ENSFR

Event: ENSFR reading group, March meeting
2026-03-09 17:00 - 18:30 (Europe/Paris) | Zoom
The next short fiction reading group meeting will take place (via Zoom) on Monday 9th March at 5pm (UK time). Below, you can find information on how to join the online meeting room. I have attached an iCalendar file that you can add to your calendar.
During the meeting, we will be discussing Paul’s reading suggestion: the short story “The Pain Cave” by Lauren Groff. It is a very short story at just two pages long. You can access the short story from this link: https://granta.com/the-pain-cave/
Our conversation will focus on the following key questions that Paul has selected:

How does the story portray family relationships, and what ideas about family life emerge through the narrator’s reflections?
What picture of childhood does the story create, and how does the narrator’s view of children shape the emotional tone of the narrative?
In what ways does the story use nature—its beauty, harshness, or indifference—to deepen its themes or challenge the narrator?
What meanings do you think Groff intended by choosing the title “The Pain Cave,” and how does it resonate with both the physical and emotional journey in the story?
Does the narrator strike you as someone who understands herself clearly, or do you sense blind spots or contradictions in her self‑perception? What moments in the story shaped your view?

Join the Zoom here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83325132386?pwd=[REDACTED]

Event: Magic and Mechanics, Crafting the Perfect Short Story
2026-03-12 19:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Paris) | The London Library
Magic and Mechanics is the innovative new publication from groundbreaking short story publisher Scratch Books, which, like previous publications Reverse Engineering I & II, brings together contemporary stories by some of the very best writers working in the form today, alongside interviews with those writers about how their stories were written.
Contributors to the book, Camilla Grudova, Mark Haddon and Amber Medland join fellow short story writer Irenosen Okojie to disassemble their work and reveal the processes, inspirations, instincts and ideas behind the construction of their perfect short stories.
This anthology will inject writers with creative adrenaline and provide short story readers with a new slant of light into the craft. – The Irish Times
Camilla Grudova is Canadian writer who lives in Edinburgh. She has published two short story collections, The Doll’s Alphabet and The Coiled Serpent and a novel, Children of Paradise. Her fiction has appeared in The White Review and Granta. She holds a degree in Art History and German from McGill University, Montreal. She was named as one of Granta’s Best British Novelists 2023.
Mark Haddon is a writer and artist. His bestselling novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003) won seventeen literary prizes, was translated into 36 languages and went on to become an award-winning stage adaptation by Simon Stephens. His most recent works of fiction include a novel, The Porpoise (2019) and a collection of fables and stories, Dogs and Monsters (2024). His most recent book, Leaving Home: A Memoir in Full Colour, will be published in February 2026.
Amber Medland’s debut novel, Wild Pets, was published by Faber in 2021 and her most recent book Attention Seeker: The Truth About ADHD was published by Dialogue Books in 2025. She has been published in The New Yorker, the London Review of Books, The Paris Review, the TLS, the Guardian, the Telegraph, the FT, the Irish Times and the Drift. She was part of the inaugural cohort of The London Library Emerging Writers Programme.
Irenosen Okojie is a Nigerian British author whose work pushes the boundaries of form, language and ideas. Her novel, Butterfly Fish and short story collections, Speak Gigantular and Nudibranch, have won and been nominated for multiple awards. Vice Chair of the Royal Society of Literature, she was awarded an MBE For Services to Literature in 2021. She is the director and founder of Black to the Future festival and her latest novel, Curandera, is published by Dialogue Books.
Scratch Books are a publishing house dedicated to the craft of short stories. Previous collections have included Reverse Engineering I & II and Duets.
Magic and Mechanics will be available to buy at the event and online from Scratch Books.
This event will take place in person at The London Library. Doors (and the bar) will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Please see our Event Access Guidelines before you arrive.

Competition Deadline: The BBC National Short Story Award 2026
2026-03-16
From the competition website:

The BBC National Short Story Award 2026
with Cambridge University
The British Broadcasting Corporation with Cambridge University
Award of £15,000 for the winner
£600 for four (4) further shortlisted stories

Enter here.

