ENSFR

Event: ENSFR reading group, January meeting
2026-01-26 17:00 - 18:30 (Europe/Paris) | Zoom
This year’s first short fiction reading group meeting will take place (via Zoom) on Monday 26th January at 5pm (UK time). Below, you can find information on how to join the online meeting room.
During the meeting, we will be discussing Paul’s reading suggestion: the short story “Butterflies” by Samanta Schweblin. It is a very short story at just a page long. You can access the short story, as well as a five-minute video of the reading of the story, from the links below:
Samanta Schweblin: Butterflies – Bookanista
Reading of Butterflies Video
Our conversation will focus on the following key questions that Paul has selected:
Q1) To what extent does the brevity of the story heighten the protagonist’s emotional intensity at the ending?
Q2) What symbolic role do the butterflies play within the narrative?
Q3) In what ways does the story construct or critique masculinity?
Q4) How is parenthood depicted, and what tensions or expectations surround it in the story?
Q5) How is Nature represented, and what thematic significance does it carry?
Q6) Does the story align more closely with gothic fiction, ecological writing, or family drama—or does it deliberately blend multiple genres? What might this hybridity suggest about the expressive power and intensity of the short story form?
Join the zoom here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86043265746?pwd=[REDACTED]

Event: Online Talk, Elizabeth Gaskell’s Short Stories – An Introduction
2026-01-21 19:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Paris) | Elizabeth Gaskell House
Join popular speaker Elizabeth Williams for this intriguing introduction to a different side of Elizabeth Gaskell’s story-telling.
Better known for her classic novels, Elizabeth Gaskell was a prolific writer of short stories. Charles Dickens knew this and encouraged her to write for his literary magazine.
Works like the much-loved Cranford started as short stories. Others, like Libbie Marsh’s Three Eras and Lizzie Leigh, drew on themes of female friendship, industrialism and class relations that would later feature in novels such as Mary Barton or North and South.
So, where did Elizabeth Gaskell get her ideas from? What inspired her to write in this format and why did she cover so many genres?

Residency: Writer in the Park Ljubljana Residency 2026, Open Call
2026-01-19
Ljubljana, a UNESCO City of Literature since 2015, offers two one-month residencies for writers at the Švicarija/Swisshouse Creative Centre, which is part of the International Centre of Graphic Arts.
Each residency lasts one month per applicant. The residency periods are April 1–30, 2026, and November 1–30, 2026. The dates are non-negotiable, but a shorter stay is possible if required due to travel arrangements. Extra nights cannot be covered by the organizer, though organizational assistance can be provided.
About the Residency:
Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, was named World Book Capital in 2010. After being designated a UNESCO City of Literature in 2015 – the first in the country – it joined a growing global network of cities, committed to actively promoting literature and reading culture, while engaging in activities that strengthen collaboration in the fields of writing and publishing.
Ljubljana boasts a vibrant art scene and offers an array of diverse literary events, ranging from alternative performances to major international festivals. This highly regarded residency, established in 2018, provides peace and quiet for uninterrupted writing, while also offering opportunities to actively participate in the city’s literary life.
The deadline for applications is 19 January 2026. For full details about the residency, including how to apply, click here.

Event: Charles E. May’s Short Story Theories’ 50th Anniversary Roundtable
2026-01-12 18:00 - 19:00 (Europe/London) | Teams
Join us as we honour the enduring legacy of Charles E. May’s Short Story Theories (1976), a landmark work that reshaped how we read, teach, and think about short fiction. This special event marks the 50th anniversary of its publication; a moment to reflect on its impact and celebrate the vibrant community of short story scholars, writers, and readers it continues to inspire.

