Wednesday 16 May 2012

NATIONAL FLASH FICTION DAY!







Happy First-Ever National Flash Fiction Day!
The story goes like this. A couple of years back I was due to give a talk at the NAWE conference, on flash fiction writing. It struck me that so many of the writing teachers there were no longer writing - because of pressures of work, so I decided to make my session a writing one - an hour or so of returning to our creative roots. 
It went down very well. I used the opening like of ‘Plaits’ one of Tania Hershman’s flashes, as a prompt, for one exercise - and the results were simply amazing.  Several read out their flashes - including a blond bloke sitting by the window.  Amazing stuff. At the end, this blond bloke came up to me to say ta, and he was almost shaking - ‘I havent written for almost ten years..’
That was Calum Kerr. Nuff said! 
Here he is - a man of extraordinary creative energy, who has among other things, and whilst working at his day job...produced '31' a book of flashes  done an amazing flash a day for a year in Flash 365,  and whose work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4... but also, who loves this thing so much he decided to have a liitle celebration, and called it National Flash Fiction Day.   
It kind of caught on! Seems to have grown a bit, with events not only in his home town, but all across the UK, and in Ireland, and even as far afield as New Zealand! 

Special Pop-up Journal Flash Flood is here! 
 
Then there's JAWBREAKERS!  The first ever National Flash Fiction Day Anthology, and contributors include Ian Rankin and Ali Smith, Tania Hershman and Dvid Gaffney - and moi, natch! The full running order looks like this:

Ali Smith
Jen Campbell
Dan Powell
Laura Wilkinson
Rupan Malakin
Nathan Good
Rin Simpson
Bob Jacobs
Ian Rankin
Mark Sheerin
Nigel McLoughlin
Carrie Etter
L.A. Craig
Kylie Grant
Sal Page
Susan F. Giles
Eli Goldstone
David R. Morgan
Nicholas Murray
Nick Garrard
Jay Barnett
David Gilbert
Simon Thirsk
Sue Walker-Stokes
Erinna Mettler
Jessica Patient
Brian George
Trevor Byrne
Sally Zigmond
Stunning book! Available from NFFD  website - all the links are up there, 

2 comments:

  1. Okay. Just bought the book. Yay! And even more than that, I think I might actually start writing some of these. I don't know why I haven't yet, though I've been thinking about it. Watch out...here I go.... xo

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  2. Great stuff on both counts - think 'prose poem' too - such a joy, these little gems, when they come right.

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