Iridescent Insects: What is Flash Fiction?

I'm over at the Litro blog again today with my second monthly "Guide to Flash Fiction" blog post - I thought this time I'd better try and figure out what flash fiction is - iridescent insect? What do you think? Let us know in the comments over there >>

Two Amazing Bristol Author Events!

If you are anywhere within travelling distance of Bristol, you should really come to these, two astonishingly great American writers! George Saunders (recently named by TIME magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people, a short story writer) is a bit of a hero of mine, his short stories are indescribably great, they have had a huge impact on my writing, talking about permission. Wacky, dark, wondrous. Come! Read a great interview with George by Ben Johncock here then book your tickets. It's a must.

 

James Salter

Watershed, Bristol

Thu 23 May 2013, 18:10-20:30 (film 18.10-19.00; interview with James Salter 19.30-20.30), £7/ £6

This is a rare opportunity to hear James Salter talk about his latest novel, a sweeping, seductive love story set in post-World War II America that draws together the great themes of Salter’s writing: warfare, love, sex and marriage, and what it means to write. Event includes first UK screening of the documentary A Sport and a Pastime, which traces Salter’s lifelong love affair with France.

Watershed telephone booking: 0117 927 5100

Further details and online booking link: http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/2013/events/james-salter/

 

George Saunders

Tenth of December

Watershed, Bristol

Thu 30 May 2013, 20.00-21.00, £7/ £6

From the undisputed master of the short story comes a dazzling and disturbing new collection. His most wryly hilarious work to date, Tenth of December illuminates human experience and explores figures lost in a labyrinth of troubling preoccupations, with dark visions of the future riffing against ghosts of the past. Chaired by Nikesh Shukla.

Watershed telephone booking: 0117 927 5100

Further details and booking link: http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/2013/events/george-saunders/

Spread the Word Writing Prize

Once again, I am getting judgemental - I am honoured to be one of the judges for the brand new Spread the Word Writing Prize, run by those excellent folk at Spread the Word, the literature development agency in London. Here are the details - only open to London residents, I'm afraid! But you do have up to 8000 words to play with, with NO MINIMUM. (I bet you guessed I might mention that...) Deadline July 15th. Surprise and delight us...

The Spread the Word Writing Prize 2013

We are delighted to announce the Spread the Word Writing Prize 2013.  Short Fiction is a form we are excited about - we feel it has growing appeal and an audience that’s ripe for development. You’ll have up to 8000 words to move, excite, enthrall and inspire us on the theme of ‘ Ritual’. We’re ready to see the best of what London writers have to offer. So get writing! Download Full Prize Rules here.

Download the Entry Form and a Cultural Diversity Monitoring Form

Closing Date for entries is midday, Monday 15 July 2013.

Judges
Bidisha is a writer, critic and BBC TV and radio broadcaster. She writes for a wide range of international publications and has judged numerous prizes. She specializes in the arts and culture, social justice issues and international affairs; and is the author of two novels. Her fifth book is out next year.

Tania Hershman is the author of two story collections: My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions (Tangent Books, 2012), a collection of 56 very short fictions, and The White Road and Other Stories (Salt, 2008; commended, 2009 Orange Award for New Writers.) She is Writer the ditor of the online journal The Short Review. Her website is www.taniahershman.com

Sue Lawther is the Director of Spread the Word. She has worked in arts and education for over 20 years. As a Creative Director at Creative Partnerships Sue worked with hundreds of artists and schools to develop creative programmes and was executive producer of The Container by Clare Bayley, which won a Fringe First at the 2007 Edinburgh festival and the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award.

Courttia Newland Novelist, short story writer, playwright and editor. His latest novel The Gospel According to Cane, was published by Telegram in early 2013. Short story collections include Music for the Off-Key and A Book of Blues. He has edited many anthologies, most recently co-editing Tell Tales 4: The Global Village (2009).

More permission...