Speakers
Michael Basseler (Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany)
Michael Collins (King’s College London, UK)
Ailsa Cox (Edge Hill University, UK)
Andrea Marzocchi (University of Surrey, UK)
Join the Teams link here:
Charles E. May’s Short Story Theories’ 50th Anniversary Roundtable | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

Michael Basseler is Academic Manager at the International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany. He has published widely on the (American) short story and short story theory, including his monograph An Organon of Life Knowledge: Genres and Functions of the Short Story in North America (2019), A History of the American Short Story (2011, ed. with Ansgar Nünning) as well as a book chapter on “Current Approaches to the American Short Story” (in Handbook of the American Short Story, 2022, eds. Erik Redling and Oliver Scheiding). Michael is a founding steering committee member of the European Network for Short Fiction Research.
Michael Collins is a Reader in American Studies at KCL and Chair of the British Association for American Studies. He is the author of two monographs, The Drama of the American Short Story and Exoteric Modernisms: Progressive Era Realism and the Aesthetics of Everyday Life and co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to the American Short Story (with Gavin Jones). He has published numerous articles in a range of journals, specifically (though not exclusively) focused on short fiction. Most recently, he has been working on topics relating to intelligence testing, The Panama Canal, and the American Civil Service in literature and culture.
Ailsa Cox is the world’s first Professor of Short Fiction. Her books include Alice Munro ;Writing Short Stories ; The Mind’s Eye: Alice Munro’s Dance of the Happy Shades with Christine Lorre; and Reading Alice Munro’s Breakthrough Books, in collaboration with Tim Struthers, Corinne Bigot and Catherine Sheldrick Ross. She has written extensively on other writers including Katherine Mansfield, Helen Simpson, Daisy Johnson and Jon McGregor, and is principal editor of the peer-reviewed journal Short Fiction in Theory and Practice. Her own fiction has been widely published, most recently in the mini-collection Precipitation.
Andrea Marzocchi is a PhD candidate in the School of Literature and Languages at the University of Surrey. His research focuses on the aesthetic of the sublime and the functions it performs in realist American short fiction: from opening dimensions of expansiveness to encoding the affects and power dynamics that characterize the contemporary world. Since May 2024, Andrea has been running a podcast dedicated to short fiction. The podcast is entitled A Small, Good Thing after a short story by Raymond Carver and it features interviews with writers, academics, publishers, and short story enthusiasts.

Competition Deadline: Henshaw Press January Short Story Competition
2025-12-31
From the competition website:

Deadline: 31 December 2025
Entry Fee: £6 per entry (additional fee of £14 for a critique)
Prizes: First prize: £200; second prize: £150; third prize: £50
Word Limit: 2,000 words

Enter here.

Call for Papers: CFP due date December 31st, 2025 Microfiction & Intertextuality, Thessaloniki, 7-9 October 2026
2025-12-31
The School of Philology and the School of Italian Language and Literature, the Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) invite you to participate in the XIII International Conference on Microfiction, entitled “Microfiction and Intertextuality,” which they are co-organizing. The conference will be a joint in-person and remote event. The conference proceedings will focus on topics of interest to microfiction scholars around the world and will be held in Spanish and English.
The International XIII Conference on Microfiction will focus on various aspects, topics, techniques, and features of this genre, with particular emphasis on the phenomenon of intertextuality in literary discourse. Conference proposals are encouraged to address one or more of the following thematic axes, which reflect key intersections between microfiction and intertextuality, without, of course, being exhaustive:

Historical perspectives on the study of the relationship between microfiction and intertextuality.
Microfiction as an interdisciplinary field: current dynamics and critical perspectives.
Microfiction at the crossroads of genres: between poetry and prose.
National, transnational, comparative, synchronic, and diachronic approaches to microfiction.
Interartistic and intermedial studies in writing programs, interpretation, and the use of microfiction.
Intertextuality and digital technologies for writing, reading, and researching microfiction.
Microfiction and contemporary production: from intertextuality to hypertext? The future of microfiction.

Interested participants are kindly requested to send their proposals by December 31st, 2025, to the conference email address 13microfiction@gmail.com, filling out the attached form (in Spanish or English) with the following information: title, abstract of up to 300 words, thematic axis, brief CV. Presentations will be strictly limited to 15 minutes in order to maintain the schedule. Proposals may be individual and/or collaborative.
Please note the time difference, as the Conference will be held in the Europe/Athens UTC+2 EET time zone from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (real-time sessions).
Notification regarding the acceptance or rejection of proposals will be sent within three months of the submission deadline (March 2026). Participation as a delegate and attendance at the conference are free of charge. The conference proceedings will be published digitally. The International Conferences on Microfiction have been held biennially since 1998, under the auspices of universities and other academic institutions, in various cities around the world.
To view the conference website, click here.

