Poetry competition

Mandy Pannett from Slipstream Poets is judging the Psychiatry Research Poetry competition 2013. The closing date is 30th June and poems can be on any theme up to 50 lines. First prize is £150.

I'm currently reading Mandy's new collection 'All the Invisibles', a magical mix of humour and pathos with many nods to Mandy's love of history, mythology and legends. I love her playful sense of humour, which shines throughout this collection. Highly recommended.

NEW: Fiction To Go

Welcome to Ian Black who has set-up Fiction to Go a new initiative for readers and writers. As a writer you can submit short stories between 2,000 - 4,000 words for online download. The website (click here for details) has all the information on in-house style guidelines, how the site works and what remuneration you can expect. The really novel aspect is that Ian will be recording audio downloads of stories too, so your work will be available for print and audio downloads. He is also looking for experienced readers - actors, voiceover artists, broadcasters or similar.

Q: Ian can you tell us more about Fiction to Go?
Ian: I have written a number of short stories over the years, but have always had
a problem finding somewhere to submit them. Competitions are alright, but
always over subscribed for just 3 winners at best and I don't write a
woman's magazine style of story. So I thinking there will be others looking
for the same thing and as there are only a limited number of such sites
online so far - amazingly - Fiction to Go was born.

I have created Fiction To Go to provide an outlet for good quality short
fiction for both the writer and the reader. Also, with the move to mobile
entertainment the provision of short fiction in eBook and audio formats give
the consumer the best of both worlds, an option in how to enjoy each piece.

Please check out the website to learn more about Fiction to Go, it really does look a novel and interesting alternative to fiction download sites. You can even subscribe to receive regular downloads or short stories to feed your reading fix.

The Indoor Writer knows Ian from West Sussex Writers, where he is also on the current committee. He writes fiction and is also a playwright and a prolific producer/director of stage plays. So is Ian a man of sound mind and sensible ideas? No, of course not, he's a writer!

Tessa Hadley was talking with Mariella Frostrup on Open Book (12 May Sunday 4pm R4, listen here) about her new novel 'Clever Girl'. But Tessa is also an avid writer of short fiction and stated that when writing a short story you can be "deliciously ridiculous". I liked that. The Indoor Writer met the wonderfully enthusiastic Tessa Hadley last November at a RSL Masterclass on the art of the short story (read more here). So why not write some "deliciously ridiculous" stories for Fiction to Go...

April round-up

It's May and the local woods are already bursting with bluebells and it's also time for the Indoor Writer's writing stats for April:

Write 1 Sub: 1 new short story written, 1 new filler written, 8 submissions (including 1 non-fiction feature)√

Publish e-collection: as before - am collating the stories and have decided to enter The Scott Prize (Salt Publishing) which opens end July. So time to write a few more for the collection...

Re-start the novel: am writing a short story for Bridport Prize based around one of the characters from the novel. Better get a move on as deadline is 31 May! (Typical, she leaves everything to the last minute...)

Crack the Weekly News: Sigh, still waiting for the GOOD NEWS on the story I submitted last September. Apparently Jill Finlay at TWN is still closed to new submissions to clear the backlog.

Crack Woman's Weekly: Recent story rejected, without comment as usual. To combat this have booked to attend the Woman's Weekly Workshop (writing short stories and serials for women's mags) in London on 7 June. I'm going along with Wendy, so expect posts from both of us reporting back after our jolly (sorry), research mission.

Write and sell a serial: see above, hoping to learn more about the serial market before I try again. 

Application for MA in Creative Writing: did not qualify for the bursary as my first degee was a Desmond and needed a 2:1 or above. Odd to lose out on this criterion, particularly as I think I'm a far better writer than I ever was a zoologist, but them's the rules! However, I still wanted to be considered and attended interview last week. And the good news is I have been offered a place, starting part-time September! To date have earned one module through writing projects.√

The Good: Runner-up Reader's Digest 100-word-story competition, Flash story TOP DECK TILLY  published in Flash Flood Journal (part of National-Flash-Fiction-Day), story published in Rattle Tales Anthology (out soon), story published in Alfie Dog's Humour collection, story published in Hysteria1 anthology. Pitch accepted for non-fiction feature (required later in year).

The Bad:

Income = zilch (though £100 of book tokens from Reader's Digest turned up on 3 May!)

Rejections from WW and Rattle Tales. Disappointed not to make shortlist/longlist etc for several competitions: Bath, Cornerstones WowFactor, Thresholds, Arvon/Pen, Meridian, Chudleigh Phoenix, Fish Flash, Commonwealth Writers, Homestart - oh dear the list is rather long...

There's only one solution for rejection blues...

Keep writing and submitting...

Free anthology until 4th May & launch of 2013 Hysteria Short Story Competition

Hysteria Short Story Writing Competition 2013

1st April saw the launch of this years short story writing competition for women only. The

winner of last years competition was Jane Bean with her story ‘Banana Loaf: A recipe for solace; and you can find her story and all the other winners poetry and stories in the new anthology, ‘Hysteria 1′. (Including Midsummer's Eve, 1347 penned by the Indoor Writer!)

To celebrate the launch of this years competition Hysteria 1 is now available FREE of charge on Amazon until the end of Saturday 4th May.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a Kindle reader, you don’t actually need one as Amazon offers easy to download apps that allow you to read Kindle books on your computer, laptop, tablet, iPad, iPhone or android phone too.

