March Fortnightly Round-Up II

Dear short story lovers,
Here’s what’s been happening on our blog over the past fortnight or so…

Tania x

Lit Mags

Trafika Europe has published Issue 3, Latvian Sojourn, and Don’t Do It Issue 8, Noise, is now live. Flash: The Short Short Story magazine has launched issue 7.2. Trafika Europe also invites you to visit their radio campaign!

Jotters United celebrates its first birthday with a call for submissions for its anniversary issue. Octavius magazine has relaunched – and is now open to submissions. Shooter Literary Magazine is calling for submissions for Issue #2, on the theme of ‘Union’, by April 1st. Neon Magazine has opened submissions for Battery Pack II, its second anthology of tiny stories, deadline April 15.

Competitions & Festivals
The Felixtstowe Book Festival’s 2015 short story competition is accepting entries until May 16th, and The Moth’s International Short Story Prize is open, deadline June 30th. Holland Park Press is running a short story competition, I Is Another, deadline 31 August.

Workshops and Courses
Write Around Town, who are behind Writing Maps, are holding a series of writing workshops in London in April.

Live Lit
The Word Factory #31 and masterclass is on March 28th in London. Fictions Of Every Kind’s next event, with the theme of ‘Relativity’ is on April 14th in Leeds.

Last Minutes and Gentle Reminders
The deadline for Mslexia’s 2015 short story competition (women only) has been extended to March 23rd. Submissions are open til March 31st for The Manchester Review  and Brain Of Forgetting’s 2nd issue, on the theme of ‘Poppies’.  The Short FICTION short story prize closes on March 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

Feb Fortnightly Round-Up II

Welcome to February’s second fortnightly round-up. Here’s what’s been on a packed ShortStops blog over the past few weeks…
Tania x

Lit Mags

Octavius magazine has relaunched – and is now open to submissions. The Casket of Fictional Delights invites you to try out its Tubeflash Quizzes! Alt-Hist issue 7 is published and there’s a new issue of Jotters United, ‘Gotta Move on Out Now’. Bunbury Magazine gives us an update on the Things We ‘Ave Been Doing! Submissions are now open for Brain Of Forgetting’s 2nd issue, on the theme of ‘Poppies’.

February is ‘Otherworldly Originals Month’ over at Short Story Sunday! Shooter Literary Magazine is  calling for submissions for Issue #2, on the theme of ‘Union.’ . 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.

Competitions & Festivals
Holland Park Press is running a short story competition, I Is Another, deadline 31 August. Mslexia’s 2015 short story competition is accepting entries (women only), deadline March 16th. 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.

Workshops and Courses
Paul McVeigh is running two workshops in March – on Social Media For Writers (London) and That Killer First Page – Submitting to Competitions & Journals (Belfast). Write Around Town, who are behind Writing Maps, are holding a series of writing workshops in London in April. Alison Clayborn is running a Flash Fiction workshop  on Feb 18th at the Brunel Museum in London.

Tips & Advice
Writing Short Fiction introduces some new February Faces on the site.

Live Lit

White Rabbit is having a 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. Words and Women are holding an event in Norwich to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8thand to launch their new collection of short prose.

Last Minutes and Gentle Reminders
You have until Feb 28th to submit your short stories for an anthology inspired by Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, to be published by Freight Books.

Coming Up
Keep an eye on the blog tomorrow (Tuesday) for details of lit mag Trafika Europe’s radio campaign!

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

The Moth International Short Story Prize 2015

Short Story Prize logo

We’re delighted to announce 2015’s Moth Short Story Prize, judged by Donal Ryan, with prizes of €3,000, a week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France (including €250 travel expenses) and €1,000.

The prize is open to anyone, as long as the work is their own and previously unpublished. Word limit 6,000.

The closing date is 30 June 2015.

The winning stories will appear in the autumn issue of The Moth.

See http://www.themothmagazine.com for more details

June Round-Up 2

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

Lit Mags

We’re thrilled to welcome two new lit mags to our list: Control Literary Magazine, “a free online magazine dedicated to giving you the best literature and artwork from new writers and artists”, and The Silver Lynx Sporadical, “a new literary journal based in Aberdeen… Our interest lies in only what can hold it”.

For your reading pleasure, Issue 7.1 of Flash! is out now, as is Spontaneity’s Issue 4, Only Human. Have a read of Jotters United’s Retro Issuethe June issue of Long Story, Short: The Art of Losing and Don’t Do it magazine’s Issue 4: Translations.

Popshot is open for literary submissions on the theme of Time. Here Comes Everyone would love to consider your short stories for the Boy/Girl issue and, starting early, The Casket of Fictional Delights is calling for your Christmas stories! HeadStuffwants your writing, as does The Cro Magnon, for their website and perhaps for their travelling show.

Workshops

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

Competitions

The RAC is running a national short story competition on the theme of Driving in Europe, deadline 11 September.  The Sean O’Faolain short story competition is now open, deadline 31 July, which is also the closing date for Writeidea’s national short story contest, The Writeidea Prize.

