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Published on 4 Comments on National Flash-Fiction Day Anthology 2015

Well, it's been a tortuous job to winnow the 200+ submission down to our selection, but Angi Holden and myself have finally managed it. And so we are pleased to announce that the stories in this years anthology will be as follows:

A Curious State of Affairs  by  Ingrid Jendrzejewski
A Secret Weight  by  KM Elkes
Bad Geography  by  James Coates
Colouring In  by  Shirley Golden
Coming Back to Primorsk  by  Anna Nazarova-Evans
Countdown  by  Susan Howe
Devil's Mountain  by  Joanna Campbell
Dinner and Geography  by  Keith Gillison
Disputed Zone  by  Barbara Leahy
Double Geography  by  Jane Cooper
Forty Seconds  by  Katie Stevens
How The Earth Began  by    Jenny Woodhouse
Her geography    by  Rob Walton
Holiday Photograph  by  Else Fitzgerald
I Am Maps*  by  H Anthony Hildebrand
Keeping in touch  by  Amanda Quinn
Landmarks  by  Ian Shine
London  by  Tracey Upchurch
Love  by  Nik Perring
North  by   Michelle Elvy
On Location  by  Jon Volkmer
On the Beach  by  Kate Mahony
Pen Y Fan  by  Susan Carey (Angela Williams)
Petty Larceny at the Grocery  by  Beverly C. Lucey
Postcards  by  Mike Scott Thomson
Re:Help  by  Sandra Kohls
Saharan Shades  by  Santino Prinzi
Spinning the Bottle  by  Timothy Mark Roberts
Sweet Gestures  by  Chris Stanley
The Beautiful Game  by  Sonya Oldwin
The Blue House  by  Cath Barton
The Gambler  by  Richard Holt
The Next Island  by  Jamie Hubner
The Owner  by  Bart Van Goethem
The Psychiatrist's Shoe  by  Nod Ghosh
Toy Soldier  by  Pauline Masurel
Tunnels  by  Marie Gethins
Tunnels  by  Isobel Victoria Newham (Vicky)
Useless Without The Other Half  by  Vanessa Savage
Wall Map  by  Emeline Morin
Welcome to All Souls’ Park  by  Gemma Govier
Who Can Hear The Screaming  by  Kirsten Anne McKenzie
Would It Kill You to Smile, Blanca Gomez?  by  Nuala Ní Chonchúir
You Promised  by  Cath Bore
Love in Different Time Zones  by  Jane Roberts
A Place in Time   by  Ruth Doris
Five Travellers in a Small Ford   by  James Norcliffe
Scattered (After Mike Blow's Aeolus)   by  Emily Koch
The Somewhere Road  by  Alex Reece Abbott
Third Shadow  by  Tim Stevenson
Hilary Is the Winters of Keith's Discontent  by  Kevlin
We Endure  by  Cathy Lennon
How Can I Get You to Dance?  by  Angela Readman
Ultima Thule  by  Jonathan Pinnock
Travels in Ink  by  Angi Holden
Your Body Is Terrain They Can Map Now (Not That That Helps You, Much)  by  Amy Mackelden
A Face in the Crowd  by  Calum Kerr
Saddle Stitch  by  Michelle Keefe
I am East  by  Sarah Hilary
Fingers Crossed  by  SJI Holliday
Fable  by  Oli Morris
With the winning and commended titles from the Micro-Fiction Competition:

Fly  by  Rob Walton
i want someone who loves me so much they don't care about grammar  by  Laura Tansley
A Weekend Away  by  Diane Simmons
The Pacifist  by  Nick Triplow
Marks and Sparks  by  Ian Shine
Spreading The Chaos  by  Mark Newman
A History Of Ants In The Sugar Bowl  by  Julie Sawyer
Maturity  by  Jude Higgins
Stiff  by  Joanna Campbell
And A Bottle Of Rum  by  Garreth Wilcock

Congratulations to all who made it in. Commiserations to those who were unsuccessful. 
We are currently working on the title and the cover, and those will be announced as soon as can be!
Thanks to all who took part, to Angi for helping to select the stories, and to Amy and Tino for their amazing work.
More soon...
Calum Kerr
Director of NFFD

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Published on 2 Comments on NFFD Micro-Fiction Competition Winners!

