the Word Factory for readings, conversation, masterclasses and publication with the most inspiring short fiction writers.

Story in Motion: with Jane Feaver

Jane Feaver is a novelist and short story writer, whose a collection of inter-linked stories, Love Me Tender, was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Read more about Jane.

‘…the essence of the story is motion. Do not let your chair be “a straight chair, with no arms and a hard wooden seat.” Let your heroine go over and take a firm hold of the back of a straight wooden chair, because at the moment it is stronger than she.’ Shirley Jackson ‘Notes for a Young Writer’. Jane Feaver, the novelist and short story writer, will explore the use of gesture and motion in the short story with reference to the work of Flannery O’Connor. Raymond Carver and more.

This workshop will study the gesture in the short story and some of the ways we might put ‘moveable articles’ to effective use. Suitable for writers sending work out and published, a chance to write and pay attention to detail.

SOLD OUT

Short Story Club – 4.15-5.15pm
Roald Dahl: The Great Automatic Grammatizator

Join us in July when we will read a dark and twisted (but bitingly funny) short story – The Great Automatic Grammatizator – by the brilliantly playful Roald Dahl. The story, written in 1954 (but still alarmingly relevant) imagines a world where stories are written by machines. This will strike a wry chord with all writers out there…

Email Sophie Haydock for more details and a copy of the story: sophie@thewordfactory.tv

The Word Factory #35 – the intimate short story salon – 6-8pm

Book your tickets here.

Join us for an unmissable evening of storytelling with award-winning children’s author Michael Morpurgo; short story champion Jane Feaver; and one of the UK’s best short story writers Stuart Evers, chaired by Word Factory founder Cathy Galvin.

Write & Shine – early morning writing classes

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Start your day with a burst of creativity! Write & Shine are new morning writing workshops that fits around your busy lifestyle and meditates on the inspirational power of the morning. Writer and lover of short stories Gemma Seltzer will guide you through morning-themed exercises to create new pieces of poetry, flash fiction or life writing.
This class is open to everyone; whether you’re new to writing or have some experience.Next sessions:

JW3, Finchley Road, London.
7.30-9am on 7 July, 11 August, 3 September 2015.
£18 per session. Book here.
More dates and venues coming soon. Further information available on http://write-and-shine.com and Facebook, too.

Word Factory #33 & Masterclass – 30th May – London

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Join the Word Factory for readings, conversation, masterclasses and publication with the most inspiring short fiction writers.

The Only Rule Is Yes with Stella Duffy – 1-4pm – SOLD OUT

Stella Duffy won’t teach you how to write the great British novel, provide you with a step-by-step structure with which to write a bestseller, or spend hours reading aloud the works of others so that you can compare your own writing (unfavourably). She will help you acknowledge your writing fears and enthusiasms, find delight in being brave, take the big steps you’ve been dreading and the small steps that feel even harder, and help you remind yourself why you wanted to write in the first place.

Editor’s note: Unfortunately Stella Duffy’s writing workshop is now sold out, however there is time to book your places for Michèle Roberts and David Almond‘s masterclasses at the Tablet festival in Birmingham on 19th June or experience Word Factory at the London Short Story Festival on 21st, June. Take note to be online at 9am on 15th May when we will make tickets available for Neil Gaiman‘s masterclass Q&A with Cathy Galvin taking place on 27th June.

More information and booking here.

Short Story Club – 4.15-5.15pm
Tessa Hadley: One Saturday Morning

Tessa Hadley is a British writer whose short stories appear regularly in the New Yorker. She has published many novels and two short story collections, and she read at the Word Factory salon in February 2015. Her stories have been described as ‘novels in miniature’ and also as ‘domestic fiction’, conjuring as they often do the minutiae of comfortable lives, where subtle shifts and minor observations can take on huge significance. Her stories may tread comfortable territory, but they leave a long-lasting impression of disquiet with the reader.

In ‘One Saturday Morning’, published in The New Yorker in August 2014, ten-year-old Carrie’s piano practice is interrupted by the arrival of Dom, one of her parents’ bohemian friends. We follow her as she tries to make sense of the adult news and events that define the rest of the day. Is this a story in which nothing really happens, or does it illuminate a pivotal coming-of-age moment? Come and discuss this subtle, affecting story with us.

Email Sophie Haydock for more details and a copy of the story: sophie@thewordfactory.tv

The Word Factory #33 – the intimate short story salon – 6-8pm

Book your tickets here.

An unmissable evening of Irish lyricism and fire. Join acclaimed new Irish talent Danielle McLaughlin, recently published in the New Yorker; Belfast-born Word Factory associate director Paul McVeigh; author and power-house Stella Duffy (Ireland via New Zealand) and Dubliner Evelyn Conlon for new work and conversation focused on the enduring strength of the Irish short story. Blarney-free discussion guaranteed, chaired by Cathy Galvin (Ireland via Coventry) .

Writing opportunities for all!

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Writing Short Fiction is putting its mission where its mouth is and starting a new Debut Fiction section. Since the whole site is dedicated to helping new writers, it seems to make sense to offer writers not only questionnaires, advice, tips pieces, samples of prize-winning writing and resources, but also the opportunity to actually get into print themselves.

All through March, WSF has been taking submissions of pieces of 500 – 2000 words from people who have either never been published at all or whose writing ‘bio’ has only got to one or two items so far, and as of April 15th, the Debut Fiction section will launch with nine new stories , including an intriguing variety of styles, lengths and themes.

The site’s Champion Fiction section will also be updating with another five pieces, including two new contributors and additional items from Booker-listed Alison Moore and phenomenally successful short story competition entrant Andrew Campbell-Kearsey.

