Category: Bulletins

Well, can you believe that a week has already come and gone since National Flash-Fiction Day? How time flies!

I thought I would send out this bulletin to bring you up to date, let you know what happened, what's happening, and what's going to happen, and generally set you on your way.

First, though, I need to send out another thank you to everyone who took part in events on the day. I need to make special mention of the following:

Gavin Inglis for the Edinburgh event, Brindley Hallam Dennis for Carlisle, Wes Brown for Leeds and Denise Sparrowhawk for Hartlepool. Thanks also to all of #FlashTag - Sarah-Clare Conlon, Fat Roland, Dave Hartley, Tom Mason and Benjamin Judge - for flash-bombing the whole of Manchester, and to Dan Carpenter, Nici West and Joe Daly of Bad Language for the Manchester evening event, as well as Jane Bradley at For Books' Sake for the workshop run there.

I must also thank Mike Morris for Liverpool's End of the World event, Carole Burns for organising the Cardiff event and Emma Corfield-Waters from Book-ish for the Abergavenney one; Pauline Fisk and The Shrewsbury CoffeeHouse for the Tuesday event which started everything off, Dan Holloway for the Oxford Slam, and also Grit Lit in Brighton for linking their event up with us.

Thanks also to Valerie O'Riordan, Emma J Lannie and Josephine Corcoran for running flash-workshops on and around the day, and many thanks to Angela Hicken from Winchester Discovery Centre and Allison Kirby from Southampton Central Library for their help with the workshop and reading/launch that I organised down here, as well as to everyone who came and read, wrote or listened. 

Thanks to Rebecca Emin, Ian Hawley, Dan Holloway (again), Kirsty Logan, Helena Mallett, Marc Nash, Alison Wells and (eventually!) Simon Sylvester for making their e-books free for us to give away. 

And also thanks to Rachel Carter, Bad Language (again), 4.33", Book-ish (again), Antonia Bell, Sarah Hilary, Jane Brunning, Natalie Bowers, Vic Errington, Susi Holliday and Anna Meade for running such wonderful competitions in the run up to the day, and producing, in some cases, such beautiful anthologies, and of course thanks to Valerie O'Riordan (again) and her partner Andy Broadey for helping to put Jawbreakerstogether and make it look so darned good!

And (nearly done...) to Alex Thornber, Rachel Dunlop and Emily Cleaver for running http://nffdflashpoints.blogspot.co.uk/ and to Susi (again), Shirley Golden, Nettie Thomson, Cassandra Parkin, Susan Howe and Caroline Kelly for helping me to run http://flashfloodjournal.blogspot.co.uk/. 

And a personal thank you to Kath Lloyd who kept me (reasonably) sane through the mammoth process of running the day and did a lot of behind the scenes work. 

I know I've left loads of people out, but in lots of cases I don't know your names! So a huge, huge thank you to everyone who wrote something, read something, listened to something, came along to something, passed the word about something, or just generally sat at home with a cup of tea and supported the efforts of National Flash-Fiction Day!

Okay, Oscar-acceptance speech over, onto the nitty gritty!

• First up, just to let you know that there are still competitions on the Competitions page and events on the Events page of the website (including my own appearance at the Worcestershire Lit Fest, do come along), so don't forget about those. And, if new 'flash' events or competitions come your way, do send them over. The website is not going to just disappear now the day is over, it will change a bit and we will not be updating quite so often, but we'll still be here and still doing our thing, so don't forget us.

• Next, I want to mention the free e-books that we gave away. Apologies, first, for those of you who tried to download Simon Sylvester's 140 Characters only to find it wasn't free. Apparently there had been a glitch somewhere in the process and a switch didn't get thrown. I did try to let people know through the Facebook page, but only had limited internet access so couldn't get to the web-page to alter it. The book was listed as free the next day, so hopefully some of you caught it then. On the subject of the books, however, it appears that around 150 people downloaded each of the books, which is wonderful, but the giveaway only works to support the writers if you spread the word. So, if you have read the books and you enjoyed them, please do go back to the Amazon pages and click on the 'Like' button up near the top, and also please leave a review to tell other people why they should buy copies with real money. Also, if you run a blog or website, please do consider writing reviews of the books there, or putting up a link to the books, or similar. One of the best ways to support a writer is to recommend their work. Thanks.

