Category: Bulletins

Just a quick catch up, while there are a few spare minutes here at NFFD Towers, to bring you up to date.

First, it's National Flash-Fiction Day on Saturday (in case you had forgotten). Various events are taking place, and details of them can be found at http://nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/events.html.

On the day, we are encouraging people at the events to tweet about them, using the hashtag #nffdlive. I know Bristol and Oxford are already taking part, but if you are at any event for the day, please feel free to use it.

In addition, we will be streaming a veritable flood of flashes through our online journal at http://flashfloodjournal.blogspot.co.uk/ and through ourFacebook and Twitter feeds. Stories will start appearing at midnight and run all day, but don't worry, they'll stay up afterwards so you can read them at your leisure. If you would like to submit to FlashFlood, submissions are open until midnight on Thursday (BST) and all the details can be found on the blog.

We are also planning a worldwide writing event for the day, so stay tuned for more on that.

Our anthology, Eating My Words, is now available in Kindle and paperback formats should you want to treat yourself, and it would be really good if you could spread the word about those too.

Other books, including our previous two anthologies, will be available for FREE download on the Day, and an email will come out about that with links to all the various books. If you have a flash-fiction collection on Kindle, and would like to promote it for free on the Day, let us know the link and we'll add you to the list.

Anything else you want to tell us, you know where we are.

I'll be in touch again, on the day (if not before) but if I don't see you, have a wonderful Flash-Fiction Day!

All best

Calum

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Well, we are just two weeks away from the big day and it's all been happening.

We have now finalised our list for the 2014 anthology. The title will be Eating My Words and it will feature the following stories/writers:

Welcome to the first Bulletin of 2014. I hope you are all keeping well and your flash-fiction activities have been running smoothly since we last spoke.

This will be a quick message, as we are just starting to gear up for getting ready for this year's day. However we do have a few messages, and a call for entries to our annual Micro-Fiction competition.

First, I need to direct you to our new website (http://host2021.temp.domains/~nationo0/). It's similar to the old - the same information - but with a shiny new look courtesy of a new logo from Charlotte Henson Design (https://www.facebook.com/charlottehensondesign) and a whole new site courtesy of Tim Stevenson. Many, many thanks to them both. 

Second is, of course, to tell you that the date for this year's NFFD will be Saturday 21st June, so it's time to start planning your event and thinking about what you will do to celebrate this year's day. Send us your information as soon as you have it, and we'll list it on the site.

And, of course, that is true for anything else that you think we need to list on the site - flash-fiction magazines and websites, new authors, or whatever. Please send it through and we will add it and spread the word.

Finally for this bulletin, and the item you have all been waiting for, it's time to announce that we are now open to submissions for this year's Micro-Fiction competition. The word limit is, once again, 100 words, and the closing date is Sunday 9th March, so you have a little over a month to get us your stories. Full details are on the website at http://host2021.temp.domains/~nationo0/comp.html

Prizes will once again be supplied by our sponsors, Salt Publishing, Comma Press and Gumbo Press, and we have an illustrious panel of judges comprising: Carys Bray, Cathy Bryant, Kevlin Henney, Jonathan Pinnock, Angela Readman and Tim Stevenson. 

You will notice that this year we have had to introduce a charge for entering the competition. This decision was not taken lightly, but it has been necessary in order to fund the activities of NFFD, not least the production of our now traditional anthology. We have, however, done our best to keep the cost to a minimum (and lower than many other similar competitions) and we promise not to squander the money on sweets and fizzy pop. Payments are via PayPal, but if you don't have an account with them, you can still use an ordinary credit or debit card. Of course, if you have any problems, please do get in touch.

And that's it for now. Go and have a look at the new site, get thinking about what you are going to do for the day, and start sending us your micro-fictions, we can't wait to read them!

More soon, as and when we have it. Until then, be well.

All best

(If you wish to subscribe to this bulletin, please send an email to nationalflashfictionday@gmail.com and we'll add you straight away.

Well, things are moving on apace, as ever, and we are now less than 2 months from this year's day. So, if you are planning on holding an event, reading, workshop, or other on or around the Day, then it's time to get organising and send the details over to us so we can spread the word. 