Competition Deadline: InterAct Stroke Support's Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition
2025-12-21
From the competition website:

Previously judged by the late thriller and murder mystery author, Ruth Rendell CBE – InterAct’s Short Story Competition is now named after her. The competition is more recently judged by Margaret Drabble DBE; biographer, novelist and short story writer.
The top 3 stories are shortlisted and performed by professional actors that work for InterAct. It is a biennial competition and the ceremony takes place at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond.
The winner of the competition will be commissioned to write four further stories for InterAct Stroke Support over the course of one year, and will receive £1,000 in payment.
The next winner will be chosen by Head Judge Dame Margaret Drabble in an Awards Ceremony in 2026.

Enter here.

Competition Deadline: Globe Soup Open Short Story Competition
2025-12-16
From the competition website:

Our 2024 Open Short Story Competition is open to writers of all genres and styles. Whether you write sci-fi, historical, horror, or anything else, we want to read your story!
WORDS: 8,000 max (no minimum)
CLOSING DATE: 23:59 (UK time) 16th Dec, 2025
WINNER ANNOUNCED: 10th Feb, 2026

Enter here.

Event: Online Reading Group, 15th December 2025 at 5PM (UK time)
2025-12-15 17:00 - 18:30 (Europe/Paris) | Zoom
The last short fiction reading group meeting before Christmas will take place (via Zoom) on Monday 15th December at 5pm (UK time). During the meeting, we will be discussing Ines’ reading suggestion: the short story “Lost in the Louvre” by Lucia Berlin. You can access it from this link.
Our conversation will focus on the following key questions that Ines has selected:

In your opinion, what is this short story about?
Due to their restricted length, short stories often draw on intermedial and intertextual references to maximise their effect. Which authors, books and artworks are present as an influence in “Lost in the Louvre”?
What is the relationship between imagination and reality in this short story?
What is the role of death in this short story?
How is time represented in this short story?
What do we learn about the narrator-protagonist and her relationship to other characters?

Join Zoom meeting.

Event: Revisiting the 'Save Our Short Story' Campaign: A Retrospective Gathering
2025-12-09 18:00 - 19:30 (Europe/Paris) | Teams
The ENSFR invites you to a special event commemorating the legacy of the Save Our Short Story campaign — a landmark movement that rallied writers, scholars, and readers in defence of the short story form. Decades after its inception, this reunion brings together several of its original campaigners and literary advocates to reflect on its cultural impact and ongoing relevance.
The campaign was launched in 2002 by writer Margaret Wilkinson and rapidly attracted a broad coalition of advocates. With support from Arts Council England and the Scottish Arts Council, a research initiative was established to assess the condition of the short story in the UK. Book Marketing Limited (BML) undertook an analysis of publishing trends, sales data, and national patterns in reading and purchasing behaviour. Jenny Brown Associates led the following phase of research in 2003, conducting original studies including authors, literary agents, publishers, event organisers, and booksellers to explore prevailing attitudes toward the creation, representation, and commercialisation of short stories and collections.
Confirmed Speakers
Jenny Brown (Jenny Brown Associates, UK)
Moira Forsyth (former Director of Sandstone Press, Scotland)
Nicholas Royle (editor of Best British Short Stories)
And possibly more.
Join the Teams link here:
Revisiting the ‘Save Our Short Story’ Campaign: A Retrospective Gathering | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

Competition Deadline: Chaotic Creators Magazine Short Story Contest
2025-12-06
From the competition website:

This competition is open to beginners, experts and anyone in between. The theme is romance.
The winner will receive a £50 cash prize (subject to increase if we receive more entries than anticipated), have their poem featured in the next issue of Chaotic Creators Magazine, and receive a free printed copy.
This is a fantastic opportunity to have your work published in a magazine. Please note that the entry fee for this competition is £10. Your support not only gives you a chance to get published but also helps us keep our platform running to support future artists.
We can’t wait to read your work!
Deadline for entry: 6th December 2025.
Enter here.