• A quick mention, as well, for the mooted anthology collecting together the winning entries from the various competitions. This is still on the cards and will be called 'I Can Show You The World and other stories' and will be out soon. It will be a free e-book available (probably) from Smashwords, so stay tuned for that. 

• Having mentioned books, I should mention Jawbreakers. The e-book is now available on Kindle at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jawbreakers-ebook/dp/B0083BRYKW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1337333761&sr=1-1 for you to download and enjoy immediately! Or you can still order real, physical, paper copies from us here at NFFD via http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/anthology.html. If neither of those take your fancy, there are copies for sale in Brighton's Waterstones (it would be great if they could sell out...) or you can come along to one of the launches we're organising for the book. We only have a confirmed date for one so far, but it is at Blackwell's in Manchester (by the university) on Friday 8th June at 6.30pm, so do please come along. More details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/429476600404131/. We are also now working on a Bristol launch, a Brighton one, and a London one, and if you'd like us to come to your area, do drop us a line.

• And so, onto the future. As you might have noticed above, I already alluded to the fact that the website will be continuing, so you have probably guessed that so will National Flash-Fiction Day. It's true. It went too well to give up. So plans are already being made for NFFD2013. But... we're not going to start just yet. Personally, I need a bit of downtime after all that hard work and excitement, plus I have lots of my own writing to do and - oh yes - I'm getting married in less than 6 weeks! So, the website will be tidied up, sales, events and launches for Jawbreakers will continue, and the occasional bulletin will trickle out, but I think we should all take a breather now until about September, at which point we'll pull the tarp off, put the key in the ignition and get the engine ticking over once more. Thank you for all your hard work, take a well earned break, but start thinking about what you'd like to do for next year, because that was just a trial run, next time we do it even bigger and better!!

All the best, thank you again, and have a great summer.

Well, this will be the last bulletin before the big day, which is just TWO DAYS away!!

This is the time for a roundup of all the things happening on Wednesday that you can still help out and get involved with. (All times are given in BST.)

• The whole thing kicks off tomorrow, actually, with the first official event happening at the Shrewsbury Coffeehouse from 8pm. There will be conversation, readings and even a chance to write. Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/411297818883762/ and http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/midlands.html

• Then, at midnight, the FlashFlood journal goes live, with stories appearing regularly throughout the 24 hours of NFFD. Submissions don't close until midnight tomorrow, so do please send in your pieces and encourage people to do the same. Details: http://flashfloodjournal.blogspot.co.uk/

• Throughout the day, the #FlashTag gang will be regaling the people of Manchester with small tales in a flash-fiction-flash-mob kind of way. Details: http://flashtagmcr.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/national-flash-fiction-day-flash-in-manchester/

• At 10am Emma J Lannie will be leading a workshop in Derby. There are still two places available, and it's FREE. So if you can, I think you should! Details: http://flashfictioncentral.eventbrite.com/

• And at 10.30am in Trowbridge, there will be a Flash Fiction workshop with writer and tutor, Josephine Corcoran http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/southwest.html

• At 11am the Write-In will start. This will provide a huge number of prompts for you to write an instant flash and see it appear on the blog. It will run until 3pm and no submissions will be accepted after that. We could still use some more prompts, so if you have a list of interesting words, phrases, titles, lyrics or whatever, do please send them over. Details: http://thewrite-in.blogspot.co.uk/

• And then, we reach the evening. The main launch event will be occurring in Southampton Central Library from 6.30/7.00pm until about 9.00 and featuring the launch of Jawbreakers along with readings from myself, Vanessa Gebbie, Holly Howitt, Sara Crowley, Gail Aldwin, Natalie Bowers, Tim Stephenson and more (along with some of videos if we get it working!) Do please come along if you can, it's entirely free! https://www.facebook.com/events/379325198752054/ and http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/southwest.html

• In Scotland, Underword are holding a flash-fiction event from 7.30pm in the Bongo Club in Edinburgh. Details: http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/scotland.html

• In Carlisle there will be an event at the Merienda Café/Bar from 7.30pm. Details: http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/northwest.html

• And in Liverpool there will be the final of Flash-Fiction At The End Of The World at the Unity Theatre: http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/northwest.html

• In Manchester, the folks from Bad Language will be finishing off their competition with an evening of flash at Afflecks theatre: http://badlanguagemcr.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/national-flash-fiction-day-finalists/