At the moment we're gathering information, ready to do a large update to the website, so if you have something please do send it across. This also applies if you are a writer and would like to update your info, or want to be added, or maybe you represent an organisation/magazine/project and would like a listing. Whatever it is, we want to know so we can share it with everyone else.

With regard to the website, it got a little bit of a facelift earlier this year as a temporary measure. We'd like to do some more work with it so if you are a web-design-person, or know one, and would be willing to donate some time to improving our look, please do get in touch. Thank you!

In other news, we recently ran the FlashFlood journal and published a huge stream of wonderful stories. If you missed it, they are all still online at http://flashfloodjournal.blogspot.co.uk/.

And, if you were following that, it's possible you missed our other announcements that came out on the same day: 

First, we announced the winners of our micro-fiction competition. You can read the list of finalists, and their stories, here: http://nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/competitions.html.

We also sent out our call for submissions for this year's anthology, closing date of 17th May, full details on the website at: http://nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/anthology.html. Please spread the details of this,so we can get as many submissions as possible. 

And, of course, that request goes for all of the things we do. It's your participation that will make National Flash-Fiction Day a success, so please spread the website address, Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/nationalflashfictionday) and Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/nationalflashfd) with anyone who might be interested. 

And now, the really interesting things. There are already flash-things afoot, some for the Day, some just because, and you can get involved in any or all of them:

The Lightship One Page competition, judged by yours truly, closes tomorrow, so you still have time to enter if you want to.

And they have a flash-fiction competition, being judged by the wonderful Etgar Keret, closing in June.

The Bristol Prize for short stories also closes tomorrow, at http://www.bristolprize.co.uk/, so enter now!

And Kath Kerr's yearlong flash-fiction project, MrsFlash365 also finishes tomorrow, with the 365th story. If you haven't seen it, now's your time to check it out.

To help you get ready for NFFD, I am once again running my online flash-fiction course, starting on May 7th, full details at http://www.calumkerr.co.uk/pp007.shtml

1000words, the image based publication, is once again open for submissions until 24th May: http://1000words.org.uk/the-1000words-national-flash-fiction-day-competition/

Bridport are running their competition again, which closes on 31st May http://www.bridportprize.org.uk/content/flash-fiction-entry.

And if you are in New Zealand, don't forget to submit to the NZ-NFFD competition, closing date 31st May. http://nationalflash.wordpress.com/competition/

Raging Aadvark are once again running their Twisted Tales anthology, with a closing date of 7th July. https://ragingaardvarkpublications.submittable.com/submit

Spry, is a new literary journal which also publishes flash, so why not have a read of their first issue and consider sending them something http://www.sprylit.com/

Flashpoints, the site-specific flash-fiction project launched for last year's day, is still ongoing. Please do check it out at http://nffdflashpoints.blogspot.co.uk/ and why not head out into the world and write them a story?

And finally, we have our first fully confirmed event for the Day itself, which will be held at the Shrewsbury Coffeehouse on Wednesday 19th June at 7.00pm. More info at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/373661482658904/?fref=ts

Well, as you have hopefully noticed, today is a busy day here at NFFD Towers as we launch ourselves for this year's Day - just 2 months away!

We have a FlashFlood journal running, publishing over a hundred flash-fictions across the day (http://flashfloodjournal.blogspot.co.uk/). 

And we have also announced the winners of the micro-fiction competition over on our website (http://nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/competitions.html) and blog (http://nationalflashfictionday.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/micro-fiction-competition-2013-results.html). 

We had also hoped to brag about all the other things in pipeline, but we are currently having to reapply for funding, and attempt to source other funds to do the things we want to do. (If you have any ideas, please do send them through!) 

But we're not going to let that stop us though, and NFFD2013 moves on apace. Over the next week we are going to be updating the website with new author bios and details of events and competitions. So, if you haven't already, please send through the details of what you are planning,and we'll add them to the site.

Alternatively, if you haven't yet thought about what you plan to do, then now is the time to start. Last year we had competitions, workshops, readings, slams, flash-mobs and loads more, so get your thinking/organising caps on and let us know all about them.

We are also going to launch the 'International' part of the Day, so if you are outside the UK and wish to organise an event wherever you are, please let us know all about it.