Following on from the previous post about permission & taking risks, two things have occurred in the past two days that I want to talk about in terms of where I get permission from. Now, I did stop for a moment and wonder about writing this, since it may just come off as boastful self-promotion, but it's an important part of my writing life and my career as an author, and that's what this blog is supposed to be all about, so I decided to do it.

What occurred were two absolutely amazing reviews of My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fiction, published both published on Friday. Before I go into that, I want to first say that even now, after quite a few years of having short stories and other work published in literary magazines, after having two collections published, I still think it's quite miraculous that the result of the bizarre workings of my mind, the combination of words I've put on a page, in any way connects or speaks to anyone else, anyone outside of my mind. And, as I mentioned in the previous post, thanks to the permission gifted to me by other writers' work, I have been taking more risks in my own, and to me my stories have been getting odder and odder.  (My mother is in the habit now, when I send her a new story, of saying "Darling, I really enjoyed it, even though I had no idea what was going on.") Even more surprising then that anyone "gets" what I think I may have been trying to do (which I don't always know, either).

So, you can imagine that the fact that these two reviewers did is incredibly moving to me. Here is Martin Macaulay writing for Sabotage Reviews, who shortlisted my book for their Saboteur awards short story collection category:

Hershman writes with a lyrical precision that slices apart what it is to be human... My Mother was an Upright Piano is more than the sum of its parts. The book is structured into seven groups of six and two groups of seven, bonding this collection together as tightly as a chemical compound. It’s a solid, unbreakable and inspiring collection. Hershman creates worlds with depth and heart. She shows us lives soaked in loss; some with glimpses of hope, others dystopian.

And here is Kerry Shadid in her review in World Literature Today:

Her presentation of the tragedy and the oddity of our human lives is the typed equivalent of a performance artist at MOMA: strange, unfamiliar, captivating. ...The universe’s dark energy palpitates on Hershman’s pages; she gives emptiness form. Characters struggle to communicate, to make themselves known to others. Hopes for the world to be other than it is are met with silence. Longing blankets the text. Sentences stop before they reach their conclusion, words omitted by the author in sympathy with the reticence of her fictional creations. The unsaid contains both dagger and salve, and Hershman’s silences both break and heal the heart. 

It's hard to tell you how I feel just re-reading these two excerpts. It's like I've been heard, at a very deep level. It feels like a blessing, to be read so closely. And what's also wonderful is that they both feel that the book - whose stories were all written with no thought of being collected - works as a whole, somehow.

I had said to myself when the book came out that this time I wouldn't read reviews. Because whatever they say, they stick in your mind. Generally the less positive bits! But I couldn't help myself because I think, with these stories more than those in The White Road, I didn't always know myself what it was I was writing about, I had let go of that knowing, thanks to permission from others. And so I was curious to see what others think they are about.

I didn't think that these and other reviews would give me permission to keep doing this - and to take it further. But they do. Especially references to things I consider very odd, like leaving sentences unfinished. That's okay, says this review. And not only that, it actually means something.

Of course, there is the flipside to this, because there is no guarantee that every review will be favourable. I was delighted to be reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement, thrilled beyond belief, but the reviewer seemed to be telling me what my stories are not, and I wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

Right now, though, I am feeling very "permitted", these two reviewers have given me a great gift, an unexpected gift. I want to thank them, and everyone else who takes the time to read my book and share their thoughts. I don't take that for granted. I will never take that for granted. Thank you.

Risky Business

I was asked by the wonderful folk at Writers & Artists (yes, the people behind the excellent Yearbook) to write a blog post about taking risks in writing, following comments I made when awarding the prizes in their short story competition last month. The article, Risky Business, is here, and here is a snippet:

....Why should writers take risks? Well, I would argue that it's not just for the benefit of a reader or a competition judge. What are we doing this for, this writing thing? For me, it's about trying to make sense of the world in some way, and uncertainty is an inherent quality of existence...

There is no comment facility on the article but I'd love to hear about your experiences of permission and risk, do leave a comment here!