• Central Library, Hartlepool will be hosting an evening of flash from 6.30pm: http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/northeast.html

• And in Leeds, Dead Ink will also be hosting an evening of flash from 7.30pm: http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/northeast.html

• The Word Counts/Bookish/Abergavenney Focus competition reaches its end with an event from 7.30pm in The King's Head, Abergavenney: http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/wales.html

• While in Bar One at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, you can enjoy artworks and the stories they have inspired: https://www.facebook.com/events/275638122527584/ and http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/wales.html

• The Albion Bookshop in Oxford will be hosting a flash-slam from 6.30pm, judged by Tania Hershman: http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/southwest.html

• At 7.45pm, if you're in Brighton you should go along to Grit Lit for some flash, some poetry and some other stuff! http://gritlit16may2012-eac1.eventbrite.co.uk/?ebtv=C

• And last, but in no ways least, the first ever NFFD also sees the first ever IFFD event (International, that is!) So, if you are in Dublin, get yourself along to Big Smoke for a great evening, including Alison Wells: http://www.inkwellwriters.ie/national-flash-fiction-day-at-big-smoke/

• There are, of course, competitions and things still going on over at http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/competitions.html and copies of Jawbreakers to order at http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/anthology.html and a range of the Kindle books we have listed on our site at http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/kindle.html will also be available throughout the day... for FREE!!

And that's pretty much it. Things will be happening over the next day on the blog (http://nationalflashfictionday.blogspot.com/), website (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/nationalflashfictionday) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/nationalflashfd), so stay tuned and spread the word. 

And here goes National Flash-Fiction Day 2012!!

All the best for the day,

Well, we are just ONE WEEK away from the big day and I don't know about you but I'm getting very, very excited!

It's all starting to come together, so let me give you a run down of the things you need to know. There will be another bulletin, probably Tuesday next week, with all the last minute stuff, but this is where we are now:

• First of all, as you may have seen, at midnight last night we opened submissions for the National Flash-Fiction Day pop-up journal:FlashFlood (http://flashfloodjournal.blogspot.co.uk/). I have put together a team of editors to work on this over the coming week for the journal to appear on the day itself, filling the day with flash-fictions from midnight to midnight! We are looking for stories under 500 words, on any theme, and from anywhere in the world. A maximum of 3 pieces per writer. Please spread the word and let's see just how many great flash-fictions we can get up online in the day. 

• Next, Jawbreakers is almost here! The printers have informed me that I can expect the book to arrive tomorrow (10th May) and, if it arrives early enough, we will be shipping all pre-orders on the same day (along with author copies and any requested for events, if we can). Books can be pre-ordered from  http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/anthology.html, or if you want a batch to sell at events (sale or return) then drop me a line here and I'll add you to the list. Can't wait to have my hands on the copies! The Kindle edition will be up on Amazon in time for NFFD next week.

• The anthology produced from Flash-Fiction South West - Kissing Frankenstein and Other Stories - is also now available to order from http://www.lulu.com/shop/flash-fiction-south-west/kissing-frankenstein-other-stories/paperback/product-20102484.html;jsessionid=D2211F6E8FDDA95AFB45DA94C4B9F2BD. 53 wonderful flash-fictions from all over the West Country. What more could you want? Best go and order now...

• Posters and story cards have headed out around the country. If you would still like some we have them, including Jawbreakersposters, so do get in touch. If you have received them, please send us photos of them in situ so we can show the world!

• There are events coming up this week to start off the Day, or which need pre-booking: 
• I will be running a workshop this Saturday at the Discovery Centre in Winchester. It's only £5 and promises to be a great day, so do please book and come along if you can. (http://www3.hants.gov.uk/wdc/wdc-eventdetails?id=152820). 
• Valerie O'Riordan is also running a workshop on Monday 14th (where she should also have copies of her new pamphlet andJawbreakers!). It is booked up, but you could always join the waiting list. (http://flashfictionatcitylibrary.eventbrite.co.uk/?ebtv=C)
• Hartlepool Central Library start their display of Flash-Fictions on Saturday. If you're in the area that would be well worth a look. (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/northeast.html)
• Emma J Lannie is running a free workshop in Derby, actually on NFFD, for which places are still available, but pre-booking is necessary. (http://flashfictioncentral.eventbrite.com/)
• Jospehine Corcoran is also running a free workshop on the day, in Trowbridge, you can also pre-book for that (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/southwest.html)
• And finally, the first actual proper event for NFFD will happen on the day before - 15th May - in Shrewsbury. So if you're nearby, or can be, get yourself along and be one of the first to celebrate National Flash-Fiction Day! (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/midlands.html)

• There are also competitions which are still open, including the 'Random Words' competition (closes today) and our two Australian opportunities (close tomorrow) plus other new ones which we add as they come along. So do keep checking out http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/competitions.html for details.