Well, the judges have sweated and grumbled, but in the end we managed to get them to make a decision, and we're pleased to announce the winning 10 stories from this year's over-300 entries to the Micro-Fiction competition.

The only stipulation was that the story should be 100 words or fewer and I think you'll be amazed at what they achieved.

The top three will win packages of books and cash, and all ten will appear in this year's anthology, which will be available for National Flash-Fiction Day on 27th June.

Congratulations and thanks to all who entered for making the judges' jobs so hard, and extra congratulations to our winners!


FIRST PRIZE
Fly
by Rob Walton
I’m rushing to push my lunch box in to my bag when I see these two who must be flying a kite on the green triangle outside the school because she’s holding a length of string, showing him how to thread it through his fingers, but then I realise she’s teaching fly fishing with no river for miles and the nearest polluted anyway and I look again, and she’s reading him Ted Hughes and he’s hanging on every word as he casts better than anyone I’ve ever seen, and we all realise that rivers are just a bonus extra.
SECOND PRIZE
I want someone who wants me so much they don’t care about grammar 
by Laura Tansley
On a canker of a concrete wall in a ground-up grey car park the colour of chewed gum a lover paints in lower case ‘your nicer than my wife’ above the butt bumper of a blue Fiesta. Each morning it waggles its way out of the space like a preening duck presenting. And when the bay is empty I lie on the earth to feel the heat of tires, the smoked breath of exhaust fumes and high-humidity whispers.
THIRD PRIZE
A Weekend Away 
by Diane Simmons
When I struggled off the train, you laughed, ‘You’ve brought rather a lot.’
In formal hall, I copied how others ate, tried not to grimace at the musty wine. At the theatre, you laughed when an actor spat into the audience. I tried to look like I thought it funny.
I tried to enjoy the beer you bought me in Trinity College bar, tried to like your boisterous friends, was pleased when one asked, ‘What are you reading?’
I didn’t understand why everyone laughed when I replied, ‘The new Ian Rankin.’
But when you laughed, I understood you.
HIGHLY COMMENDED

