August 2018

I’m very pleased to say that Travelling in the Dark has been longlisted for this year’s Not the Booker Prize. Voting for the short list closes on Monday 6 August at 23.59pm. Find out how to cast your vote. The lucky winner receives this lovely mug. 

For our last event of the summer, Cornish Short Stories will take part in the Cornish Tales evening at Royal Cornwall Museum on Saturday 4 August, 6 to 7.30pm. Find out more and book tickets here. £5 for adults; children free. 

The first edition of Cornish Short Stories: A Collection of Contemporary Cornish Writing has sold out and the reprint is underway.

Congratulations to live literature event Telltales, which celebrated its 10th birthday last night. There were balloons, glasses of pink champagne and, most importantly, wonderful words read by their writers to a happy audience.

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July 2018

I’m absolutely delighted that Travelling in the Dark will be launched at the UK’s oldest book store, Hatchards Piccadilly, on 12 July at 6.30pm. Four of the authors from the Fairlight Moderns series will be reading and signing books along with the wonderful team from Fairlight Books, our families and friends. Piccadilly was the first place I worked after arriving in London twenty-five years ago so I am thrilled to be returning there for this special occasion.

As I began writing Travelling in the Dark over six years ago, the publication of this book is the culmination of a long journey. My book has found an excellent home with the creative, thoughtful and inspirational new publisher Fairlight Books. I greatly admire their enthusiasm and determination in championing literary fiction and the beautiful but often over-looked form of the novella.

You can find out more in this interview on the Fairlight Books website.

There are also some new reviews and ratings up on Goodreads.

Travelling in the Dark is available from all good bookshops and online. There are a variety of ways to order which you see on the publisher’s book page here.

 

We are also out and about at some festivals with Cornish Short Stories this month. First of all with reading and discussion in Paper Wings at Penzance Litfest on Saturday 7 July at The Acorn.

And then we’ll be back with more readings at the truly unique gathering that is Port Eliot Festival on Friday 27 July at 1.45pm and Saturday 28 July at 2pm in The Tiddy Tent.

Please note that both these events are ticketed.

June 2018

June is a busy month for Cornish Short Stories. We will be at the Book Shop, Liskeard at 2pm on Saturday 9 June – readings by Elaine Ruth White, Emma Staughton and Alan Robinson. Free event.

On 14 June at 6.30pm we’ll be at Falmouth Library for more readings. Also free but please book a ticket here 

We’ll round off the month at Waterstones, Truro from 7 to 9pm with a demonstration by illustrator Angela Annesley, discussion with cover artist Vita Sleigh and readings from the collection. £3.00.

Finally, some wonderful news: the launch of Travelling in the Dark will take place at Hatchard’s Piccadilly on 12 July. More details to follow…

May 2018

Not long now until the Cornish Short Stories book launch on Saturday 19 May from 6pm onwards at the Falmouth Bookseller, Church St, Falmouth. Everyone welcome.

Cornish Short Stories has been invited to join in with a series of exciting short story events at the Charles Causley Festival in Launceston on 1 June 2018.  The Word Factory founder Cathy Galvin has arranged a day of activities aimed at inspiring new work in the company of Cornwall’s writers, editors and publishers.

Anyone interested in finding new ways of generating ideas will love Adam Marek’s  masterclass -The Never-ending Idea Machine – from 2-5pm. Places are limited. Adam is a wonderful, empathetic teacher as well as one of the leading young writers in the UK. His class is aimed at exploring how to generate ideas for stories. It’s suited to anyone who simply wants to stimulate their imagination – you don’t have to be a short story writer!

Earlier in the day, starting at 10.30 am, Cathy and I are running a short story reading club in the town – like a book club except you only have to have read one gripping story in advance! The club is free – simply drop a note to Cathy at cathygalvin1@gmail.com and she can send you the story everyone will be reading. If people enjoy it, we may organise some more. This will be a very relaxed, informal event.

And from 6.30pm -8pm, Cathy will host Adam, Luke, brilliant short story writer Tom Vowler and me at a Word Factory salon in an evening of conversation about the short story – and particularly the short story in Cornwall.

All the events are being held at Jericho’s Kitchen, 4 Northgate St, Launceston:

And all booking details can be found here

April 2018

Cornish Short Stories: A Collection of Contemporary Writing was officially published on 2 April with books due in shops and pre-orders to be dispatched on 9 April. It’s wonderful to see the culmination of so much work find its way out into the world.

The image on the left is one of four beautiful woodcut illustrations by artist Angela Annesley included amongst work by nineteen Cornish writers including Tom Vowler, Katherine Stansfield, Cathy Galvin, Rob Magnuson Smith and many more new and established voices.

You can find out more on the Cornish Short Stories website and order copies from your local bookseller or online.

An unexpected Easter gift was a proof copy of my novella, Travelling in the Dark, from Fairlight Books. It is everything I could have hoped for – a gorgeous design, creamy paper and a surprising substance given it is a novella.  Fairlight Books will be at the London Book Fair from 10-12 April in Hall 6, Stand 6F 100, so do stop by and say hello if you are passing.

February/March 2018

I am absolutely delighted to share some excellent news. My novella, Travelling in the Dark, will be published on 11 July 2018.

My publisher, Fairlight Books in Oxford, are keen to promote literary fiction and also want their books to look beautiful. This is already apparent in the care and attention they have given my manuscript and in the gorgeous cover design.

A recent report by the Arts Council set out the very real threats facing literary fiction. In these dark days for the genre, the energy and enthusiasm of Fairlight’s approach has been an inspiration to me.

Travelling in the Dark is one a series of five novellas: the others are Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn, There Are Things I Know by Karen B Golightly, Inside the Bone Box by Anthony Ferner and The Driveway has Two Sides by Sara Marchant. Find out more here

Fairlight Books are open for submissions of literary fiction. You can find further details here. In keeping with their wish to treat all writers who takes the time to submit to them in a fair and open manner, they have a Submissions Code of Practice.

Over the next weeks and months, I’d be posting regularly about this book’s journey to publication and the intriguing literary form known as the novella.

December 2017

I’m pleased to say I’ll be announcing some very exciting news about a new publication in the New Year…

One lovely thing I am able to share with you now is the cover of Cornish Short Stories: A Collection of Contemporary Cornish Writing. This bold design, by the very talented young illustrator Vita Sleigh, is full of the wild energy we see around us in Cornwall in every season. Felicity and I both love it, and we are delighted that The History Press feel the same way.

It has been a very busy and productive year for me, and I can’t wait to see many hours of past and current work become beautiful books in 2018. In 2017, I’ve had visitors to this site from  48 countries in all parts of the world – thank you to everyone who has taken the time to stop by.