• And finally, as we head into the last week, once again can I ask you to keep spreading the word, sharing the Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/nationalflashfictionday, the Twitter address, @nationalflashfd, and generally bigging up National Flash-Fiction Day to anyone who will listen. I'm going to be on Radio Solent at the weekend talking about it. With only a week to go your local radio stations might finally be keen to feature it, so do start pestering them, especially if you are running an event that you want people to come to. And let's make this a day to remember.

Really finally, I just want to say another big thank you to you all. This was a little idea of mine, but you have taken it on board and made it your own. It is far bigger and much better than I could ever have imagined. One last push and then... we're off!

Until next week, thank you and happy flashing!

Well, we're into May which means that National Flash-Fiction Day cannot be that far away. Two weeks, in fact! Can you believe it?

So, with it rushing closer and closer and everyone here at NFFD-Towers (that means me... plus all of you, of course. they're virtual Towers...) getting more and more excited, here's this week's roundup of what's happening and what we need you to do:

• First of all, as you hopefully know, the anthology, Jawbreakers, is nearly here. I received the first proof copy yesterday and it looks amazing! You can pre-order the book from the website (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/anthology.html) as a number of you already have, plus copies will be available at most NFFD events, and it will soon be available from Amazon and most bookshops, plus the Kindle edition will be coming soon as well. Don't forget the main launch event on the Day will be at Southampton Central Library. It would be great to see you there. Details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/379325198752054/ And if you would like to host a launch event for the book, please do get in touch.

• The anthology from the Flash Fiction South West project - “Kissing Frankenstein & Other Stories” - is also imminent, containing a range of wonderful stories from, amongst others, Tania Hershman, Martha Williams, Gail Aldwin, Kevlin Henney, Sarah Hilary, Rachel Carter and yours truly. More info here: http://flashfictionsw.co.uk/.

• More competitions/anthologies have recently closed, but there are still some you can enter, including a couple of Australian opportunities! Details are here http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/competitions.html. In addition, there will be something new and very special coming from us here at NFFD in the next week, so make sure you are signed up to us on Twitter at @nationalflashfd or Facebook at www.facebook.com/nationalflashfictionday, or regulalrly checking our blog at http://nationalflashfictionday.blogspot.co.uk/ so you don't miss out!

• Other events are starting up, now that the day is approaching. So, don't miss me (Calum Kerr) at The Writers @ Lovedean this Friday morning (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/southeast.html), or my workshop in Winchester next Saturday (12th May) it'll be great to see/meet you! Valerie O'Riordan's workshop in Manchester on 14th May is now full, but you can always join the waiting list for what promises to be a great event. http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/manchester.html

• In addition, if you are looking for ways to fill your time, Tania Hershman will be launching her new book - My Mother was an Upright Piano - in Bristol tomorrow (Thursday 3rd May - 6.00-7.45pm, bookshop at Arnolfini, 16 Narrowquay, Bristol). Do come along if you can!

• Another thing you could do would be to tune into Radio 4 on Saturday evening from 5.30pm where I will be talking about my flash365 project and NFFD as well as writing a flash-fiction to a provided prompt during the programme. It promises to be exciting! (And terrifying, but let me worry about that...) Please spread the word about that!

• We still have some of our promotional posters (just a few) and story cards (slightly more) hanging around. So if you want some, please do get in touch. Included in this are some lovely Jawbreakers posters which would look great in any bookshop... Just a thought! And, if you have received posters and put them up, can you please take a photo of them in situ and send it to us? We'd love to create a collage of them! The same is true when you receive your books. Photos of you holding it, please!

• And that's about it for this week. Please keep checking the website and all those other places I mentioned for updates and news during the week, make sure you're signed up and taking part. And please, as ever, keep spreading the word in every way you can. (Did you know that most local radio stations have 'What's On?' guides that you can fill in for yourselves? Just a thought...) 