Competition Deadline: Fish Short Story Prize
2025-11-30
From the competition website:

Judge: Sean Lusk – Novelist and short story writer
Word Limit: 5,000
Closes: 30 Nov ’25
Results: 17 March ’26
Anthology Published: July ’26
Entry Fees: €24 / €16 subsequent entries. (Optional Critique €65)
Prizes:
Top ten stories will be published in the FISH ANTHOLOGY 2026.
1st: €3,000 plus 5 day Short Story Workshop at the West Cork Literary Festival.
2nd: €300 + Online Writing Course.
3rd: €300.
7 Honourable Mentions €200 each.

Enter here.

Competition Deadline: Inkspot Publishing’s Inaugural Short Story Competition
2025-11-30
From the competition website:
Following the sad demise of the Chipping Norton Literary Festival, Inkspot is picking up the baton and we’re looking forward to receiving entries from writers from far and wide.

Details

Judge: Kate Nash, Literary Agent
Sponsor: World Privilege Plus
Entry fee: £10 for stories up to 2,500 words. £15 for stories up to 5,000 words
Word Limit: 2,500 (£10), 5,000 (£15)
Deadline (Closing Date): 12 Midnight GMT, Sunday 30th November 2025
The shortlist will be announced on Friday 27th March 2026
Winners will be announced on Friday 10th April 2026.

Writers on low incomes are encouraged to email hello@inkspotpublishing.com and will be able to enter their stories for free. Proof of status may be required.

Enter here.

Event: In Conversation with the Founder of Dahlia Books
2025-11-24 18:00 - 19:30 (Europe/Paris) | Teams
The ENSFR is delighted to present an exclusive interview with Farhana Shaikh, the founder of Dahlia Books, a pioneering short story press championing diverse and underrepresented voices. Dahlia Books is a small independent publisher based in Leicester, UK which was established in 2010. They publish 2-4 books each year and build new audiences through their projects, The Asian Writer and Leicester Writes. Join us to discover the story behind the press, its mission to amplify diverse narratives through the short story, and the passion that drives its publishing ethos.

Event: ENSFR Reading Group
2025-11-17 17:00 - 19:00 (Europe/Paris) | Zoom
The ENSFR Reading Group’s next meeting will take place on Monday 17th November at 5pm (UK time) on Zoom. We will be discussing the short story “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx.
Please email this address if you’re interested in joining and we will send you a Zoom link and more information: ensfrreadinggroup[at]gmail[dot]com

Event: Flash in Translation - online event - November 6th
2025-11-06 14:00 - 16:00 (Europe/London)
Come listen to the new flash fiction created by PesText festival members and ENSFR members!

Residency: BCLT Translation Residencies
2025-11-03
The BCLT residencies are designed to be a collaboration between the translators-in-residence and the BCLT, whose main activities focus on the promotion of literary translation both as a professional activity and an academic discipline. We will work with the chosen translators to shape the role in accordance with their individual interests and skills. The residencies give the translators the opportunity to explore an area of literary translation and language that fascinates them, as well as the precious time to translate in a supportive environment.
BCLT translators-in-residence will:

work with the BCLT in the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, UEA, for one day a week (excluding the Spring break), for four months, as follows, 1 February 2026 to 31 May 2026. The residencies can be flexible in terms of whether they are in-person on campus each week or virtually. However, we would expect each translator to come to campus at least once per fortnight (or equivalent) during the residency.
Contribute to the programme of public events offered by the BCLT, which includes literary translation workshops, as well as research seminars and symposia, in order to extend and enhance the BCLT’s programme, working in conjunction with BCLT staff.
Seek opportunities for engagement with research staff and graduate students within the School and Faculty more widely, as well as the community of literary translators on the MA in Literary Translation and beyond by organising readings and events related to literary translation.
Write one blog per month about the experience of the residency at the BCLT to be published on the NewWriting.net website

As translator-in-residence at the BCLT you may also be expected to:

Lead a student tutorial / workshop for the MA in Literary Translation students at UEA
Seek opportunities to work with the translation archive at the British Archive for Contemporary Writing, housed in the UEA Library

Person Specification
It is essential for each resident:

To be a practising literary translator, working with any language(s), based in the UK, and with a project currently in progress, preferably prose fiction
To have a keen interest in and enthusiasm for the process of translation and cross-cultural dialogue
To be able to work independently, as well as in a team
To have excellent communication skills (both verbal and written)
To have an interest in research in literary translation studies, with a focus on making a contribution to the BCLT’s research programme
To have an interest in the professional development of literary translators

It is desirable for each resident to have:

Some experience of leading workshops
Some experience of publishing written and online content

A stipend of £3,200.00 is available as remuneration for each residency, intended to cover any travel and accommodation costs incurred during the residency. There will also be a small budget to support developing activities. This stipend may be subject to tax.
How to apply
Please send the following documents:

your CV
a covering letter explaining why you are interested in becoming a translator-in-residence at the BCLT (no more than 400 words)
a proposal (not more than 300 words) outlining what ideas and activities you would plan to pursue during your time as translator-in-residence

Please send your application by 23.59 (GMT) on Monday 3 November 2025 preferably by email to: bclt@uea.ac.uk
Interviews are likely to take place online on Monday 8 December 2025.
Download full details of the BCLT Translators in Residence Scheme 2025/26

Event: Online Reading Group 27 October 2025 at 5pm
2025-10-27 17:00 - 18:30 (Europe/Paris) | online
The next Reading Group meeting will take place (via Zoom) next week, on Monday 27th October at 5pm (UK time). During the meeting, we will be discussing Elena’s reading suggestion: the short story “Theatre 6” by Sarah Hall. The text can be accessed from this link.
Our conversation will focus on the following key questions that Elena has selected:

What genre does “Theatre 6” belong to?
What is the role of the narrator in the story? (in terms of gender, voice, position etc)
What is the role of language in the story?
What would you say is the key theme of the story?
How do you read the beginning and the ending of the story?
Do you think short stories can be more political than novels?

Topic: Short Fiction Reading Group – 27 October 2025
Time: Oct 27, 2025 05:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting

Event: Lynne Tillman & Brian Dillon: Thrilled to Death
2025-10-08 19:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Paris) | LRB Bookshop, 14 Bury Pl, London, WC1A 2JL, United Kingdom
Lynne Tillman discusses her newly curated collection of short stories with Brian Dillon

Event: Online Short Fiction Reading Group – Monday 29th September at 5pm (UK time)
2025-09-29 17:00 - 19:00 (Europe/London)
During the meeting, we will be discussing Maddie’s reading suggestion: the short story “A Song for Sleep” by Bora Chung. The text can be accessed from this link.
Our conversation will focus on the following key questions/themes that Maddie has selected:

The first-person narration of the short story
The use of language / the “language” of the elevator
The structure of the story: does it follow a traditional short story arc?
The theme of ageing/vulnerability
The portrayal of technology
The portrayal of empathy and/or consciousness

Link to join the online meeting. Any questions, contact: ensfrreadinggroup[at]gmail.com

Event: Northern Publishers Fair
2025-09-27 11:00 - 15:00 (Europe/Paris) | Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square, Manchester, M2 5PD, United Kingdom
Manchester Central Library (Performance Space)
11am – 3.30pm
Join readers and writers alike at this free event celebrating independent publishing. Peruse books from 16 publishers (and agents) across genres including literary fiction, genre fiction, middle-grade and children’s, non-fiction, poetry and memoir.
Come ready to discover your next favourite book!
Meet your favourite authors during book signings. Publishers will be on hand to chat and literature enthusiasts can network informally.
New for this Autumn networking edition! The chatty table:
Agents Emma Layfield (Children’s Book North Agency) and Clare Coombes (Liverpool Literary Agency) will be on hand to chat to any aspiring/established authors with publication journey questions! Emma also happy to chat to any children’s book illustrators.
Grab a Fly on the Wall Press goodie bag; a limited edition tote: ‘Reading is Resistance’, with two free mystery books and bookish goodies!
Publishers attending currently include:
Fly on the Wall Press
Manchester University Press
Spilt Ink Magazine
Confingo Publishing
Peepal Tree Press
Vertebrate (Adventure) Publishing
Carcanet
Stairwell Books
Saraband
Northodox
Flapjack Press
Dead Ink Books
Comma Press
Written Off Publishing

Event: Writers of the ENSFR (25.09.2026)
2025-09-25 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London)
Dear ENSFR members,
We are excited to announce that the ENSFR is launching a new writing group in September (all welcome to join). To celebrate we have an organized a writers of the ENSFR event to showcase the brilliant work that writers in the network are producing.
The writers speaking at the event are Ed Hogan, A.J Ashworth, Lisa Blower, Sarah Schofield, Joe Bedford, Georgina Parfitt and Karitas Palsdottir.
The event will be on the Thursday 25th of September, between 7 and 9 PM UK Time. Please come along and show your support for the writers of the Network.
You can attend the event on this link.