While the deadline for the Debut Fiction section’s launch has now passed, new and nearly new writers are still welcome to send in their unpublished material to bruce@bruceharris.org and it will be duly and seriously considered for the next Debut Fiction update.

We’re waiting for your call. This could be your first step on a long, fascinating and rewarding road.

Word Factory #32 & Masterclass – 25th April – London

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Join the Word Factory for readings, conversation, masterclasses and publication with the most inspiring short fiction writers.

Performance, confidence and voice with A.L. Kennedy – SOLD OUT

Booking for our masterclasses are now available online through to June. Word Factory regulars have already booked their tickets for A.L Kennedy’s April class – but don’t miss the chance to work with Stella Duffy at her workshop in May where the only rule is yes. Our masterclasses are also travelling to Birmingham in June with Michele Roberts and David Almond. Click the links above to book your place.

In June Neil Gaiman will also be giving an exclusive class and reading: details on our website soon.

Short Story Club – 4.30-5.30pm
Italo Calvino: All at One Point

Calvino’s The Complete Cosmicomics is a collection of stories, all narrated by the character Qfwfq, each of which takes a scientific fact as a starting point for a fantastical narrative.The first translated edition (from Italian) won the National Book Award in America, and it is one of Calvino’s best known works alongside If on a Winter’s Night A Traveller and Invisible Cities.

In ‘All at One Point’, Calvino takes the notion of the universe’s matter all being concentrated at one point before it began to expand, and imagines Qfwfq and other characters dealing with this situation. It combines a scientific flight of fancy with a familiar-feeling tale of neighbourly tensions, as at the inhabitants of the point clash over gossip, opinions and shared attractions. This is a story which does not fit contemporary expectations. Do you find it satisfying, silly, or wondrously clever? Come and discuss ‘All at One Point’ at the Word Factory Short Story Club in April.

Email Sophie Haydock for more details and a copy of the story: sophie@thewordfactory.tv

The Word Factory #32 – the intimate short story salon – 6.30-8.30pm

Book your tickets here.

Celebrate spring with award-winning authors and fresh talent at The Word Factory. A.L. Kennedy leads our perfomance skills masterclass before joining international star Yiyun Li, our mentor Adam Marek and apprentice Kerstin Twachtmann for readings at the evening salon. The conversation will continue with Director Cathy Galvin, co-founder of the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award.

Word Factory #31 & Masterclass – 28th March – London

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wordfactory-logo-300x88Welcome back to an exciting year of readings, conversation, masterclasses and publication with the most inspiring short fiction writers at the Word Factory.

Broadcast News: Winning Stories and Writing for Radio – 3-4.30pm

For over a decade Di Speirs has championed the short story form in Britain. At the BBC, she has commissioned and produced short stories for Radio 4 and 3 and she runs the internationally acclaimed BBC National Short Story Award.

In an exclusive Word Factory Masterclass, Di will guide you through everything you need to know to ensure your work gets noticed and commissioned. What are the key do’s and don’t for submitting work for the award or general broadcast? What does every writer need to know about how an editor thinks? And what new trends do writers need to keep in mind? Our session will allow enough time for Di to talk about her work and take questions.

Cost: £35 per person (please purchase Salon tickets separately). Book your place here.

Short Story Club – 4.30-5.30pm
Shirley Jackson: The Lottery

When The Lottery was first published in The New Yorker in 1948, readers were so horrified they sent hate mail; it has since become one of the most iconic American stories of all time.
Shirley Jackson was born in San Francisco in 1916, and went on to earn a reputation as “one of the 20th century’s most luminous and strange American writers”. She is a master of Gothic suspense (her novel, The Haunting of Hill House, once called “the greatest haunted house story ever written”, was turned into the classic horror film The Haunting). Joyce Carol Oates described her as “one of those highly idiosyncratic, inimitable writers… whose work exerts an enduring spell”. Jackson published six novels before her death, at the age of 48, in 1965.
The Lottery is Jackson’s best-known short story: Jackson draws us in to the dark, unsettling world of a small farming village, who come together for a terrible game of chance…

Email Sophie Haydock for more details and a copy of the story: sophie@thewordfactory.tv

The Word Factory #28 – the intimate short story salon – 6-8pm

Join us for an unforgettable evening of readings with Polly Samson and Louise Doughty. Share in the joy of new work from our apprentice Uschi Gatward and her mentor Nicholas Royle. The conversation will continue with Director Cathy Galvin, co-founder of the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award.

Book your tickets here.

Five new contributors for Writing Short Fiction!

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Well, how about that!  Two new writers in early February, and now an even bigger spring update for Writing Short Fiction at http://writingshortfiction.org   There are a total of six new pieces in the Champion Fiction section, all of them prize-winners, and contributed to the site by:

MAXINE ALTERIO, from New Zealand, who has sent

REGI CLAIRE from Edinburgh, contributing The Tasting

JO GATFORD, who has contributed Bing Bong

NINA KILLHAM,  from Melbourne, Australia, who has offered My Wife the Hyena

JONATHAN TAYLOR,  Leicester writer and lecturer,  contributing  Ladies and Gentlemen, Tonight’s Performance will Commence in Fifteen Minutes

We also have a second, welcome contribution from JOHN HOLLAND called The Open Door.

Maxine, Nina and Jo have also made contributions to the Tips from the Top section, including Twelve Tips on Writing Short Stories, The Problem with Short Stories and Working with Procrastination respectively.

Lots of valuable additional material to add to the formidable collection of content already there! And all without fees, passwords, memberships, etc!  Go see!