Event: The Subtle Art of Short Fiction with David Hartley, Sarah Schofield and Jonathan Taylor
2026-03-24 19:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Paris) | Teams
Tuesday 24 March 2026, 19:00-20:00 GMT (20:00-21:00 CET)
Join us to celebrate the launch of The Subtle Art of Short Fiction with a craft-oriented online discussion with acclaimed authors David Hartley, Sarah Schofield and Jonathan Taylor. Expanding on their essays from the new anthology, each will be sharing valuable insights on the complexities of short fiction writing, from voice to structure, humour to subtext. Whether you’ve published short stories widely or are just beginning to experiment with the form, this free event should provide a fascinating glimpse into what makes short stories tick.

The Subtle Art of Short Fiction (Fly on the Wall Press, 2025), edited by Isabelle Kenyon, explores the power of short fiction in today’s fragmented world. Renowned authors and critics offer advanced techniques for crafting nuanced, impactful stories. Learn to master short story structure, subtext, micro-tension, and sensory minimalism. Ideal for experienced writers seeking to refine their skills in this sophisticated art form, or those who love short fiction, and want to learn about the craft behind it.
“A revelatory and engaging read.” – Irenosen Okojie

David Hartley is a writer, performer, artist, editor and tutor whose short fiction has been published widely. He is the author of two short story collections, Incorcisms (Arachne Press, 2021) and Fauna (Fly on the Wall Press, 2021), which was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize, and is the editor of Obscura: New Uncanny Tales (Comma Press, 2023). He gained a PhD in Creative Writing from The University of Manchester in 2021. He lives on the edge of the Peak District and can be found online at davidhartleywriter.com.
Sarah Schofield’s stories have been published in Lemistry, Bio-Punk, Thought X, Beta Life, Spindles, Conradology and The New Abject (all Comma Press), Wall: Nine Stories from Edge Hill Writers (EHUP), Best of British Short Stories 2020 (Salt), Spilling Ink Flash Fiction Anthology, Back and Beyond Arts Publication, Litfest’s The Language of Footprints, Synaesthesia Magazine, Lakeview International Journal, Woman’s Weekly and others. She has been shortlisted for The Bridport Prize and the Guardian Travel Writing Competition and has won the Orange New Voices Prize, Writer’s Inc and The Calderdale Fiction Prize. Sarah is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Edge Hill University and runs writing courses and workshops in a variety of community settings. Her debut short story collection, Safely Gathered In, is published by Comma Press.
Jonathan Taylor is the author of two short story collections, Kontakte and Other Stories (Roman, 2013 and 2014) and Scablands and Other Stories (Salt, 2023). Scablands and Other Stories won the Arnold Bennett Prize 2025. He is also the co-editor of the anthology High Spirits: A Round of Drinking Stories (Valley Press, 2018), with author Karen Stevens, which won the Saboteur Award 2019 for Best Anthology. He is Associate Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester in the UK, where he directs the M.A. in Creative Writing.
This event will be chaired by ENSFR member Joe Bedford. Joe’s short stories have been published widely, including in 3:AM, Evening Standard and Litro, and have won numerous awards including the Bridport Prize 2024. His debut novel A Bad Decade for Good People was published by Parthian Books in 2023.

Teams link below.
Subtle Art of Short Fiction

Competition Deadline: The Julia & Martin Wilson Short Story Prize 2026
2026-03-27
From the competition website:

Broadway Arts Festival launched a short story prize in order to encourage creativity during the lockdown. The prize is generously sponsored and judged by festival Benefactors Julia & Martin Wilson who read every entry received, from across the world. The competition now takes place every other year.
Entries need to be a maximum of 2,000 words with no theme to adhere to.
Prizes:

Main prize (adults): £800
Ages 11-16yrs: £100
Age 10 and under: £100

The deadline for entries is 6pm on 27th March 2026.
Please Note:

Do not enter any previously submitted entries as they will not qualify for consideration.
Entries will be assessed using a plagiarism and AI checker
For those age 16 and under, a maximum of 2 stories per entrant permitted.

Winners will be announced towards the second week of May. Winning stories will be published on the festival website for all to read & enjoy.
There is a fee of £12 per entry for the main prize of £800 for adults, but the competition is free to enter for those age 16 and under.

Enter here.