Residency: Heidelberg UNESCO City of Literature
2025-09-17
Work Grant awarded by the “Kulturstiftung Rhein-Neckar-Kreis e.V.” in cooperation with Heidelberg UNESCO City of Literature for authors from UNESCO Cities of Literature in the “Commandant’s House Dilsberg”, at Dilsberg Fortress, in Neckargemünd (approximately 14 km from Heidelberg).
The building served as the Commandant’s quarters of the Dilsberg garrison in the 17th century. The former Commandant’s House was acquired 1996 and renovated by the Rhein-Neckar-District. Since then the “Commandant’s House Dilsberg” has been a center for the promotion of art and culture: exhibitions, chamber music concerts, open-air concerts, readings, symposia and discussion rounds enrich the cultural life of the region. Here, art, music, and literature grant holders find a creative work sphere.
The duration of the biennial scholarship is 3 months with residence obligation in the Commandant’s House Dilsberg.

Candidates have the possibility to apply as team of two artists (grant holder and co-fellow) as 2 sleeping rooms are available (individual application is necessary).
The co-recipient should also have his/her own artistic expertise, which has not necessarily to be in the literary field (could be translation for instance, but also such as music, visual arts, performing arts, film, etc.).
Both artistic personalities have to demonstrate an artistic or interdisciplinary cooperation and should be personally well acquainted to each other. While the grant holder has to, it is not essential that the co-grantee is coming from a UNESCO City of Literature.
The co-grantee will be provided with the same financial resources as the grant holder.
The artists in residence share a kitchenette and a bathroom in the fully furnished apartment.
The apartment is unfortunately not accessible for disabled persons.

Benefits
Total value max. € 3,750 per person:

Subsistence allowance of € 1,350 per person (€ 15 per day)
Monthly allowance/pocket money of € 750 per person

Additional benefits

Travel allowance (international flights, economy class) of up to € 1,000
Public transportation ticket for the Rhine-Neckar public transport network (VRN) limited to the duration of the stay

Fellowship Application Deadline: The Hodder Fellowship, Princeton University
2025-09-09 00:00 - 23:59 (America/New_York) | Princeton University
The Hodder Fellowship will be given to artists and writers of exceptional promise to pursue independent projects at Princeton University during the academic year. Potential Hodder Fellows are composers, choreographers, performance artists, visual artists, writers, translators, or other kinds of artists or humanists who have “much more than ordinary intellectual and literary gifts”; they are selected more “for promise than for performance.” Given the strength of the applicant pool, most successful Fellows have published a first book or have similar achievements in their own fields; the Hodder is designed to provide Fellows with the “studious leisure” to undertake significant new work.
Hodder Fellows spend an academic year with Princeton, but no formal teaching is involved. A $93,000 stipend is provided for this 10-month appointment as a Visiting Fellow. Fellowships are not intended to fund work leading to an advanced degree. One need not be a U.S. citizen to apply. Previous recipients of the Princeton Arts Fellowship are not eligible to apply.
To apply, please submit a curriculum vitae, a 500-word project proposal, and samples of your work (i.e., writing sample, images of your work, video links to performances, etc.).
Interested applicants may apply for the Hodder Fellowship in each new application cycle.

Event: An Evening with Samanta Schweblin at West Kirby Bookshop
2025-08-27 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/Paris)
Argentinian author, Samanta Schweblin, celebrates the UK publication of her latest short story collection, Good and Evil and Other Stories (translated by Megan McDowell).
Samanta will be in conversation about the book, before answering questions from the audience and signing copies of her books.