Marks and Sparks 
by Ian Shine
Her online dating profile said she was into M&S, so I proposed we meet up at our local shopping centre. I've been helping her with her dyslexia for a few months now, and she's been giving me the time of my life.
The Pacifist 
by Nick Triplow
Old man Wilson, he calls himself a pacifist. Exchanges opinions and anecdotes for drinks at the Danny’s Bar: a cut price raconteur preaching non-violence. Last night I discovered he carried a loaded .38 in the pocket of his reefer. I said, ‘How d’you square it, this turn the other cheek shit, with the thirty-eight?’
He boot-heeled his cigarette, gave a smile that showed gaps where teeth used to be. ‘Wouldn’t feel right bein’ a pacifist without it.’
"But— "
He pulled it, cocked it and rested the business end against my forehead. ‘See son, how peaceful that makes you feel?’
A History of Ants in the Sugar Bowl 
by Julie Sawyer
“Little blighters are back again” Stan said. “Look” he added, finger stabbing the sugar bowl. Margo looked. “This‘ll teach ‘em” Stan muttered, pouring boiling water from the kettle into the frosted glass, grunting with satisfaction as a dozen or so agonised black forms caught mid-syrup. Margo imagined she could hear their tiny screams. “You’ll have to ant powder the place again” she said. Stan glared at the offending bowl and harrumphed, before stomping out to the shed. Touching the recently emptied matchbox in her pocket, Margo watched him go; knowing that she now had a whole afternoon to herself.  
And A Bottle of Rum 
by Garreth Wilcock
"Then the Pirate Queen sliced my ribs with her cutlass and I fell to the deck as she left."
He lifted his gown to show the gruesome scar to his niece.
"So how did you get off your ship and into Papworth Hospital?"
"Glad you asked. Mermaids towed my ship to shore, and my parrot stole a mobile and called 999."
"Daddy says you had a double lung transplant, and you might be confused. Because of morphine."
Morphine, yes, but not confused. Just not ready to tell a child that he was breathing with treasure from a dead man's chest.
Spreading the Chaos 
by Mark Newman
He is taking groceries into the house, an obedient little puppy; his wife directing him as if this is something that needs supervision.
Out the window she yells 'oi, shit brains. I've had the abortion, so screw you, have it all your way'.
He looks on with a bemused expression, a lost little boy, unsure which way to turn. His wife punches him on the shoulder; still he holds her gaze.
She winds the window up; gives a mock salute and drives away.
She has never seen this man before. This is just something she does; spreading the chaos.
Maturity 
by Jude Higgins
I'll avoid sitting on cold flag stones, swimming on a full stomach, going out with wet hair, bringing lilacs into the house or trusting men whose eyebrows meet in the middle.
I'll wear a dress – sometimes heels, attend my degree ceremonies, get a proper job, stay married, have babies, cook roast dinners, celebrate Christmas, visit relatives, hold family gatherings, stop causing arguments. Be kind.
I'll do what I want, even if my mother wants it too.
Even if it makes me happy.
Stiff 
by Joanna Campbell
When our Rose wouldn't put her arms in the sleeves of her best frock, Mam wept. Not just because of wanting Rose beautiful, but on account of the photographer charging by the minute.
“We’re up to a week’s housekeeping already,” Mam hissed, pinching Rose’s cheeks to raise a bloom.
I imagined four loaves, three quarts of milk and a string of prime sausage floating out the window.
Rose were right starchy-stiff. I couldn't twist her arm.

So I crouched behind and pushed my arms through her sleeves, lacing my fingers, just how our Mam wanted the corpse to look.





Published on Leave a comment on Micro-Fiction Competition 2015 – Longlist

Hello everyone,

Well, the judges have been doing their thing, and we are close to being able to announce our top 10 and our winner!

But just to get you in the mood, here is our longlist of 25. I will only post the titles at the moment, but you'll know who you are.

Final announcement of the top ten will be out soon.

Well done to everyone who entered. A hard job for the judges as ever.

Longlist:

A Giant Emerges
A History Of Ants In The Sugar Bowl
A Weekend Away
And A Bottle Of Rum
Another's
At the Seams
Cosmic Latte
Fly
Home Maintenance
I want someone who wants me so much they don’t care about grammar
Instructions for Dreaming of the Dead
Justified Violence
Letters
Marks and Sparks
Maturity
Night Watch
Ramon The Killer
Sisters
Spreading the Chaos
Staying At Grandma’s
Stiff
The City in Winter
The Mark of the Finger
The Pacifist
Tinted

Published on Leave a comment on Bulletin 07/05/15

Hello everyone,

Well, here in the UK it is Election Day. I'm just about to head out to vote and I urge you to do the same. (If I said I don't care who you vote for, I'd be lying - of course I care - but whoever it is, I just think you should vote.)
Once you've written your X in the box, maybe it's time to sit down and use even more letters to create something almost as wonderful as a functioning democracy. I'm talking, of course, about flash-fictions!
Our Anthology is still open for submissions. This year's theme is 'geography' which covers everything from technical terms about erosion or land-masses to stories rooted firmly in place (galaxy, planet, country, city, village, house, lounge, this chair... the choice is yours.) The closing date is 15th May so you still have time to enter. Details at: http://nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/anth.html
And, we are also running our Micro-Fiction competition looking for stories of 100 words or fewer. This one has prizes including books (some listed on the site, more to be added) and cash! Also, the top ten will be featured in this year's anthology. So, it's definitely worth a go. Full details at http://nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/comp.html.
If you could post, tweet, blog and otherwise share the news of those two opportunities (repeatedly) then we would, as ever, be utterly grateful.
Other things are on the horizon, with Bristol announcing their Flash-Fiction Day activities, including this year's reading being hosted by Foyles!
Big Smoke in Dublin are also gearing up, as are a number of others. We're adding events to the website at http://nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/events.html, so send us yours and we'll put you up there. 
Coming up sooner, for those in and around Manchester, you can see the wondrous David Gaffney, Sarah-Clare Conlon, Nicholas Royle, Kate Feld, Claire Dean, Sarah Butler and more at 'Re/Place – Stories that are right up your street'. It takes place on 20th May and is free. Doors are open at 7.30pm. 30 Manchester Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, M21 9PH. See replacemcr.wordpress.com for more.