Submission Deadline: The EDGE Journal
2026-03-31
From the journal’s website:

From the EDGE of Alton is a print publication celebrating local talent and creativity. The ‘EDGE’ represents the importance of inclusivity in the arts. We champion all creative voices, and especially encourage those from the edge of the mainstream, from those who may not feel that their work is worthy or fits the mould. Your voice may be from: geographic edges: rural/urban fringes, coastal towns, commuter belts; social edges: class, race, disability, migration, queerness; economic edges: gig work, high streets in decline, housing insecurity, etc.
We want to hear from all ages, all sectors of the community, beginners and seasoned artists alike, published and unpublished authors and poets, no restrictions. You don’t have to be from Alton, but your work should feel like it belongs at the edge. We plan to reserve a number of slots per issue specifically for people with a clear Alton/East Hants link.

Enter here.

Fellowship: The Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers and Musicians
2026-04-01
Named in honor of Carson’s parents, The Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers was inspired by McCullers’s experience at the Breadloaf Writer’s Conference in Vermont, especially the Yaddo Arts Colony in Saratoga Springs, New York. To honor the contribution of these writers’ residences to McCullers’s work, the Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians awards fellowships for writers to study in her childhood home in Columbus, Georgia. The fellowships are intended to afford the writers in residence uninterrupted time to focus on their work, free from the distractions of daily life and other professional responsibilities.
The Marguerite and Lamar Fellowship for Writers is offered during fall semester. The fellowship begins the first of September and ends the first of December. During this time, the writing fellow will reside in a spacious private apartment inside Carson McCullers’s childhood home, the Smith-McCullers House. The fellow is provided with a stipend of $5,000 to cover costs of transportation, food and other incidentals. Fellowship recipients are encouraged to take an active role in the community and to meet informally with students and local residents interested in writing. The fellow will work with the McCullers Center director to plan a presentation near the end of the residency.
Deadline: Apr. 1, 2026

Residency: The Mastheads
2026-04-01
Every summer, five writers across disciplines (poetry, fiction, non-fiction, translation, playwriting, songwriting, comics, and more) are awarded residencies.
The residency includes private use of a sculptural-architectural writing studio; housing; a living stipend; reimbursement for travel to and from Pittsfield; and opportunities for local events, engagement, and discovery.
The Studios
The studios are rustic and open air; each one is the architectural interpretation of the original structure from which one of five American Renaissance authors wrote while in the Berkshires. Studios include a built-in desk, bench, and chair, and are each equipped with a rechargeable, portable electric outlet. Restrooms and a small kitchen are available for resident use in Melville’s barn at Arrowhead.
Housing, Stipend, and Transportation
Each resident receives a $600 living stipend as well as a private room in a shared house within short walking distance to Melville’s Arrowhead. Limited local transportation around Pittsfield is provided, for example to the grocery store, or a hiking or swimming trip.
How to Apply
Applicants must submit a 1-page Letter of Intent, a 10-Page Writing Sample, and a CV. Please read all residency details and note application length requirements before submitting.

Event: Haunted Book Club Live, The Old Nurse's Tale
2026-04-13 08:00 - 17:00 (Europe/Paris) | The Portico Library, 57 Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3HY, United Kingdom
Tickets £15 General / £10 low income / under 21 plus eventbrite fee – book here.
For enjoyers of eerie tales, curious to know more about the stories that make their skin crawl. Join Norton’s Narrator Gav Cross and author John Reppion as they delve into the stories behind some of your favourite spine-tingling tales. Whether you’re a seasoned ghost story expert or a newcomer to the realm of creepy fiction, Haunted Book Club welcomes all new members with open (and possibly skeletal) arms.
Sit in the midst of this historic library, once frequented by Elizabeth Gaskell, and listen to her short story The Old Nurse’s Tale. How do things and buildings can retain memories of anguished people and tragic events. Who or what is haunted the maid and little girl?
Join in the conversation or sit quietly in the dark. Whatever you choose. Keep glancing over your shoulder…
Haunted Book Club brings its first Live event to the Portico Library, a continuation of their bi-weekly live online podcast:
https://linktr.ee/haunted_bookclub
12+ Suggested 90 mins plus an interval.

