International Story Day

Join in our celebration of the short story on the shortest night of the year at the following events.

The events take place on Wednesday 20 June, unless otherwise stated.

London

Literary Performances at The Book Club, Shoreditch

Doors open 7pm for 7.30pm. Free event. The Book Club, 100 Leonard Street, London, EC2A 4RH

Alternative literary stand-up group, The Special Relationship, host Comma and Stone Skin Press at one of the most innovative and original cultural venues in London, The Book Club, which describes its creative agenda as ‘fusing boozing with brain power.’ Join us this evening for a duet performance from Jarred McGinnis and Sam Taradash of The Special Relationship, flash-fiction from Scottish author and lecturer Dilys Rose, and short story readings from Adam Marek and Janqui Mehta. Plus intermittent screenings of short films (tbc).

Contact the venue on info@wearetbc.com or on 020 7684 8618.

Facebook Event
The event was a great success! See pictures here.

Story City! at The Old China Hand Pub, Clerkenwell

9-10pm, Upstairs room, The Old China Hand pub, 8 Tysoe Street, Clerkenwelll, EC1R 4RQ

As part of the celebrations for International Short Story Day 2012 on Wednesday June 20th, the students on the Short Story course at City University are reading their brand new work live, in a pub, for an hour. Why not come along and join them? It’s free, informal, you can have a drink while you listen and it should be fun too. Featured writers are James Bishop, Iliaria Mirabile, Diane Harvey, Rebecca Clarke, Olivia Marks, Charlotta Hedman, Leigh Elston and tutor Katy Darby (if there’s time).

Facebook Event

Story-Writing Workshop at The Ministry of Stories

9.30am – 1pm, The Ministry of Stories, 159 Hoxton Street, London, N1 6PJ.

On Wednesday 20th June, The Ministry of Stories, a creative writing and mentoring centre for young people in east London, will be holding a story-writing workshop for the pupils of St Mary Magdalene Primary School.

The young writers enrolled on the workshop will write and publish an original story together and see it being typed up on the big screen and illustrated by a professional artist. Once they’ve decided on the characters and plot they will write part of the story together, helped by MoS mentors, editing as they go. They will have time to write their own individual endings to the story and each writer leaves with a personalised copy of their book.

For more information, contact info@ministryofstories.org.

More Info

‘Brief Interviews with Hideous Men’ in Camden

6.30pm, £1 per person, Camden Arts Centre, Arkwright Road, London NW3 6DG (or Hampstead Heath – tbc).

The Short Story Book Club of London, hosted by Steve and Megg, will be meeting up at Camden Arts Centre to discuss David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. But if the weather turns out to be nice, they may meet up on Hampstead Heath instead and have a picnic! To be confirmed.

More info

Manchester

The Shortest Night at Blackwell’s Bookshop Manchester

7pm – 9pm, Free event, Blackwell’s Bookshop, The Precinct Centre, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9RN

The Manchester leg of the Short Story Day celebrations sees two of the UK’s most vibrant and compelling short story writers, Claire Massey and Anneliese Mackintosh, reading their work and discussing their love of the form.

For more info, contact Ian Carrington at ian.carrington@blackwell.co.uk.
In association with Comma Press and Cargo Press (Glasgow) .

Facebook Event

Cake Meet-up ‘Short and Sweet’ at Nexus Art Café in the Northern Quarter

Saturday 16 June, Nexus Art Cafe, Dale Street, Manchester, M1 1JW

Join Manchester-based project CAKE on Saturday 16th June for friendly chats over tea and cake, previews of their second issue, dramatic short story readings, cheap books and much more. In addition there will be a short story competition which you can only enter during the event, the winners of which will be published in their third issue. Come along to meet the team, mingle with writers, and maybe even win a raffle prize!
12pm – 5pm. No entry charge but donations welcome.

Click here for more info or contact cakesubmissions@gmail.com.

Leeds

Liars’ League Celebrates International Short Story Day

7pm for 7.30pm, White Cloth Gallery, Leeds

The Liars’ League is a literary institution. The principle is simple: writers write, actors read, audience listens, everybody wins.

The League set up its northern wing in 2011 after five glorious years (and counting) of tale-telling in London. Now Liars’ League Leeds is ready to bring the best in thought-provoking and original short fiction to the White Cloth Gallery.

To mark International Short Story Day, our troupe of professional actors will be bringing to life a mix of short-story classics and brand new work by up-and-coming writers. Plus, at the interval there’ll be the chance to bag a prize in our almost-famous Liars’ League Leeds Half-Time Books Quiz…

We’re delighted to be bringing our show to the White Cloth Gallery, a new and unique space for the work of both established artists and emerging artists.

All you have to do is make sure you’re sitting comfortably, and enjoy. After all, when was the last time anybody read you a story?

Nottingham

Short Story Night at the Broadway, Nottingham

7.30pm, Free event, Broadway Cinema, 14 – 18 Broad Street, Nottingham, NG1 3AL

Nottingham Writers Studio will be celebrating Short Story Day in style in the Studio at the Broadway Cinema. Join them for a FREE event offering fantastic author readings and a short story swap (please bring along your own favourite stories/collections to exchange). The evening will also include a charity raffle to raise money for Book Aid for Africa (http://www.bookaidforafrica.com/), with brilliant signed book prizes and general short story fun and love. With refreshments available from the Broadway’s Café Bar – how can you resist?

Authors reading on the night are: Nicola Monaghan, Caroline Smailes, Frances Thimann, Giselle Leeb, Alison Moore and Pete Davis.

Contact the Broadway) or Nottingham Writers Studio at admin@nottinghamwritersstudio.co.uk.

Facebook Event
See pictures here.

Sheffield

Short Story Readings Evening at Blackwell’s Sheffield

5.30pm, Blackwell’s University Bookshop, St. George’s Library Building, Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 4DT

Blackwell’s University Bookshop on Mappin Street in Sheffield is hosting a short story readings evening at 5.30pm on Wednesday 20th June. The event is in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University’s Creative Writing course. There will be readings by Brigidin Crowther, Tricia Durdy, Charmayne Jones, Felicity Skelton, Jenny Vernon, Laura Wake and Linda Lee Welch from the MA course, and undergraduate students Jessica Cooke, Kate Garrett, Adderson Hawdon and Jude Simms.

The event is open to the public and is free. Refreshments will be available.

For more details email Henry Tietzsch-Tyler (events) at: sheffield@blackwell.co.uk

UK-Wide

Release of The Best British Short Stories 2012 anthology, published by Salt

Best British Short Stories invites you to judge a book by its cover – or more accurately, by its title. This series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers, whether based in the UK or elsewhere. The editor’s brief is wide ranging, covering anthologies, collections, magazines, newspapers and web sites, looking for the best of the bunch to reprint all in one volume. Neither genre nor Granta shall be overlooked in the search for the very best new short fiction.

Included in this year’s anthology are stories by Emma Unsworth, HP Tinker, Michael Marshall Smith, Dan Powell, Julian Gough, Stuart Evers, Stella Duffy, Socrates Adams-Florou, Jonathan Trigell, Will Self, Jaki McCarrick, Robert Shearman, Alison MacLeod, Jo Lloyd, Neil Campbell, Joel Lane, Ramsey Campbell, Jeanette Winterson, Jon McGregor and AK Benedict.

Edited by Nicholas Royle, published by Salt.
Visit the Salt website