Anyway, that's it for now. Share our news, go out and vote, then come back and get writing. 
Happy Flashing!
Calum.

--

Calum Kerr
Director, National Flash-Fiction Day
(This bulletin was originally sent as an email to our mailing list. If you would like to be added, please email us at nationalflashfictionday@gmail.com and we'll put you on the list for future mailings.)

Published on Leave a comment on Happy National Flash-Fiction Day 2014!
Hooray!

It seems to have been on its way for a long time, but the day is finally here.


So Happy National Flash-Fiction Day everyone!

I shan't keep you for long, but just to round up all the things you need to be aware of.

First, we have the events which are running today. Details of those are on the website and on the blog. I shall be in Bristol doing the FREE workshop and the FREE reading, along with loads of other talented writers, so do come along and say 'hi!'. Or, if it's too far away, consider one of the other events.

And if they are all too far, but you want to get involved, then we have launched a Write-In which will be taking place all day. A team of editors are standing by, and a selection of prompts are there to get you started. All that is over at https://thewrite-in.blogspot.com/ so why not pop over and write a quick one!

We are also promoting a range of eBooks, some free, some ridiculously cheap, including both the previous NFFD anthologies and the new one. All the details of that are also on the blog. 

Paper copies of the new anthology will be on sale at the Bristol events, or you can order one now from Amazon. It is, as ever, a fantastic read. 

And we are, of course, streaming stories out into the world all day, with FlashFlood. So do pop over, read some, and leave the writers some nice comments. 

And, at this point, before I sign off, I need to say a few words of thanks:

First, and most importantly, thanks to my wife, Kath. She had put up with me working long days on NFFD, and being either spaced out or grumpy. And she stepped in as a FlashFlood editor too. So, thanks, love!

Thanks to the judges of our Micro-Fiction competition - Cathy Bryant, Jon Pinnock, Carys Bray, Angela Readman, Kevlin Henney and Tim Stevenson. 

Extra thanks to Tim for rebuilding our website and putting up with me being stroppy, and to Angela for helping to edit the anthology and pull together another amazing selection of stories. And thanks also to Amy Mackelden for sterling work marshaling the stories, preparing manuscripts, keeping track of everything, and even co-editing the anthology. Every despot needs an Amy.

And finally, thanks to all of you. Without the readers and the writers, National Flash-Fiction Day would just be me, in a room, typing to myself. So, I thank you, and my sanity thanks you. 

Now, that's all. Get on with you, you crazy kids, haven;t you got stories to write, or read, or share?


Have a great day.
Calum

Published on Leave a comment on Special Offer eBooks for National Flash-Fiction Day 21st June 2014

Yes, you read that correctly. Not only are we bringing you a host of lovely words and events, but we're bringing you genuine Special Offers!

So, below, please find a list of ebooks, mostly on Kindle, but some not, which will be FREE, DISCOUNTED, or just generally LOW PRICED, all day on 21st June 2014, available all around the world!

Just one thing. The writers of all of these books would appreciate it if, after you read (and hopefully enjoy) their books, you could write them a review either on Amazon or on your own blog. That way other people can enjoy their stories too. Thank  you!