We are also pleased to open our call for submissions for this year's anthology. Last year we asked for one word stories, this year we're changing it a little and asking for pieces which have been inspired in some way by other works of art - stories, books, films, music, art, photographs etc. The word limit is 500 and the deadline is May 17th. Submissions are welcome from all over the world. Full details can be found here: http://nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/anthology.html.

And that's it for now, except to thank you for all your hard work, and to encourage you to keep spreading the word about NFFD. Without your support and engagement, the day wouldn't happen. 

Until next time,

All the best

In other news, we have submitted our application to the Arts Council in the hope that they will once again support the day. However, just in case, and to ensure that we can keep the website up and running and will be able to produce another anthology for this year, we are dipping our toes into the world of crowd-funding. Our page is up at http://www.sponsume.com/project/national-flash-fiction-day-2013 and if you could support us we would be immensely grateful! You also get something for your money, so check out the possible rewards (including the chance to have a bespoke story pamphlet crafted by yours truly!)

Even if you don’t want to send us a story and aren’t in a position to support our funding, it would be great if you could share the two links above, plus some details, on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, your blog, or wherever else you think it might reach other interested people. Thank you!

Also, as promised, there are some opportunities we need to tell you about.

Well, can you believe that it's been 14 weeks since National Flash-Fiction Day? That's more than one quarter of a year. And do you know what means? It means that it's time to start thinking about next year!

Not a full bulletin for you today, but just bringing you up to date with what's happening and some events you might be interested in.

• First of all, just a reminder that Jawbreakers is still for sale, both in paperback (via the website at http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/anthology.html) and for Kindle at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jawbreakers-ebook/dp/B0083BRYKW/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=A3TVV12T0I6NSM&qid=1337333761&sr=1-1) and another plea that, if you downloaded it or any other of the other e-books which were free on 16th May, it would really help the writers if you could go along to the Amazon pages for each, click the 'like' button up at the top of the pages, and maybe leave a review . And reviews on your own blogs would be really helpful too, thank you!

• If you don't want to bother with that pesky online ordering stuff, and would like to meet some of the authors, there will be a launch event for Jawbreakers tomorrow at Blackwells Bookshop in Manchester (in the university precinct on Oxford Road) from 6.30pm. This will also be a launch for Valerie O'Riordan's new pamphlet, Enough (http://gumbopress.co.uk/books.html) and my own new pamphlet, Braking Distance (http://www.saltpublishing.com/pamphlets/smv/9781844719129.htm). Details of the event can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/429476600404131/). Please do come along, it'll be a wonderful evening.

• We are also currently planning to hold a launch in Bristol later in the year, with possibly a London one to follow. But if you have a friendly bookshop or other venue near you which would be ideal for a launch, do please get in touch and we'll organise something.

• NFFD has snuck it's way into the Worcestershire Literary Festival this year and I have been judging a competition for them. The winners will be announced and I will be talking, reading and selling/signing books there, and it would be great to see you if you can make it. Details here: http://www.worcslitfest.com/flash-fiction-event-23-june-2012/

• AND, as if that wasn't enough, I shall also be reading and talking NFFD at the Summer Wordfest held by the Vale Royal Writers Group and Dead Good Poets Society of Liverpool. It's held at the Blue Cap pub in Sandiway on Tuesday 26th June. (http://vrwg.co.uk/how-to-find-us/).

• If you'd rather write than listen, don't forget we still have open competitions listed on our site at http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/competitions.html. And, we are now putting together some hasty plans for a way to help celebrate New Zealand's NFFD which is being held on 22nd June (the shortest day in the Southern Hemisphere). We have an idea brewing, but if you think of something that would be ideal, please send over your idea.

• And it doesn't end there. This is a busy summer for the short story with International Short Story Day occurring on 20th June (http://www.internationalshortstoryday.org/). A number of events will be happening, including the collaborative creation of short stories, against the clock and team against team.(http://shortstorydayafrica.org/) I'm exteremely happy to be part of the UK team along with 5 other wonderful writers including NFFD writer Sarah Hilary (aka Sarah Frost Mellor) and Stella Duffy. So, do keep your eyes on that one.

And, I think, for now, that's about it. I'll keep you up to date as best I can over the coming weeks and months, and there will be updates to the website and blog posts and all the usual stuff. So, have a great summer, and keep flashing!

All the best