Competition Deadline: Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize 2026
2026-04-19
From the competition website:

The aim of the Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize is both to celebrate the best of new short fiction under 2000 words and to give winners the most visibility possible for their writing. That’s why we’ve teamed up with sixteen different literary and artistic institutions to not only offer cash prizes and writing retreats but also to ensure that all our shortlisters have the opportunity to be published in multiple print and online journals, have their work put in front of literary agents, and present their stories at an event.

Enter here.

Event: Short Fiction Reading Group
2026-04-20 17:00 - 18:30 (Europe/Paris) | Zoom
The next ENSFR short fiction reading group meeting will take place (via Zoom) on Monday 20th April at 5pm (UK time). Below, you can find information on how to join the online meeting room. I have attached an iCalendar file that you can add to your calendar.
During the meeting, we will be discussing my reading suggestion: the short story “The Debutante” by Leonora Carrington. It is a very short story at just 2,5 pages long. You can access the short story from this link: https://biblioklept.org/2014/01/05/the-debutante-a-short-story-by-leonora-carrington/
Our conversation will focus on the following key questions that I have selected:

What is the tone of this short story (e.g., serious/funny/…)?
Is there a sentence in this short story that you particularly like or find particularly important? Why?
Do you as a reader identify with the main character?
“The Debutante” has a concern for appearance, for the social significance of acting in particular ways, culturally approved as “feminine” behaviour. Can you find evidence of this concern in the short story?
Can you describe the relationship between the pairs “nature and culture” and between “human beings and animals” in this short story?
What do you think of the short story’s ending?

Those who are interested in exploring the work further might want to watch Elizabeth Hobbs’ short, animated film based on Carrington’s short story (https://vimeo.com/940848616). It is not mandatory to watch the film in preparation for the meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82016619781?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 820 1661 9781
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Competition Deadline: Scratch A4 Competition
2026-04-25
From the competition website:

Submissions are open for Scratch A4 Summer ’26… until midnight, 25th April!​
The Judges are:
Gurnaik Johal – Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award.
Emily Fish – Emily Fish began her publishing career as an Agent’s Assistant at Aitken Alexander Associates. After three years she moved into editorial at Faber, and now works at Hutchinson Heinemann, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Tom Conaghan – Publisher at Scratch Books.​​
Scratch A4 Summer ’26 will be held in Soho on the evening of Saturday 6th June.​​
To enter our competition to read your story at the Summer ’26 edition of Scratch A4, complete these two simple steps…
1) Buy this Contestant Entry ticket. You will receive a Confirmation email.
2) Forward this Confirmation email – attaching your <1000 word story – to ScratchA4entries@gmail.com
Please take your name off the document itself
Submissions close: Midnight Saturday 25th April
If your story is chosen in the shortlist of six, you will need to be able to get to London that evening – even if you’re not shortlisted, we really do recommend you come along anyway for a night of wonderment and good cheer.

Enter here.

Competition Deadline: Ironclad Short Story Competition, Summer 2026
2026-04-30
From the competition website:

The Ironclad Creative Short Story Competition is for both published and unpublished writers.
We aim to run four short story competitions each year.
Prize winning and shortlisted writers will be published in our July 2026 anthology.
We accept any length of story up to 6k words.
Don’t use the word FOOTPRINT in the title unless it’s alongside a sub-heading or with other words or phrases.
You may use the word in the body of the text, but you don’t have to.
What we expect is that your work to be inspired by the word in some way.
Any way.
A way that might be unexpected…. or entirely expected, but the story takes us somewhere interesting, and grips us.
We’re looking for writers who have exciting voices and can move us. We believe that can happen in any genre of prose.
Please make sure you’ve read the terms and conditions carefully!

Enter here.

Event: Flash in Translation Workshop Series May 2026
2026-05-04 08:00 - 2026-05-08 18:00 (Europe/Paris) | online
Event: Flash in Translation Workshop Series May 2026
The ENSFR and PesText International Literary and Cultural Festival jointly organise a workshop series over the week of May 4, 2026. The event brings together student and more experienced writers from Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the UK and Austria. In preparation for the event, participants wrote a piece of flash fiction about “City and Nature” and will continue to work on their texts in groups during the workshop days.
Three online workshops are open to the interested public:
• Reading and Development Workshop on May 6: 11 am CET / 10 am UK time
o Participants share and discuss their work
o Writer’s Reading
• Development and Translation Workshop on May 7: 12 pm CET / 11 am UK time
o Continues the previous workshop with a focus on translation Development Of Writer’s Ideas with Actors
• Open Performance Workshop on May 8: 4 pm CET / 3 pm UK Time
o Short performances and improvisations based on the flash fiction submissions
o Performances of Writer’s work
We are very much looking forward to seeing some of you there!

