Happy National Flash-Fiction Day 2015!

It's all happening, on this Day of Flash.

Well, here it finally as. After months of frenetic preparation the day has arrived. This is the 4th National Flash-Fiction Day. The 1st happened in 2012 and featured a book, an online journal, and a host of events. Since then, it;s got bigger and better and more and more people have been involved. Next year will be our 5th, so we need to think of something special to mark the occasion, but for now, here's your run down of what's happening today.

First, as soon as you've read this why not head over to our Facebook page or our Twitter feed to check out the stories coming thick and fast from the FlashFlood journal? There is one every 10 minutes for the whole day, a total of 144 fabulous stories.

And if you're rather write than read, then The Write-In is open once again, for one day only. So get scribbling!

If that's not enough, our new anthology, Landmarks, is now available in paperback from Amazon for a special NFFD price of just £5.99 (usually £7.99). It's also available on Kindle for just 99p. 

In addition, you can get the following Kindle books FREE or DISCOUNTED for today!
(Please check the price before purchasing, Amazon's offers system doesn't always play well, and we wouldn't want you to pay when you don't have to!)

NFFD Anthologies:
2014 - Eating My Words
2013 - Scraps
2012 - Jawbreakers

Quick Change by Debbie Young.
Mr & Mrs Flash by Calum & Kath Kerr
28 Far Cries by Marc Nash
Rapture and what comes after by Virginia Moffatt
The Book of Small Changes by Tim Stevenson
31 by Calum Kerr
Apocalypse by Calum Kerr

If that wasn't enough, there are actual real events happening all over the place! There are too many to mention here, so go to our Events Calendar to see what's happening, and maybe pop along to something near you, or take part in one of the online events.

I will be attending the FREE workshop, FREE Foyles reading and (sadly not free) drinks events in Bristol again this year. If you can, why not come along and say 'Hi'. I will be weighed down by copies of Landmarks, so you can always pick up yours there.

I'd like to take this chance to say a quick thank you to the judges from our Competition: Cathy Bryant, Cathy Lennon, Angela Readman, Kevlin Henney, Tim Stevenson and Jon Pinnock; Angi Holden for co-editing the anthology; Amy Mackelden, Tino Prinzi and Tim Stevenson for all their behind-the-scenes work; my co-editors of FlashFlood: Susi, Shirley, Annette, Cassandra, Susan and Caroline. And to everyone else who has pitched in, organised an event, written a story, retweeted a bit of news, or whatever. And special thanks to Kath, my wife, for putting up with all the tantrums it takes me to get this day organised.

You are all stars, fairies, unicorns, or otherwise mythical beasts of your choice.
Thank you!

Whatever you're doing today, I hope you have a wonderful time. National Flash-Fiction is such a celebration of the short short story, and it's all for you.

Thank you.
Calum Kerr
Director
National Flash-Fiction Day 

Did you hear that?

Like sleigh bells in the distance on Christmas Eve, something special is approaching...

Presenting... Landmarks.

Our 2015 anthology now has a name and a face.

It is called Landmarks,and we owe our thanks to Ian Shine for letting us borrow the name.

National Flash-Fiction Day Anthology 2015

Well, it's been a tortuous job to winnow the 200+ submission down to our selection, but Angi Holden and myself have finally managed it. And so we are pleased to announce that the stories in this years anthology will be as follows:

A Curious State of Affairs  by  Ingrid Jendrzejewski

A Secret Weight  by  KM Elkes

Bad Geography  by  James Coates

Colouring In  by  Shirley Golden

Coming Back to Primorsk  by  Anna Nazarova-Evans

Countdown  by  Susan Howe

Devil's Mountain  by  Joanna Campbell

Dinner and Geography  by  Keith Gillison

Disputed Zone  by  Barbara Leahy

Double Geography  by  Jane Cooper

Forty Seconds  by  Katie Stevens

How The Earth Began  by    Jenny Woodhouse

Her geography    by  Rob Walton

Holiday Photograph  by  Else Fitzgerald

I Am Maps*  by  H Anthony Hildebrand

Keeping in touch  by  Amanda Quinn

Landmarks  by  Ian Shine

London  by  Tracey Upchurch

Love  by  Nik Perring

North  by   Michelle Elvy

On Location  by  Jon Volkmer

On the Beach  by  Kate Mahony

Pen Y Fan  by  Susan Carey (Angela Williams)

Petty Larceny at the Grocery  by  Beverly C. Lucey

Postcards  by  Mike Scott Thomson

Re:Help  by  Sandra Kohls

Saharan Shades  by  Santino Prinzi

Spinning the Bottle  by  Timothy Mark Roberts

Sweet Gestures  by  Chris Stanley

The Beautiful Game  by  Sonya Oldwin

The Blue House  by  Cath Barton

The Gambler  by  Richard Holt

The Next Island  by  Jamie Hubner

The Owner  by  Bart Van Goethem

The Psychiatrist's Shoe  by  Nod Ghosh

Toy Soldier  by  Pauline Masurel

Tunnels  by  Marie Gethins

Tunnels  by  Isobel Victoria Newham (Vicky)

