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In conversation with Comma Short Story Course alumnus Molly Aitken

Commas’ renowned short story course will land in Leeds this April. Let’s catch up with the past course participant to see what the fuss is about.   Comma Press is a small indie publisher based in Manchester. As well as publishing short stories and fiction in translation, Comma have grown their writer development opportunities, from the National Creative Writing Industry Day to Manchester in Translation. Their short story courses are […]

Leeds Lit Fest is Back! Join us from Saturday 26th Feb to Sunday 6th March

Back for a 4th year, Leeds Lit Fest celebrates Leeds’ thriving literature community, taking place from Saturday 26th Feb to Sunday 6th March, with local writers, performers and artists showcasing their talents across Leeds in 50 extraordinary events. The programme has something for everyone with comedy, cabaret, film screenings, art exhibitions, theatre performance, and creative workshops sitting alongside more traditional literary talks, book readings and poetry events for book lovers. This year’s […]

A Further 6 Yorkshire Writers Join The Northern Short Story Festival Academy 2022

The Northern Short Story Festival Academy is delighted to announce that a further 6 promising Yorkshire writers are to join its now well-established Academy programme in 2022. Since its inception in 2018 the Academy has been supporting and championing writers in Yorkshire, helping them to hone their craft through monthly workshops where they have the chance to read and critique each other’s short stories. The academicians work under the expert […]

Interview with Dead Relatives author Lucie McKnight Hardy

Lucie McKnight Hardy is a writer of novels and short stories. She has lived in Wales, Liverpool, Cardiff, Zurich and Bradford and is now based in Herefordshire with her family. McKnight Hardy spent her childhood in West Wales and is a Welsh Speaker. Rural Wales also formed the setting of her first novel Water Shall Refuse Them which was published in 2019 by Dead Ink. Set during the summer heatwave […]

4 fantastic events for you in partnership with our friends at Comma Press

We’ve got 4 fantastic events for you in partnership with our friends at Comma Press and supported by Truman Books. All online on Saturday 16th Oct. SOLD OUT. A two-hour short story and flash fiction writing workshop with author Divya Ghelani. £10. SOLD OUT. Our 2021 Academy Showcase, with guest author Lucie McKnight Hardy, hosted by Anna Chilvers. Free The launch of Comma’s latest Reading the City anthology, The Book […]

Our Academy is now open for your applications!

Applications for the Northern Short Story Academy 2021/2022 are now OPEN! From Monday 23 August – Thursday 30 September. The Academy is supported by arts@Leeds, part of Leeds City Council, and The Walter Swan Trust. Do you want to take your writing to the next level? This is a rare development opportunity for short story writers in the Yorkshire region. Places on the scheme will be limited. For details on how to […]

Meet Our Academicians: Hannah Walton-Hughes

Every day this week, in advance of opening our submission window for 2021/22 we are profiling our 6 Academicians of 2020/2021. Meet Hannah Walton-Hughes. I am nineteen, and have lived in York for most of my life. I attended The Mount School for the entirety of my Secondary education. I have loved writing and reading since I was very young; my all-time favourite author is Agatha Christie, and she strongly […]

Meet Our Academicians: Rob Schofield

Every day this week, in advance of opening our submission window for 2021/22 we are profiling our 6 Academicians of 2020/2021. Meet Rob Schofield. I have been writing full time since receiving an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Exeter in 2017. My story The Latest Draft of Me was highly commended by the judges of the Manchester Fiction Prize and another, Late Capitalism, appeared in The Blue […]

Meet Our Academicians: S.K. Perry

Every day this week, in advance of opening our submission window for 2021/22, we are profiling our 6 Academicians of 2020/2021. Meet S.K. Perry. I am the author of Let Me Be Like Water (Melville House), which was longlisted for the Ondaatje Prize, and selected for City Reads’ Big Read at the Brighton Festival. It is a lyric novel exploring grief in young adulthood, as well as food, sex, friendship, […]

Meet Our Academicians: Monica Dickson

Every day this week, in advance of opening our submission window for 2021/22 we are profiling our 6 Academicians of 2020/2021. Meet Monica Dickson. I write flash fiction and longer short stories. My work has been published in anthologies and lit mags such as Spelk, Dear Damsels, jmww, Anti-Heroin Chic, X-R-A-Y, and been broadcast on East Leeds FM. I’ve been longlisted for the Reflex Flash Fiction and Bath Flash Fiction awards, shortlisted for […]