Event: European Writers’ Festival 2026
2026-05-16 - 2026-05-17 | The British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London, NW1 2DB
The European Writers’ Festival returns for its third edition in 2026, now established as a biennial event. This year’s festival promises to expand and evolve, bringing together a new constellation of distinguished authors from across Europe.
The festival will take place from 16-17 May, 2026, at the British Library in London, featuring two full days of panels, performances, and discussions. Organised by EUNIC London in partnership with the European Literature Network and the British Library, with support from the Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom, the event will showcase a diverse lineup of authors who will engage audiences on pressing contemporary issues.
Building on the tradition of the 2024 edition—which brought together 30 authors from countries including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and the UK—the 2026 festival will continue to foster dialogue and understanding through the written word.

Competition Deadline: Inkspot’s Flash Fiction Short Story Competition
2026-05-17
From the competition website:

Welcome to Inkspot’s first Flash Fiction Short Story Competition! £500 for 500. We’re looking forward to receiving your flash fiction short stories, with a word count not exceeding 500 words. Short scripts are also welcome.
We will be looking for all the usual things, whether it’s quality writing, characterisation, deft world-building, sparkling dialogue, humour, heartbreak, intrigue … but with the discipline and restraint necessary to remain within the word count. We’re banking on receiving some excellent entries, as we’re planning to compile our favourites into an e-book, which will also be available in print, as POD.

Submit here.

Event: Meet the Commonwealth Short Story Prize Team
2026-05-19 18:00 - 19:00 (Europe/London) | Teams
The ENSFR is delighted to welcome representatives of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for a conversation about the Prize, its history, the 2026 shortlist, and wider discussions around the state of the contemporary short story. The speakers include Razmi Farook (Director-General of the Commonwealth Foundation) and Emma D’Costa (Consultant to the Foundation) who managed the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for many years and remains a valued advisor and consultant for the prize.
The judging process for the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize is underway. The shortlist will be announced in April, the regional winners in May, and the overall winner will be announced during the award ceremony in June 2026. The 2026 judging panel is chaired by award-winning British novelist and dramatist Louise Doughty. Louise’s fellow judges, drawn from the five regions of the Commonwealth, are: South African journalist, author and short story writer Fred Khumalo (Africa); Bangladeshi writer, translator and essayist Rifat Munim (Asia); Padlei Inuk Canadian poet, novelist and scholar Norma Dunning (Canada and Europe); short story writer, novelist and lawyer Sharma Taylor from Jamaica (Caribbean); and poet, illustrator and author Maxine Beneba Clarke from Australia (Pacific).
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is managed by the Commonwealth Foundation, and was set up in 2012 to inspire, develop and connect writers and storytellers across the Commonwealth. The Prize replaced the Commonwealth Short Story Competition (1996-2011).
Please join this online event via Teams: Stories Without Borders: Meet the Commonwealth Short Story Prize Team | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams.

Event: Victorian Short Story Reading Group: ‘The Idyl of the Island’
2026-05-20 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/Paris) | The Victorian Society, 1 Priory Gardens, Chiswick, W4 2PD
Join the Victorian Short Story Reading Group to discuss ‘The Idyl of the Island’, by Susan Frances Harrison.

The Victorian Short Story Reading Group has regular meetings to explore some of the exciting material from the golden age of the British short story, which began during the latter part of the nineteenth century.
Current Theme: Colonial Short Stories: Canada
The group will consider and discuss tales of and from Canada. These will cover portrayals of new settlers, indigenous first nations people, the landscape, and the flora and fauna.
‘The Idyl of the Island’, by Susan Frances Harrison
(First published in The Week, a Canadian literary periodical, 1886)
A sleeping, unnamed lady, becomes the subject of the male gaze. The gentleman, transfixed by beauty, wishes to claim both the lady and the island as his own, raising parallels to colonialism, which we can discuss.
Upon registration you will receive a link to an on-line copy of the text and, as it is a short story group, it will require no more than an evening’s preparation to read the required material.
Sessions take place monthly between October and June at a venue in Chiswick, London, W4 1TT, between 7 and 8.30 pm. At each session there is a brief introduction to the work, followed by a group discussion in a relaxed atmosphere, with wine and nibbles supplied.

