SHORT STORY BITS & BOBS

Happy International Women's Day!
 
As a new convertee to Kindle, I'm delighted to have my first e-publication in an anthology of flash called Take a Leap. Available here. My story is brand new and it's set in Manhattan; it's called 'Easter Snow'. It won the Take a Leap comp I mentioned here recently. The organisers will be running more competitions so keep an eye on their site.

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Munster Literature Centre have announced some details of The Cork Short Story Festival taking place in September, from the 19^th to Sunday September 23^rd. This from their newsletter:

Among the luminaries will be American writer Lydia Davis whose Collected Stories was published in 2010. Witi Ihimaera will read at two events, one for adults and one for young people. Ihimaera is often regarded as one of the most prominent Māori writers alive. Best known in this part of the world for his novel The Whale Rider (adapted for an Oscar-nominated film) Ihimaera has also written many other novels and sixteen short story collections mostly about Māori life. Éilís Ní Dhuibhne who is publishing her new collection this year heads up the Irish contingent.

There will be a special focus on flash fiction with readings by Flash Fiction specialists, a workshop on writing Flash Fiction presented by Tania Hershman and a public discussion entitled Is Flash Fiction a true Literary Art Form or just something for chancers?

The festival will present many four-day workshops this year. Éilís Ní Dhuibhne will present the Advanced Short Story workshop, Nuala Ní Chonchúir will present a workshop on Short Stories for beginners, John Spillane will present a workshop on Story into Song for all you budding songsmiths and there will also be workshops on bringing Short Stories to the stage and as said, Flash Fiction. A prospectus for all workshops will be released in April. The programme will be fully finalised when, in a new twist, the winner of the 2012 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award is announced in July.

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UK short story stalwarts Comma Press have three new collections in translation from Europe - Turkey, Iceland and the Czech Republic:

'Lose yourself among the crowds on the bustling streets of Prague in Emil Hakl’s On Flying Objects; traverse the breathtaking, wintry landscape of Iceland in Agust Borgpor Sverrisson’s Twice in a Lifetime, and discover the secluded garrets and cafes of Europe through the eyes of a political exile in Nedim Gursel’s The Last Tram.'