The European Network for Short Fiction Research was created as a joint initiative of researchers at Edge Hill University (U.K.) and the CRILA research group (UPRES EA 4639), Université d’Angers, France. Our broad aim is to provide a forum and resources for European-based researchers, and to stimulate further research, both theoretical and practice-based.
Which short-story last made you cry – for good reasons? Good question, because I thought I would be able to answer it easily. I thought about anthologies and collections and favourite writers and came up blank. I reread Jamaica Kincaid’s ‘Blackness’ and remained dry eyed. The short story is my favourite form, and I cry…
| Blurred Edges| Ballerini Book Press| Luzern Switzerland 2026| £13.00 First-person narration is not exclusively associated with the short story but it is probably the form where it came into its own, allowing the writer to experiment with notions of the self, perception and reliability. All twelve of the stories in this fine collection feature…
The Biannual Scratch A4 writing competition has just opened! It’s a superb competition celebrating stories 1000 words long or less – culminating in the Scratch A4 event in Soho on Saturday 6th December. The prestigious judges are: Harriet Armstrong – author of To Rest Our Minds and Bodies; Steven Evans – Literary Agent at The…
Submissions are now open to the Scratch A4 Summer ’25 1000 word short story competition! Come and explore the rich and exhilarating possibilities of the short, short story – the six shortlisted writers reading their stories in the biannual event in Soho, London in June. This year’s judges are: Denise Rose Hansen, editorial…
On November 6, 2025, the ENSFR and PesText – International Literary and Cultural Festival hosted an online workshop on “Flash in Translation: Uncanny Objects”. The event was jointly organised by Robert Smid, Paul Knowles, Ines Gstrein and Ildikó Hepp. Eleven writers from four countries – Hungary, Austria, the United Kingdom and France – were invited…