Competition Deadline: The Bridport Short Story Prize
2026-05-31
From the competition website:
One of the largest short story prizes, the winning story features in our anthology, so you will see your words in print, maybe for the first time. That’s not all. It opens up further opportunities where your story needs to have been published. You will be invited to our awards celebration and get insightful feedback from the judges and our professional partners. Finally, we will champion you not only as our winner but always as part of the Bridport Prize family.
Submit here.

Competition Deadline: The Yeovil Prizes
2026-05-31
From the competition website:

2026 Competition Open From 1 Jan 2026 to 31 May 2026

Organised by the Yeovil Community Arts Association, this is your opportunity to enter five very different categories of writing. Aspiring writers throughout the world should enter this prestigious writing competition.

Submit here.

Event: An Evening with Colm Tóibín
2026-05-31 19:00 - 20:30 (Europe/Paris) | The Black-E, The Black-E, 1 Great George Street, Liverpool, L1 5EW
To mark the publication of Colm Tóibín’s highly anticipated short story collection The News from Dublin (Picador), Writing on the Wall is delighted to reveal that the acclaimed Irish author will appear at WoWFEST26 on Sunday 31 May, chaired by Professor Frank Shovlin.
Tóibín will discuss The News from Dublin, a striking and deeply moving sequence of stories that span continents and generations, from wartime Ireland to Barcelona, Argentina and beyond. Moving between lives marked by exile, secrecy and loss, these luminous narratives explore family ties, displacement, and the enduring pull of home and memory.
Born in Enniscorthy in 1955, Tóibín is the author of numerous acclaimed novels and short story collections, including The Empty Family, Brooklyn, The Master, The Magician and Long Island. A three-time Booker Prize finalist, he has received the David Cohen Prize for Literature, served as Laureate for Irish Fiction (2022–2024), and was Chancellor of the University of Liverpool until 2017.
He will be joined by Frank Shovlin, Professor of Irish Literature at the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Irish Studies and an acclaimed critic and editor. Shovlin is renowned for his scholarship on James Joyce and John McGahern, including The Letters of John McGahern (Faber & Faber) and the forthcoming biography John McGahern: A Writing Life.

Residency: Borders Traditions Residency
2026-06-01 | Hugo Burge Foundation
Residency Dates: Wed Sept 23rd to Wed Oct 21st 2026
This is a residency for an artist or creator of any medium who has an interest in looking to history, legend, and local culture as a source of creative inspiration and who would help us capture a tradition, place, or story that is significant to the Scottish Borders.
The Scottish Borders is a vibrant place with many celebrated stories and traditions, as well as many stories that are yet to be told.
This residency is aimed at supporting a creative who finds inspiration in tradition, legend, history, or community stories who will help us capture a local tale through their artistic medium, be it illustration, sculpture, performance, textiles, etc.
This is a fully funded residency that includes exclusive studio space, accommodation in one of our Hobbit Pods, and a weekly stipend of £350.
There are no expectations about what you will use the residency for, but we hope the selected artist will conduct at least one public event such as a creative workshop (for adult participants), a talk, demonstration, performance or educational activity.
You will be able to spend time with other artists and makers on site, along with another visiting artist also on residency. Our Creative Director, Dr James Fox will provide mentorship during your stay.
Deadline: June 1st
Decision By: June 13th

Competition Deadline: The MTP Short Story Competition
2026-06-01
From the competition website:

In our quest to offer authors a stage for their work, we are excited to be hosting our 2026 Short Story Competition.

First Prize: £1000 (GBP)
Second Prize: £500 (GBP)
Third Prize: £250 (GBP)
5 Runners-up Prizes of £50 (GBP)
Prizewinning stories will be published in the MTP 2026 Anthology (print book and eBook). The Anthology title will be based on the title of the winning entry.

Submit here.