And, finally, thank you for your help and support. We're nearly there!!!

All the best

Aren't Wednesdays coming around fast now? Can you believe we are just THREE WEEKS away!? Amazing!

Anyway, here's a roundup of news, and some things for you to be looking out for and getting up to:

• First of all, in case you didn't notice, we completed our part in the production of Jawbreakers. The text has been proofed and finalised, the cover has been designed and the whole thing has been sent off to our printers. They reckon about 10 working days so, by our calculations, that puts the book in our hands round about 9th or 10th May! We are, of course, massively excited about that! When it lands we hope to be able to ship it very soon after. News will follow very soon of how you can pre-order your copy. And, if you are organising an event, we would like to you take a few copies (say 10?) to sell on the night. If you are happy to do this, please get in touch. 

• Next I should mention that we have quite a lot of competitions closing in the coming week from #Flashtag, Once Upon a Time, 1000 words, Writing on the Wall, The Journal and Flash Fiction World. So, if you haven't already sent your stories in, now is the time to do so! Full listings at http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/competitions.html. We've also listed a bunch of new competitions, some coming up after the Day, so do keep checking the page for new goodies.

• Other events coming up that you need to be aware of as we approach the day include workshops from myself and Josephine Corcoran down in the South West (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/southwest.html), Writing on the Wall in Liverpool (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/northwest.html), Emma J Lannie in Derby (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/midlands.html) and Valerie O'Riordan and Collaborate Here in Manchester (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/manchester.html). Do sign up while there are still places available, they all promise to be exciting and interesting.

• And another reason for signing up to those is your chance to see your work on our new blog: http://nffdflashes.blogspot.co.uk/ which we are using to pull together featured work produced by all the various NFFD events which don't already have their own embedded publication  (and the random exercises I've started to set for you all. Watch out for another one this weekend!). Do have a read of what is being produced, there's some great work there.

• Collaboration with our international friends is moving along, with some cross-pollination between us and National Flash-Fiction Day - New Zealand (http://nationalflash.wordpress.com/), a pamphlet being produced in Brisbane which is looking for your work (http://chriswhitewrites.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/national-flash-fiction-day/) and an event now happening in Dublin (http://www.inkwellwriters.ie/national-flash-fiction-day-at-big-smoke/). So make sure you check those out.

• As usual, we've been updating the website with new writers as well as new events and competitions. We've added a 'Kindle' page to bring together all of the e-books available from our writers. If you have a book on Kindle and would like to be listed, do drop us a line.

• What else? Well, the posters have arrived! (Whooop!) And I hope to be sending those out in the next couple of days. So, if you want any posters, or some of the story cards (or MORE story cards if you're run out) then, again, drop us a line.

And, apart from that, it's business as usual. Please do follow and promote our social media outlets at https://www.facebook.com/nationalflashfictionday, https://www.facebook.com/JawbreakersFlash, https://twitter.com/#!/nationalflashfd and join in with the various activties. And, if you get a chance to talk to your local press about us, we'd be awfully grateful!

If you have any questions, queries, ideas or comments about National Flash-Fiction Day, or to sign up for the mailing list, please do get back to me at nationalflashfictionday@gmail.com. A mail will be out in the next couple of days about pre-ordering the book. Thanks, as ever, for all your support and hard work. And here's to the next three weeks!!

All the best

Calum

(PS. On a very personal note, and I do apologise for this, my project to write a flash-fiction every day for a year will have come to an end by the time of the next bulletin, with the final story on April 30th. If you're not aware of it, it's online at http://flash365.blogspot.co.uk/ and, if you like it, a 'Like' at https://www.facebook.com/flash365 and a 'share' would be very much appreciated. Thank you and advert over!)

Well, it's another Wednesday, another bulletin, and only 4 weeks to go!!

Here's a quick round-up of all that's new, and all that you can do to help:

• Our biggest news is probably the announcement of our anthology, Jawbreakers. I shan't reiterate all that's been said before, but you can read all about it at http://nationalflashfictionday.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/anthology-final-list.html. Just to say that we are hoping it will be available at the beginning of May, that it will be available via Amazon as both book and Kindle or directly from me as book or PDF. I shall send out more about price and how to buy it etc. once I know more. In the meantime, why not 'Like' the new Facebook page for up-to-the-minute info: https://www.facebook.com/JawbreakersFlash.