(Please note - timings for Kindle promotions are based on the time in San Francisco, or LA, or one of those West Coast places. So they don't tend to start until about 8am in the UK (and often start late, too!) So check that the price is what you expect before you click the 'Buy' button. Also, this post is coming out early - this is books which will be on offer tomorrow UK time.

Also, please note that all links are to the UK Amazon. If you are elsewhere, simply change the .co.uk in the link to .com, or whatever, and it will take you straight to the right page.)

FREE BOOKS:

Jawbreakers - the 2012 NFFD Anthology
Scraps - the 2013 NFFD Anthology

The Funerals at Christmas by Dixon Barker
Thresholds by David Hartley
75x75 = Flash Fraction by Helena Mallett 
Enough by Valerie O'Riordan
31 by Calum Kerr
Apocalypse by Calum Kerr
The Audacious Adventuress by Calum Kerr
The Grandmaster by Calum Kerr
Lunch Hour by Calum Kerr
Mr & Mrs Flash by Kath Kerr and Calum Kerr

Also:
"Long Stories Short" by Marc Nash (Kindle only)
Marc Nash's third collection of flash fiction (stories of 1000 words or less) sees the master craftsman wrangle language like no other and make daring leaps of narrative style in this 32 story collection. Themes include Royal Wedding street parties, neon cowboys, dating apps, Hollywood directors, angels, assassins, glass eyes, arthritic stand up comedians, Geishas, Warrior-Poets, marionettes, Crime Scene Reconstruction actors, paintballing and waking up; images and metaphors for our modern age. The whole gamut of human emotions, relationships and idiosyncrasies is on show in this collection and all genres are playfully subverted.
e-mail sewell.d@googlemail.com for a Mobi kindle compatible version to be emailed back to you.
Offer closes June 22nd 23.00pm BST

DISCOUNTED & LOW PRICE BOOKS:

Eating My Words - the 2014 NFFD Anthology (New release) 98p

Time by Calum Kerr (New release) 98p
Rapture and what comes after by Virginia Moffatt (New release) 98p
28 Far Cries by Marc Nash (New release) 98p
The Book of Small Changes by Tim Stevenson 98p
The World in a Flash by Calum Kerr (Non-Fiction) 98p

This post is a work in progress. So if you book is going to be free or under £1 tomorrow, send the link to nationalflashfictionday@gmail.com.

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Published on 1 Comment on Shipshape and Bristol Flashing by Kevlin Henney

[We asked Kevlin Henney to talk about the Bristol NFFD workshop and readings which served as the main events for this year's day. He said 'yes' and here it is...]

Isn't it odd, I thought, that there are no flash-related events in Bristol on National Flash-Fiction Day? This was 2012, the first National Flash-Fiction Day was happening and Bristol — a happening place in terms of flash fiction, judging by theKissing Frankenstein & Other Stories collection and the number of local authors flashing their short shorts — seemed to be marking the day with a curious lack of happening on the day. How come?

And what was I doing on NFFD 2012 instead? Driving from Bristol to Oxford to slam flash at the first flash slam, presided over by renowned flash author Tania Hershman, who also lives in Bristol. We were there because Oxford was one of the places where things were happening... but by being there, we weren't in Bristol.

The penny dropped. If I wanted something to happen in Bristol for NFFD 2013, then I might have to (1) suggest it and (2) help organise it. A group of us — me, Tania,Sarah Hilary, Pauline Masurel and Deborah Rickard — got together to make it so.

This year's NFFD was the day after the summer solstice, following the shortest night with a day of the shortest fiction, which conveniently placed it on a Saturday. Convenient until you realise that if you're planning an event on a Saturday in summer, you're also competing with weddings and the like for event space. We reckoned on a couple of events, an afternoon writing workshop and an evening reading event, and through trial and error and luck and generosity found venues for both. Bristol Central Library generously gave us the use of a meeting room for the afternoon and The Lansdown pub in Clifton has an upstairs space with great ambience and decent acoustics.