Event: ENSFR reading group, June meeting
2026-06-01 17:00 - 19:00 (Europe/Paris) | Zoom
The next short fiction reading group meeting will take place (via Zoom) on Monday 1st June at 5pm (UK time). Below, you can find information on how to join the online meeting room. I have attached an iCalendar file that you can add to your calendar.
During the meeting, we will be discussing Julie-Ann’s reading suggestion: the short story “Death by Landscape” by Margaret Atwood. You can access the short story from this link:
https://223141929335512656.weebly.com/uploads/1/7/0/9/17093284/deathbylandscape_atwood.pdf
Our conversation will focus on the following discussion points that Julie-Ann has selected:

The story opens in a domestic interior but moves to a landscape of ‘wilderness’. How are these two contrasting spaces integral to the story?
Is there a power dynamic in the friendship between Lois and Lucy?
What is significant about the presentation of the camp and the language Atwood uses?
Does this story fit the category of bildungsroman?
How does Atwood explore ideas of colonisation?
In the following quote bodily absence is made significant. How does this idea relate to the wider societal conceptualisation of the female body through art, culture and mass media? How are female bodies represented elsewhere in the story?

“But a dead person is a body; a body occupies space, it exists somewhere. You can see it; you put it in a box and bury it in the ground, and then it’s in a box in the ground. But Lucy is not in a box or in the ground. Because she is nowhere definite, she could be any where.”

Structurally the story moves from present to past to present, using character memory to explicate the main story. How does ‘framing’ the past within the present impact ideas and meanings?
The story ends with a mystery? Is the reader invited to play detective?

Those who are interested in exploring the work further might want to read Atwood’s collection Wilderness Tips which also features “Death by Landscape”. Many of the other short stories in the collection are worth reading in conjunction, particularly “True Trash”. This is a recommendation by Julie-Ann. It is not mandatory to read further short stories for the meeting.
—
Ines Gstrein is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Short Fiction Reading Group – June 2026
Time: Jun 1, 2026 05:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85116499205?pwd=[REDACTED]

Residency: Magnetic 5
2026-06-02 | Cove Park
We are thrilled to continue our involvement in the Magnetic Residencies programme, in partnership with Villa Arson, Nice. The Magnetic 5 call for applications is open until Tuesday 2 June 2026. Cove Park welcomes applications from artists based in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Scotland-based artists are welcome to apply to Villa Arson. The Magnetic Residencies programme offers a 2-month bespoke residency, £2,100 monthly fee, accommodation and access to a workspace, curatorial mentoring and international networking opportunities.
Magnetic, managed by Fluxus Arts Projects, is a Franco-UK network bringing together five organisations from France and five from the UK to create a programme of funded residencies for visual artists based in both countries.
Tandem Capc, Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine / Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge, England:
Capc residency is open to artists based in England
Wysing Arts Centre residency is open to artists based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Tandem Frac Grand Large, Dunkirk, Hauts-de-France / Flax Art Studios, Belfast, Northern Ireland:
Frac Grand Large residency is open to artists based in Northern Ireland
Flax Art Studios residency is open to artists based in Hauts-de-France
Tandem Villa Arson, Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur / Cove Park, Argyll & Bute, Scotland:
Villa Arson residency is open to artists based in Scotland
Cove Park residency is open to artists based in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
Tandem Frac Bretagne, Rennes / Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth, Wales:
Frac Bretagne residency is open to artists based in Wales
Aberystwyth Arts Centre residency is open to artists based in Brittany
Tandem Bétonsalon – Centre for art and research, Paris, Île-de-France / Gasworks, London, England:
Bétonsalon – Centre for art and research residency is open to artists based in England
Gasworks residency is open to artists based in Île-de-France
Applicants from England are invited to make one application only and can either apply to Capc, Bordeaux or Bétonsalon – Centre for art and research, Paris.

Residency: Jan Michalski Foundation Application Dates
2026-06-02 - 2026-08-31
The Jan Michalski Foundation’s residency for writers is designed to provide an environment for literary creation and to support those involved in the written word.

