Roadside Fiction & Alternative Classics

Have you a story (500 to 2500 words) looking for a home? Well, Roadside Fiction is a realist literary magazine with 'a passion for the wild, outrageous, yet realistic story.' They publish an issue of short stories and photographs quarterly and are currently seeking submissions - 

They like -
modern, urgent, honest realism. Stories need to move. We’re not interested in reflection.Tell us instead about a wild night, the strange events in your life as an expat, that house party, travelling without knowing where you will sleep that night, in short madness.

Think Kerouac, Bukowski etc and you’ll be on the right track.

More details here 

And - this has cheered my cold and rainy Friday morning - Bleach House Books have included The Herbalist on their list of Alternative Classics, I'm particularly thrilled to be alongside Beloved, one of my favorite novels. There are some great reads on the list, you can check them out  HERE

I'm working away on a novel, back writing by hand, I know a lot of writers would think that's mad, as its so much slower, but its a part of the writing process I really enjoy and I'm not willing to sacrifice it for speed - especially as I write better, freer this way. There's something about the pc screen, that brings the editing part of my mind to the fore, and I don't want to edit until I have at least 100.000 words of a fat and free first draft, so many words to go before I'm home :)

ShortStops

As a short story writer and lover, I was delighted to hear from writer Tania Hershman and her new initiative ShortStops,  here's what she had to say....

'I was fed up with the myth of the poor, beleaguered short story when I know just how much short story activity, how much short story excitement and how much short story talent there is in the UK & Ireland. So I decided to give the short story a little razzle dazzle of its own by putting it all in one place!'

So, for a list of literary magazines that publish short stories, events where short stories are read, or to sign up for a newsletter click Here

Crannog 33

Crannóg is one of Ireland's leading and longest running literary magazines; the closing date for Crannóg 33, the summer issue, is March 31st.  They accept submissions of poetry (no more than three poems under 50 lines) or prose (one story of under 2000 words). Submissions by email only, for more details click here

good news...

The ROPES Team are launching the 20th Issue at the Cúirt International Festival of Literature on 26 April 5 pm in Busker Brownes, Galway. It will be launched by Marina Carr. I'm thrilled that my story, Saving Grace will be published in this issue. If I can wangle my way to Galway I will, I love Marina Carrs writing, the rich midlands Gothic, dark language, and earthy female characters.
+

The Hennessy Literary Awards are on Tuesday 24th, and my poem made the Emerging Poetry shortlist! (Cocktail dresses for the women, and suits for the men, I wish it was the other way around, wish I was a man. Please tell me I'm not the only one who had to google 'cocktail dress'! How is a cocktail dress different to any other kind of dress?) Anyway, I'll bring my camera, and a sack and report back :)

+
And finally, (I know - me, me, me...) saving the best bit till last - as a result of the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair I've just signed with The Book Bureau Literary Agency, and am thrilled to be represented by the wonderful Ger Nichols. So thanks to the Irish Writers Centre, and thanks to Ger for taking me on:)

A question?

A quickie -
Does anyone know publications that will accept 5,000 word short stories?
Everywhere seems to be 2,000 or 3,000...

On Judging A Short Story Competition

Just a quick post to give a link to Tania Hershman's Blog where she talks about her judging process (or How I read 849 Stories in Two Months) for the Sean O Faolain short Story Competition.

There are no authors or stories mentioned - it gives a really interesting inside view to what it is like to have to select winners from so many stories. In some competitions the submissions are read and filtered by a panel of other judges before the named judge reads them, but not in this case. Her advice to short story writers after her experience is -
"write only what you want to write. Write only what you have to write. If you get longlisted, well that means you caught the judge's eye. If you don't that means that the judge liked other kinds of stories. Don't be disheartened. Send it out again. I'm happy to be back to doing that myself. I just sent 6 stories in to 2 flash fiction competitions. Will my experience as a judge help when they fail to get anywhere? I'm not sure, it will still sting. But I'll just send them out again."
Tanias Blog

Tania has also compiled a list of UK and Irish publications for the short story, which is incredibly generous, you can read them here