We’d love as many of our lovely users to get the book as possible, so do click across to Amazon before the deadline and grab your free copy.

Hysteria 2013 is NOW open to entrants. Find out more about what this years writing competition involves and how to get involved by visiting the website updates.

Following feedback last year, we have made the process of entering much easier than last year; simply upload your story (using the story title as the file name) at the same time as you enter the competition. Please don't include any personal details in the story file.

South Downs interlude

LitPig is working on a post about Japenese poetry (well he is a literary pig) and so I've taken over for today. Saturday started with sunshine and the promise of a glorious day so Handsome Hubby and I set off for a short walk on the Downs. We found ourselves at this bench (below) before 8am and looking across

to this wonderfully hazy view of Steyning (Wendy - we did give you a wave!). On the walk up we were serenaded by this Yellow Hammer (bottom right) - it's the small yellow splodge in the centre. Even at this early hour we still met some dog walkers and cyclists, ending up at local tearooms in time for opening and a full veggie breakfast. Sometimes we take our local countryside for

granted and it was humbling for us to get up and out on the Downs so early in the day - we are truly blessed to live close to the new National Park. The whole adventure set us up for a terrific weekend.

Five favourite books for World Book Night

The lovely Edith recently tagged me to blog about my five favourite books. You can read Edith's top books here. I'm a little embarassed at how long this has taken, but I've been sunning myself in the mud (yes, we do have sun here in West Sussex!) and finally decided on the top five. This has been difficult because I've tried to choose my all-time FAVOURITE books and I believe a favourite book must be one you have read over and over again. And then you always find time to read it one more time because of all the memories it evokes when reading. Also my favourites have to be in the bookshelf right now and well-trottered copies (i.e. tatty). So in time for World Book Night and in no particular order...

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: expect this maybe on a few reader's top books, but if you haven't read this novel for sometime then do endulge yourself. I re-read in 2012 and the modern structure really surprised me, as the novel is large chunks of dialogue and little narrative description. Jane's wit never fails to make me smile.

P&P also contains my favourite literary quote of all time. Here Jane has summed up the meaning of life...
Mr Bennett to daughter Elizabeth:  "For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?"

The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: I discovered Douglas Adams during my teen years (radio show first then the books) and this book got me through some tough times at uni and later in life. It is the original laugh-out-loud comedy novel and I never tire of reading it (or the subsequent books in the series).

Favourite quote: "The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that ships don't."


Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: I thought again of this wonderful children's novel after reading Michael Murpogo's War Horse. Mainly because I cried constantly throughout both. The scene where Black Beauty finds his beloved friend Ginger in the cart breaks my heart every time I read it. You don't have to be a horse lover, but Sewell captured the pitifully sad and tragic lives of horses at that period so poignantly. Would like to re-read this again but don't think I have the emotional stamina nor the stockpile of hankies...

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell: I had to read this for English Lit O'level and must have read it 5 times or more for revision. Thankfully I'd already read it 5 times before that as it was one of my favourite early teen reads. Borrowed anything by Durrell from local library as I loved his wonderful descriptions of animals, landscapes and people. Again full of laugh-out-loud prose as he describes moving to the idyllic Greek island of Corfu with his eccentric family. Another comfort read and got me through some difficult, dark days.


Then it got tough. Trawling the bookshelves I struggled to pick the final favourite. I have many favourite authors and collections of their works. Such as: Lindsey Davis, Terry Pratchett, Peter James, Bernard Cornwell, Kate Atkinson, Hilary Mantel and too many to list. But it was hard to pick out just ONE book from a particular author. I considered recent books which had lingered long after reading - those which made me sit up and go WOW this is good!!! And decided David Mitchell had to be on my list. Both Ghostwritten and Cloud Atlas had awoken my literary taste buds, prompting me to seek out all of his other books. But I had to choose one...

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell: Like Ghostwritten this is more a collection of interconnected short stories and yet it is so much more. I didn't want any of the stories to end and devoured this book in a couple of days. His imagination is inspiring and his narration sublime. (You can tell I'm a devotee can't you.) A film of the novel was released a few months ago, but I've not heard a good enough review to tempt me to see it - and worried I will be woefully disappointed. Anyone out there seen the film?

Phew. Glad I've got those books off my chest, now I can sunbathe in peace. 

What would go on your list of five favourite books?

Reader's Digest 100-Word-Story winners announced

At last I can reveal the Indoor Writer's secret good news (remember she kept going on about it but couldn't say anything...). The May issue of Reader's Digest has just come out and her story is a Runner-Up in the 100-word-story competition. All 3 winners of the adult category are printed in the May issue,

and possibly on the website too (not up as yet). She was asked to provide some blurb about herself and the inspiration behind the story, but all that appears is her age (why do they do that?) and 'Tracy from West Sussex'. Again perhaps more will appear on the web.

Apparently they received thousands of entries, so she's pretty chuffed on making the final three.

The next step is to decide what books to buy with the £100 worth of book tokens. I have plenty of suggestions. What would you buy? Any recommendations?

P.S. Thanks to Bernadette who gave me the link to the winning stories on the web here. No more blurb other than her age again!