The Foundation features a group of seven distinctive residential modules that are available for writers and translators invited for residencies of varying lengths of time. Hanging from the openwork “canopy” that runs above the Foundation, these units are called “cabins” and offer ideal conditions to anyone who is looking to start, continue working on, or put the finishing touches to a writing project.
Although open to all kinds of writing and all languages, the residency program does give priority to literary writers and translators. The residencies can be for either individuals or pairs of participants in the case of projects involving more than one discipline. Each year some forty authors from around the world, from emerging writers to seasoned veterans, are able to count on a certain period of time dedicated to a literary project.
A percentage of the residencies are dedicated to nature writing, a form of fiction or creative non-fiction that raises awareness of nature, prepares for a sustainable future, and helps to better understand socio-environmental interconnections and the impact of human actions on nature.

Become a resident

General Terms and Conditions

Residences are available for all types of writers engaged in literary creation. While we give priority to writers and translators, we are also open to other disciplines as long as literature is at the heart of the project. Stays in the Jan Michalski Foundation are granted to individuals as well as pairs of writers working on a common project. The latter might include a writer and a translator, a writer and someone from another discipline, two writers, and so on.

Location

The Jan Michalski Foundation lies at the foot of the Swiss Jura Mountains in Montricher. The village is approximately 30 minutes from Lausanne and one hour from Geneva. It is possible to reach Montricher from Morges by train.
Six “cabins” overlook Lake Geneva and the Alps while a seventh is oriented towards the forested slopes of the Jura. One final cabin serves as a kitchen and common living area where resident writers can cook together, socialize and relax.

Length of stay

Residencies can vary in length, lasting from two weeks to one, two, or three months. The length of stay should match the scope of the project. The period applied for is a request only, and the Jan Michalski Foundation reserves the right to offer another period depending on availability.

Eligibility criteria

There are no age or nationality restrictions.
Beginners are accepted.
Candidates are only allowed to submit one application per year.
Former residents are not allowed to reapply.

Event: I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell Exhibition
2026-06-05 - 2026-06-30 | Rochdale Central Library, Rochdale Central Library, Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale, OL16 1XU
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House marked the 10th anniversary of its restoration and opening to the public with a bold new exhibition called I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell, as part of a project supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Three young writers – Georgia Affonso, Princess Arinola Adegbite and Guruleen Kahlo – were awarded inaugural writers’ residencies at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, Manchester’s only literary house, and it is their endeavours that take centre stage.
They began their journey having never read Elizabeth’s work, but by spending time at the house they have been immersed in her writing and role as a social reformist. Through their eyes visitors will also be able to discover just how much there is to the inspiring world of Elizabeth Gaskell.
Created in partnership with The Writing Squad and Manchester City of Literature. Please check the library opening times before planning your visit.

Call for Papers: "American Shorts"
2026-06-10
CFP: “American Shorts” University of Lisbon, Portugal, October 29-31, 2026

Conference: 8th Annual ENSFR Conference at the University of Artois
2026-06-10 - 2026-06-12 | University of Artois, Arras, France
We are excited to announce a Save The Date for the 8th Annual ENSFR Conference. The conference will be held at the University of Artois (Northern France) on the 10-12th of June 2026. The title of the conference is: “In Different Shapes: the short story and its modes of circulation in magazines and newspapers.”
Following the ideas initiated at the Leuven conference in 2017 on the short story, its contexts and co-texts, the 2026 ENSFR conference will be devoted to short forms appearing in magazines and newspapers.
The conference will consider any story printed in such media but also stories that were solely published in magazines and newspapers (as opposed to stories that were later collected in book form), adapted into film or into longer works of fiction (as is often the case with The New Yorker). Panelists may also work on any short form to be found in magazines (commercials, letters to the editor, notes…) as well as illustrated stories—the illustrations providing yet another short story from to explore.
Certain magazines target a specific audience, and it could be stimulating to reflect upon writers’ ability to please (at least on the surface) literary editors. In the nineteenth century, stories were often referred to as “articles,” “tales” or “sketches”—how does this influence our understanding of the text? What are the differences between stories printed in magazines and those printed in newspapers?
The conference will give us an opportunity to discuss magazine publication with several authors and see how magazine and newspaper publication has evolved since its earliest forms.

Competition Deadline: V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize
2026-06-22
From the competition website:

The RSL V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize seeks to find the best unpublished short story of the year.
The 2027 V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize is now open for entry until Monday 22 June at 5pm. Please ensure you have read and understood the V.S. Pritchett Prize Eligibility and Guidelines prior to entering.

Enter here.