• In other news, we have managed to inspire the world with our efforts! New Zealand have announced their own NFFD, details at http://nationalflash.wordpress.com/. So do please support them in their efforts if you can. And, I've heard this morning that there will be an anthology being produced in Australia to tie in with our Day. More when I have details.

• Closer to home, we now have an event happening in Scotland, Edinburgh to be precise. I haven't had a chance to add it to our website yet, but details are at http://underword.co.uk/. And there is a whisper of something coming along in Northern Ireland too, so stay-tuned for word of that, or get in touch if you'd like to be involved. However we still have a lack of events in London, of all places. So if you are there and want to get something happening, let me know!

• The Story Cards I mentioned in the last bulletin have arrived and the first lot have been distributed, but we still have more left. So if you want some to pass out to friends, family, neighbourhood arts venues, or to promote your event, please get in touch. The posters are on order and should be here soon. Again, let me know if you want some, if you haven't already.

• A number of competitions have closed in the last week - thank you all those who submitted - but others are still open. The Dead Ink competition in Yorkshire closes today (http://host2021.temp.domains/~nationo0/northeast.html ) and Lancashire Writing Hub's Flash-Fiction Competition closes on Friday, so don't miss out! http://www.lancashirewritinghub.co.uk/calendar/

• Also, Liverpool's Writing on the Wall, who are running the Flash Fiction at the end of the World competition, now have 20 entries up on the site for people to read. They will also be displaying them in a very prestigious site at the FACT arthouse and cinema in Liverpool. All the details can be found here for the final event – http://www.writingonthewall.org.uk/event-listing/flash-fiction-final.html with Author Mike Carey, who is nominated for a Hugo award, who will be reading and judging the final, and go here for all the stories and the entry page: http://www.writingonthewall.org.uk/flash-fiction-submission.html.

• Loads of you have been blogging about the Day, including featuring some interviews with me and some of my writing, So a very big thank you for that. If you would still like to, feel free to get in touch if you need anything.

• Thanks to all of you on Twitter who promoted us last Friday. That was a great boost. It would be wonderful if you could repeat that, say, every week? (Please?) And, if you haven't already, please do 'Like' our page at https://www.facebook.com/nationalflashfictionday, share it with your friends, follows us on Twitter at @nationalflashfd and generally help get the word out. Oh, and one specific request. If you are Tweeting about NFFD it would be great if you could include the hashtag #nffd or #NFFD in all your messages to see if we can get it trending. (If you don't use Twitter, that will probably mean nothing to you. That's fine. Ignore it!)

And that's it. Except to say keep visiting our website at http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/ for more updates, check out the events - some of them, such as workshops, are coming up before the day, so don't miss out - and thank you so very much for all your support. It just keeps getting bigger and better!

All the best

Calum

PS. If you have something you think should be included in this Bulletin, do please send it through to nationalflashfictionday@gmail.com, which is also the address to sign up for the mailing list.

Well, is it just me, or is 16th May starting to look really close? Only 5 weeks to go!

And, with the day drawing closer, things are hotting up. We have lots of new events online since the last bulletin, plus more in the pipeline that will go up in the next weeks. Yesterday saw the close of submissions for our anthology which will be going to press very soon, and we have started to appear in the press and on the radio. It's all very, very exciting and I need to thank all of you for your hard work so far.

But it doesn't stop there! Here are some of the things going on and ways you can continue to help:

• Today we received the Story Cards that I've been promising ( https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=266835560074710&set=a.227547067336893.51806.163757727049161&type=1&theater ) so if you requested some of these to hand out and help promote the day, then they'll be in the post to you before the end of the week. If you would like to request some, just drop me a line and I'll send them off. There will be posters too, as soon as we can get them, but they will be limited in number, so get your requests in now!

• Yesterday, flash-fictioneer Deborah Rickard was interviewed on Radio Bristol about the day and what's going on in the area. ( you can listen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00qcf6l from about 1.53.30). If you are organising an event, taking part in an event, or just as excited as we are about the Day, why not drop your local station a line and go and tell the world?

• The Derby Telegraph are running a flash competition to tie in with the Day, and they interviewed me for last week's edition. (http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Author-Calum-urges-writers-explore-flash/story-15703324-detail/story.html ). So, the same thing is true for your local papers. Don't forget to get them involved.