To really make sure we got NFFD to happen in Bristol, we managed to persuade Mr NFFD, Calum Kerr, to join us for the day. Tania and Calum took the afternoon workshop, leading twenty people — the room's stated capacity! — through discussion and critique, reading and writing, and tea and coffee. The evening brought rainshine, thirteen readers and a room of people ready for a goodnight story or two.

One of the best things about flash spoken-word events is the range and number of stories and readers you can pack in. After five minutes of most short stories you're often still in the foothills of the story; with flash, you've been taken to the peaks of one, two or three whole stories, and you're on to the next reader. Not sure if a story is to your liking? Like buses, wait a couple of minutes and another will be along. But there were no duff stories or readers. In addition to the motley organisers and Calum, we had readings from Anna Britten, Ken Elkes, Paul McVeigh, Nick Parker,Jonathan Pinnock, Clare Reddaway and Tim Stevenson. Calum also read a couple of stories by other authors from Scraps, the hot-off-the-press NFFD anthology.

Was it good? Was it fun? Do you wish you'd been there? See for yourself. Hope to see you in Bristol next year!

Published on Leave a comment on Post-Match Roundup

Well, hello everyone,

It's been just over a week since The Day, so I thought I would catch you up with what happened then and what has happened since. 
Of course, we launched our new anthology, Scraps, and that has done incredibly well. We have exactly 5 copies left from our original printings. 
However, we also have it on Kindle and now, as a print-on-demand book from Amazon, so it will be available in print for ever! (It says 'out of stock' but if you order one, they print it and send it, so don't be put off.) This last option might be more attractive for those outside the UK as it will result in reduced postage costs, especially in the US, and even more so if you get free shipping from Amazon Prime.
If you are interested in any of those versions of the book, then the links are:

(With the Amazon links, change the .co.uk to .com or whatever, for your local site.)
We also, of course, had FlashFlood running throughout the day. It was about 140 stories long, making a rate of one every 10 minutes or so. You can still read all the stories, and those from previous issues, at FlashFlood
And then, there were the events. I was at Bristol, where a wonderful time was had by all, but much else was happening. Below is a range of blog links to fill you in on other happenings - reviews, stories posted, all kinds of things!
'The Monster Under My Bed' - Ro Smith
NFFD Shrewsbury - Pauline Fisk
Stories from Shrewsbury
'Final Words' - Damon Lord
NFFD - Katy Wheatley
NFFD Bristol - Grace Palmer
Flash-Mob
NEW Flash Fiction Competition from December House
Flash Fiction on Youtube - Marc Nash
Edinburgh Evening News 
NFFD - D Thomas Minton
'Dry Throat' - Lucy Montague Moffatt
NFFD - Dave Hartley
On a more personal note, NFFD saw the launch of my first full length collection, Lost Property. To celebrate its publication I have set off on a blog tour where I will be posting stories, being interviewed and writing articles about NFFD, my writing, and my thoughts on Flash-Fiction in general. If you think that might be interesting, you can follow the tour on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LostPropertyCalumKerr.
And so, all that is left is to to wrap the ribbon around this year's day and call it finished. Thank you to all who helped with the various activities, to all the writers and organisers of events and competitions, and to all the readers who make what we do so worthwhile.
Specific thanks from me must go to:
The Micro-Fiction Competition judges:
Cathy Bryant, Tom Gillespie, Kevlin Henney, Emma Lannie, Kirsty Logan and Angela Readman.
My co-editor on Scraps, Holly Howitt. And Amy Mackelden who did all the real work. Without her, the book just wouldn't have happened!
To Tim Stevenson for website and book cover design help.
To Kevlin Henney (again!) for organising such a great event in Bristol. 
And, of course, to the good Lady Flash, Kath Kerr, for help and support beyond all reason, with NFFD and everything else.
And, that's it, I'll go now before I start weeping and thanking God.
Have a good year, keep your eyes peeled for all things flash, some of which are likely to come from us, spread the word about the books and everything we do, and put the date of 21st June 2014 into your diaries now!
All best