Creative Industries Trafford are holding a flash fiction competition, deadline Sept 15th. You’ve missed Writing Maps June contest but it’s monthly, so check them out.  More contests: the 3rd annual A Spot of Hysteria Writing Competition run by the UK Hysterectomy Association is now open for entries (deadline Aug 31), and the Historic House Short Story Comp (26 Sep) wants stories inspired by or set in a historic house.

Find out which collections were shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. Read Stinging Fly editor Thomas Morris’s short essay Beautiful Animals: Theorising and Defining the Short Story (In Under 1000 Words).

Live Lit & Short Story Events
Don’t miss the Short Short Story Slam in Manchester on July 8th.

Live Lit Review: Louise Tondeur went to Rattle Tales’ Brighton Prize awards night for us: “”There was a sense that it is writing that’s important, not publication or prizes”…Read more >> 

Last Minutes & Gentle Reminders

Closing todayThe Moth International Short Story Prize  and Kingston University’s two new short story competitions – one judged by Hilary Mantel and one, for stories to be read aloud, judged by Bonnie Greer.

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

May Fortnightly Round-Up I

May is National Short Story Month in the US, but it’s always short story month round here… Check out our round-up of what’s been happening on ShortStops’ blog over the past fortnight:

Lit Mags and Competitions
The flurry of new lit mags continues: welcome to The Short Anthology: “each issue uses the work of one photographer as the stimulus for a collection of short stories”, and Storyboard magazine: “every month we have a new theme to base your writing around”. The Short Anthology got straight to it on the blog and introduced its first issue.

The Grind are now open for submissions for Issue 3, and HeadStuff also wants you.  The Cro Magnon wants your writing too, for their website and perhaps for their travelling show. Check out Confingo’s first issue, now on sale, and Structo’s brand new website.

Kingston University have launched two new exciting short story competitions – one judged by Hilary Mantel and one, for stories to be read aloud, judged by Bonnie Greer. Writing Maps has launched a new monthly contest and lit mag and Writeidea announced a new national short story contest, The Writeidea Prize, deadline 31 July. More contests: the 3rd annual A Spot of Hysteria Writing Competition run by the UK Hysterectomy Association is now open for entries (deadline Aug 31), and the Historic House Short Story Comp (26 Sep) wants stories inspired by or set in a historic house. 

Holdfast magazine is still open for submissions for their first print anthology, deadline June 15th, with submissions open til May 31st for their online issue #3. The Moth International Short Story Prize closes June 30th.

Live Lit & Short Story Events
White Rabbit unveiled its new Wonderlands White Rabbit Walks: From Pleasure Gardens to Power Station. Fictions of Every Kind has produced its first podcast with stories and music. 

Last Minutes & Gentle Reminders
Today is the deadline to send Story Fridays your stories on the theme ‘In Focus’ for their May event. The Manchester Review is open to submissions for Issue 12 until mid May, and Myths of the Near Future is calling for submissions from under-25s for the Money issue by May 30th. You have until May 31 to submit to Jotters United’s new short story comp on the theme of ‘Spirit’. 

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! Happy reading, writing, listening and performing!
Tania x

April Round-Up II

Dear short story fans,
Another month almost over! Here’s our roundup of what’s been happening on ShortStops’ blog over the past fortnight:

Lit Mags and Competitions
We welcome two new lit mags to our list: Don’t Do It, “taking in fiction, poetry, critical writing and reviews from around the globe”, and HeadStuff “a collaborative website interested in a wide range of topics”. HeadStuff introduced themselves on the blog and would love you to submit something.

Talking of new and exciting: Writing Maps has launched a new monthly contest and lit mag and Writeidea announced a new national short story contest, The Writeidea Prize, deadline 31 July. More contests: the 3rd annual A Spot of Hysteria Writing Competition run by the UK Hysterectomy Association is now open for entries (deadline Aug 31), and the Historic House Short Story Comp (26 Sep) wants stories inspired by or set in a historic house. Jotters United announced Issue 2 and a new short story comp (deadline 31 May) on the theme of ‘Spirit’. (You can find all competition announcements by clicking the Competitions link in our top menu.)

Long Story, Short is calling for submissions of longer stories and the editor tells us what she’s looking for. The Cro Magnon wants your writing too, for their website and perhaps for their travelling show, and the Manchester Review is open to submissions for Issue 12 until mid May. Check out Confingo’s first issue, now on sale, and Structo’s brand new website.

Holdfast magazine is still open for submissions for their first print anthology, deadline June 15th, with submissions open til May 31st for their online issue #3. Myths of the Near Future is calling for submissions from under-25s for the Money issue, and The Moth International Short Story Prize closes June 30th.

Live Lit & Short Story Events
Fictions of Every Kind has produced its first podcast with stories and music. Story Fridays wants your stories on the theme ‘In Focus’ by 12 May for their May event. You missed Flashtag Manchester’s Short Short Story Slam and the Word Factory’s April event, make sure to keep an eye out for the next ones.


Workshops
Arvon’s Totleigh Barton centre assistant Eliza Squire talks about Arvon and short stories – there’s still space on upcoming residential short story courses. 

Last Minutes & Gentle Reminders
Wednesday is the deadline for to submit your entry to the Bristol Short Story Prize and to send a short story on the theme of Islands and Cities to a new Tasmanian-London anthology.

Happy reading, writing, listening and performing!

March Round-Up III

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

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!