• The Guardian, on the 14th May, will be publishing an article by David Gaffney to promote the day. They will be listing our events. So, don't forget to let us know what's happening so we can add you to the list. (And if you don't have anything happening, there's still time to set something up!)

• We have launched some new projects for the Day. There is the on-going project, Flashpoints ( http://nffdflashpoints.blogspot.co.uk/ ), which asks you to go to a place, write a story, and leave it there. And now we have unveiled plans for an International Write-In ( http://thewrite-in.blogspot.co.uk/ ) to happen on the Day itself. Please do get involved with these, and spread the word to all and sundry.

• Along with this bulletin we have started to publish Guest Posts on our blog. We will be inviting a range of people to write for it, but if you have something you want to share, please drop us a line!

• And finally, don't forget there are still competitions on-going with a range of deadlines. ( http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/competitions.html ) And we are pleased to announce that the top-three winners in all of the competitions will end up in a special e-book anthology published by NFFD.

And I think that's about it for now. We will be publishing this Bulletin weekly from now on, right up to the day (and beyond, maybe!) so stay tuned for more exciting happenings. And, if you have some news we need to share, drop us a line at nationalflashfictionday@gmail.com and we'll spread the word for you.

In the meantime, make sure you have liked our page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/nationalflashfictionday) and that you follow us on Twitter (@nationalflashfd) and please spread the word to your friends and followers to do the same.

Thank, as ever, for your support with the day.

Until next time, happy flashing!

(This bulletin was sent out on 16th March 2012. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please get in touch via the email address on our website at http://host2021.temp.domains/~nationo0/contact.html)

I thought today would be appropriate for an update as it is exactly 2 months until National Flash-Fiction Day itself. Since the last bulletin a lot has been happening so I thought I would bring you up to date, tell you what's happening, and all the rest.

As you probably already know we have secured some Arts Council funding. This is not a huge amount but it has allowed us do some things that otherwise wouldn't have happened:

• We have put an anthology into production with 10 stories commissioned from all parts of the country. This will be edited by myself and Valerie O'Riordan and will include, and we are chuffed to bits about this: Jenn Ashworth, Tania Hershman, Vanessa Gebbie, David Gaffney, Emma J. Lannie, Jonathan Pinnock, Simon Thirsk, Nigel McLoughlin, Sarah Hilary, Eunice Yeates, Kirsty Logan and - in case you haven't heard me shouting it from the rooftops - Ali Smith! This anthology is also seeking submissions, and details are on the website (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/anthology.html).

• Following on from the success of the Micro-Fiction competition (nearly 300 entries of an incredible standard and 10 very worthy winners) we are going to print promotional cards featuring the stories (http://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/cards.html). If you are running an event or simply wish to promote the day in a very attractive physical form, please let me know (with a postal address) and I will forward a batch of cards to you once they're printed.

• On the same theme, we are also hoping to print some posters in a similar style. So, let me know if you want those as well.

• And we have been able to afford some professional PR help. This means that we can start spreading the word even further and will be able to help promote your events in the national and local media.

In the meantime the number of writers listed on the website has grown hugely. We still have space for more, so do get in touch if you are a published (in however small a way) flash-fictioneer and would like to be listed. In the near future, when I have time, I will be changing the layout of the 'Writers' page to provide a more usable A-Z listing, but also a listing by region. This has been requested by a couple of literature professionals (council and library people) as it will allow them to pinpoint their local authors and more easily book them for events. So that should be helpful!

We have also added a number of new events and competitions. However, we want more! Word is finally coming in from Scotland and Northern Ireland of things happening there, but the North East of England and - surprisingly - London are still empty. So, if you live in those areas, or know people who do, please think about setting something up or chivvying them along. We want to cover as much of the country as possible. And, if you live in areas with things already happening, please don't think you can't set up more events or, if you'd rather not, consider getting involved with what's already going on.

Just a word here about 'Closed' events. Some people - myself included - are running events which are limited to geographical areas or, even, to a particular institution or group. I would still like to know about these and to list them on the site. They will be listed as 'Closed' (as in, not open to the general public) but it would be good to show people they don't need to run large-scale public events. So, if you are planning something at your school, college, university, reading group, writing group, etc. which will only be open to the pupils/members, please do let me know. And, if you're not, why not think about doing so?

The 'International' section now has a few entries, but I'm sure we could have a lot more. So encourage your non-UK friends to get in touch for a listing.