Event: Camilla Grudova and Jennifer Hodgson discuss Ágota Kristóf’s I Don’t Care, at LRB Bookshop
2025-08-21 19:00 (Europe/London)
Forced to leave her native Hungary by the 1956 suppression of the Hungarian Uprising, Ágota Kristóf took up residence in Switzerland and began writing in French. Most famous for her Notebook Trilogy – ‘A book through which I discovered what kind of person I really want to be’ (Slavoj Žižek) – her short stories, now available for the first time in English as the Penguin Classic volume I Don’t Care (tr. Chris Andrews), have been described by Max Porter as ‘pure genius’.
Canadian writer Camilla Grudova will be discussing Kristóf’s work and place in the late modernist literary firmament with Jennifer Hodgson.

Competition Deadline: The Bournemouth Writing Prize 2025
2025-08-15
From the competition website:
The Bournemouth Writing Prize
Celebrating 10 Years of Outstanding Writing
Submissions open April 2025 for the Tenth Anniversary Edition of the Bournemouth Writing Prize. This year, we’re celebrating a decade of discovering original writing, and we’d love to read yours.
Submit one story, up to 3,000 words.
All submissions close: 15th of August.

To enter:
Submit – The Bournemouth Journal

Event: An Evening with Rose Keating at West Kirby Bookshop
2025-08-07 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/Paris)
Rose Keating celebrates the publication of her much anticipated debut short story collection, Oddbody. Rose will be reading from the collection, before being in conversation with Jordan from the bookshop, answering questions from the audience and signing copies of Oddbody.

Competition Deadline: Aurora Prize for Writing 2025
2025-08-06
From the competition’s website:

Since 2016, Aurora has provided a platform for writers, offering a prize that is truly national (and international) with its heart in the East Midlands.
Our judges have included some of the region’s leading literary lights, with names such as Joanna Cannon, Casey Bailey, Mahsuda Snaith, Alison Moore, Jon McGregor, Malika Booker, Helen Mort, Debris Stevenson, Shreya Sen-Handley and Georgina Wilding.
We are thrilled to announce that this year’s judges include T.S. Eliot Prize winner Joelle Taylor, reading poetry, and multi-award-winning author Irenosen Okojie, judging prose.
As well as receiving a cash prize, winners receive feedback on a piece of work of their choice from a matched literary agent or editor.
We receive hundreds of entries each year, with the best 25 in each category making it to a published longlist and the best 10 in each category on published shortlists.
The writing competition also offers prizes for second and third places in each category, plus prizes for the best work from the East Midlands region
The winners of the writing competition, in each category, will receive a cash prize of £500, feedback on a piece of work of their choice from a leading literary agent (or Editor as appropriate) and a years free membership to the Society of Authors, which includes access to advice and resources on all aspects of the business of writing.
Winners will also receive a session with Society of Authors staff, including an introduction to how the Society can support them in their careers as professional authors and covering essential advice on copyright, payment terms and contracts.
Second Prize £150 cash.
Third Prize A ticket to the 2027 Writers’ Conference, hosted by Writing East Midlands.
As a champion of writers from the East Midlands, we will also offer a regional prize of £100 to the best work in each category from the region.
In the weeks leading up to the Aurora Prize Awards Ceremony (details TBC) we will also be publishing a longlist of 25 in each category and a shortlist of 10 in each category on our website. The shortlist of 10 will also receive a 20% discount code for one year’s membership with the Society of Authors.
The submission fee is £9 for a first entry and £7 for each additional entry.
This is a national writing competition open to everyone. International entries are also welcome.

To enter:
https://writingeastmidlands.co.uk/for-writers/aurora-prize-for-writing/

Competition Deadline: Sean O Faolain International Short Story Competition
2025-07-31 00:00 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris)
From the competition website:

Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition
Open for entries 1 May – 31 July

Word limit: 3,000
Closing date: 31st July (midnight)
Entry fee: €19 per story
The competition is open to original, unpublished and unbroadcast short stories in the English language of 3,000 words or fewer. The story can be on any subject, in any style, by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. Translated work is not in the scope of this competition. Entrants may submit more than one entry. Once entered, no alterations can be made to the submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted but please notify us immediately should your work be accepted elsewhere.
To enter:
Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition – Munster Literature Centre
