Comma Press, in partnership with the Northern Short Story Festival, launch horror anthology, The New Abject.

We’re delighted to be working in partnership with our friends at Comma Press to launch their new horror anthology, The New Abject on Wednesday 4 November at 7.30pm via Zoom. Book your tickets here. Something has fallen away. We have lost something of ourselves, our history, what we once were. That something, if we are to face it, look it squarely in the eyes, terrifies us, makes us wretched. This […]

Academicians showcasing their work in 2019

Applications for The Northern Short Story Festival Academy 2020 are now open!

The Northern Short Story Festival Academy is delighted to announce that applications to its Academy are now open! Over the last 2 years, the Academy has supported and developed 12 short story writers living in Yorkshire and is now on the search for its next intake. Are you a short story writer who wants to take your writing to the next level? Then the Academy could be for you! The […]

SJ Bradley steps down as director of the Northern Short Story Festival

Dear Friends of the Northern Short Story Festival, After five years at the helm, I’ve recently made the decision to step down as director and programmer of the Northern Short Story Festival. In 2015, I saw the need for the North to have a festival celebrating this precise form. Our region was and is full of excellent shortform writers, and the excellent presses who publish them. My aim was always […]

Making Short Stories Pay with Dan Micklethwaite

In part one of ‘Making Short Stories Pay’, we asked Bluemoose Books Dan Micklethwaite, who writes short stories in a shed in West Yorkshire, and who has published over 50 pieces of published short fiction, including in international pro-paying markets, how an author might make a living from their craft. Part of the Northern Short Story’s online festival this year, part 2 of Making Short Stories Pay takes place on […]

Northern Short Story Festival celebrates its fifth birthday by heading online

This year, the Northern Short Story Festival celebrates its fifth birthday, and we want you to join us! For the first time ever, no matter where you are in the world, you will be able to come to the festival. That’s because this year, our Summer festival will take place online. So if you have a device and an internet connection, you’ll be able to access our programme of workshops, […]

#LeedsSaysThanks

  We are proud to be part of #LeedsSaysThanks: arts organisations saying thank you to those key workers who have risked their lives and given their best during this current pandemic to keep us all safe. As a voluntary run organisation, we at the Northern Short Story Festival know how much a person gives by going above and beyond. That’s why we’re offering any keyworker – whether they’re an NHS […]

Northern Short Story Festival in-person festival postponed until October

We are sorry to tell you that we have made the decision to postpone this summers’ Northern Short Story Festival. The Festival was due to take place on the 30th and 31st May, but due to the current Coronavirus outbreak, which we understand may continue on into the Summer, we have taken the decision to postpone. We will instead be offering a programme of virtual events the weekend of 30th […]

Jenn Ashworth & Andrew Michael Hurley: This Dreaming Isle, Sat March 7th 5.00

This Spring, The Northern Short Story Festival is proud to host two of Britain’s most unnerving short story writers, Jenn Ashworth and Andrew Michael Hurley, in Leeds’ most haunted surviving subscription library. Britain has a long history of folk tales, ghost stories and other uncanny fictions, and these literary ley lines are still shimmering beneath the surface of this green and pleasant land. Every few generations this strangeness crawls out […]

First Page Competition: Part of Leeds Lit Fest, Wed March 4th, 6.00

“Grab ‘em with your first sentence!” If your short story or novel demands to be heard, our First Page Competition could be the place for you. Your first page is crucial if you want to grab the attention of a time-strapped editor or agent. Whether you write horror, sci-fi, or literary fiction, make your opening snag our judges’ attention, and you could be our first ever First Page winner. Entrants […]

NoShoSto supports: Leeds Lit Fest 2020 Launch Party With Peepal Tree Press

Our friends at Leeds Lit Fest launch their 2020 programme on Wednesday February 5th, and they can’t wait to tell you all about it. Come along to the glorious Leeds Minster, find out what the Festival is all about and enjoy readings from some of Leeds’ very own Peepal Tree Press authors including Khadijah Ibrahiim, Monique Roffey, Seni Seneviratne, Jacob Ross, Roger Robinson and Malika Booker. The event will be […]