We also now have a couple of new sections. One is for projects and magazines etc. So if you are doing something noteworthy and flashy online, let me know and we'll list you. Likewise, we have a section for videos. So if you have been caught on camera reading a flash, or something related, let me know and we'll add it to our site and our YouTube Channel.

As I mentioned above, we will be hitting the press soon, and hope to get some coverage. But it would help us immensely if you could use any contacts you have in the media - local, national, international - to spread the word. You can direct them back to me if you would rather not deal directly, but please let's start getting the word out there.

Additionally, if you run a blog or website, and would like an interview from me - or a piece of flash-fiction - then please get in touch. I think the time is right to start those kinds of promotions as the day is still far away enough to organise something but close enough to be tangible. Likewise, if you would rather interview one of our listed writers, please get in touch with me and I will pass on your request. I would ask you to go through me, even if you know the writer in question, partly to stop them receiving too many requests at once, but also so I can keep track and help promote the interview/post/thing on our various outlets.

And finally, a more personal call-out. I shall be hosting the 'official'(?) NFFD event on the day at central library in Southampton. This will consist of readings, talking about flash-fiction and the day, and the official launch of the anthology. If you are close enough to come, it would be great to see you. And if you are a writer of flash and would like to read at the event, please get in touch and I shall try to add you to the programme. Thanks.

And that's it for now. A big thank you to all of you for all you have done so far. National Flash-Fiction Day was just a silly idea I had, but now it's shaping up to be something amazing! With your help it can be big and beautiful, and build a platform to launch future years of National (and maybe even International) flashing!

Thanks, really.

Calum

Well, as you have a probably noticed, now that Christmas is well and truly over the engines have started turning over again here in Flash-Fiction Day central. Things are starting to move and we're ready to get on the road.

We have added a whole new batch of writers to the website and had our first entry on our 'International' Section. A batch of new events has been added and there are more to come. Our micro-fiction competition has come and gone, and results will be announced around the end of the month. And we are waiting to hear back about an Arts Council Bid which will allow us to do some more shiny things.

All of this is fantastic, but it is still really just a start. We need to keep going and keep growing and ensure that 16th May is the spring board for annual Flash-Fiction Days in the years to come.

• So, if you are a writer of flash-fiction (with at least a couple of publications, or a flash-fiction blog or something similar) then get in touch as we'd like to list you on the site. This applies to International writers too - please get in touch.
• If you run a flash-project such as a magazine, a blog or a website, we'd like to start a new section to feature those separately from the 'Writers' pages, so please drop me a line about those too. (Again, international projects also welcome.)
• If you are planning an event, even if you aren't sure of all the details yet, let me know so I can at least put something up to make people aware of what's going to be happening in their area. And, if you aren't yet planning an event... why not? If you need inspiration, some of the things happening so far include: flash-readings, flash-slams, competitions to be announced on or near the day, workshops and anthologies. If you're a student or teacher, why not organise something within your Uni or school? If you work at, borrow from, or live near a library, why not get in touch with them and see if they want to do something? If you have a local paper, radio or TV station, why not drop them a line and see what they think. At least one local newspaper will be running a competition, so why not suggest that to yours? (Also, if you are doing something, but it's not open to the public, such as a class being run in a school or uni, please let us know anyway so we can share it as a source of inspiration to others).
• If you have a blog or website, then please think about promoting the day. I'm available for online (or in person) interviews about it all, if that's any use to you.
• Conversely, if you would like to write a guest blog entry for us about flash-fiction, why you like it, how you came to it, how you do it, or anything else flash-related, we'd love to hear from you.
• If you have a webcam, why not film yourself reading a story and put it up to YouTube or similar. In the recent update we have added Nik Perring reading one of his and it looks great. We'd like to build up a YouTube channel if we can.
• Please share the FB page and website on your social media channels and get the word out there. Also, this bulletin will be on our blog soon, so please share that too. (http://nationalflashfictionday.blogspot.com/)
• And finally, if you would like to be the co-ordinator for your region, please do get in touch and we'll make it happen.

And, of course, if you think of anything that we haven't listed, please let us know, new ideas are happening all the time and it's great to be able to share. This is shaping up to be one heck of a day, but we do need your help to make it happen.

Thank you all for your hard work so far, and roll on May 16th!

All the best

Calum