Useless Without The Other Half  by  Vanessa Savage

Wall Map  by  Emeline Morin

Welcome to All Souls’ Park  by  Gemma Govier

Who Can Hear The Screaming  by  Kirsten Anne McKenzie

Would It Kill You to Smile, Blanca Gomez?  by  Nuala Ní Chonchúir

You Promised  by  Cath Bore

Love in Different Time Zones  by  Jane Roberts

A Place in Time   by  Ruth Doris

Five Travellers in a Small Ford   by  James Norcliffe

Scattered (After Mike Blow's Aeolus)   by  Emily Koch

The Somewhere Road  by  Alex Reece Abbott

Third Shadow  by  Tim Stevenson

Hilary Is the Winters of Keith's Discontent  by  Kevlin

We Endure  by  Cathy Lennon

How Can I Get You to Dance?  by  Angela Readman

Ultima Thule  by  Jonathan Pinnock

Travels in Ink  by  Angi Holden

Your Body Is Terrain They Can Map Now (Not That That Helps You, Much)  by  Amy Mackelden

A Face in the Crowd  by  Calum Kerr

Saddle Stitch  by  Michelle Keefe

I am East  by  Sarah Hilary

Fingers Crossed  by  SJI Holliday

Fable  by  Oli Morris

With the winning and commended titles from the Micro-Fiction Competition:

Fly  by  Rob Walton

i want someone who loves me so much they don't care about grammar  by  Laura Tansley

A Weekend Away  by  Diane Simmons

The Pacifist  by  Nick Triplow

Marks and Sparks  by  Ian Shine

Spreading The Chaos  by  Mark Newman

A History Of Ants In The Sugar Bowl  by  Julie Sawyer

Maturity  by  Jude Higgins

Stiff  by  Joanna Campbell

And A Bottle Of Rum  by  Garreth Wilcock

Congratulations to all who made it in. Commiserations to those who were unsuccessful. 

We are currently working on the title and the cover, and those will be announced as soon as can be!

Thanks to all who took part, to Angi for helping to select the stories, and to Amy and Tino for their amazing work.

More soon...

Calum Kerr

Director of NFFD

NFFD Micro-Fiction Competition Winners!

Well, the judges have sweated and grumbled, but in the end we managed to get them to make a decision, and we're pleased to announce the winning 10 stories from this year's over-300 entries to the Micro-Fiction competition.

The only stipulation was that the story should be 100 words or fewer and I think you'll be amazed at what they achieved.

The top three will win packages of books and cash, and all ten will appear in this year's anthology, which will be available for National Flash-Fiction Day on 27th June.

Congratulations and thanks to all who entered for making the judges' jobs so hard, and extra congratulations to our winners!

FIRST PRIZE

Fly

by Rob Walton

I’m rushing to push my lunch box in to my bag when I see these two who must be flying a kite on the green triangle outside the school because she’s holding a length of string, showing him how to thread it through his fingers, but then I realise she’s teaching fly fishing with no river for miles and the nearest polluted anyway and I look again, and she’s reading him Ted Hughes and he’s hanging on every word as he casts better than anyone I’ve ever seen, and we all realise that rivers are just a bonus extra.

SECOND PRIZE

I want someone who wants me so much they don’t care about grammar 

by Laura Tansley

On a canker of a concrete wall in a ground-up grey car park the colour of chewed gum a lover paints in lower case ‘your nicer than my wife’ above the butt bumper of a blue Fiesta. Each morning it waggles its way out of the space like a preening duck presenting. And when the bay is empty I lie on the earth to feel the heat of tires, the smoked breath of exhaust fumes and high-humidity whispers.

THIRD PRIZE

A Weekend Away 

by Diane Simmons

When I struggled off the train, you laughed, ‘You’ve brought rather a lot.’

In formal hall, I copied how others ate, tried not to grimace at the musty wine. At the theatre, you laughed when an actor spat into the audience. I tried to look like I thought it funny.

I tried to enjoy the beer you bought me in Trinity College bar, tried to like your boisterous friends, was pleased when one asked, ‘What are you reading?’

I didn’t understand why everyone laughed when I replied, ‘The new Ian Rankin.’

But when you laughed, I understood you.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Marks and Sparks 

by Ian Shine

Her online dating profile said she was into M&S, so I proposed we meet up at our local shopping centre. I've been helping her with her dyslexia for a few months now, and she's been giving me the time of my life.

The Pacifist 

by Nick Triplow

Old man Wilson, he calls himself a pacifist. Exchanges opinions and anecdotes for drinks at the Danny’s Bar: a cut price raconteur preaching non-violence. Last night I discovered he carried a loaded .38 in the pocket of his reefer. I said, ‘How d’you square it, this turn the other cheek shit, with the thirty-eight?’

He boot-heeled his cigarette, gave a smile that showed gaps where teeth used to be. ‘Wouldn’t feel right bein’ a pacifist without it.’

"But— "

He pulled it, cocked it and rested the business end against my forehead. ‘See son, how peaceful that makes you feel?’

A History of Ants in the Sugar Bowl 

by Julie Sawyer

“Little blighters are back again” Stan said. “Look” he added, finger stabbing the sugar bowl. Margo looked. “This‘ll teach ‘em” Stan muttered, pouring boiling water from the kettle into the frosted glass, grunting with satisfaction as a dozen or so agonised black forms caught mid-syrup. Margo imagined she could hear their tiny screams. “You’ll have to ant powder the place again” she said. Stan glared at the offending bowl and harrumphed, before stomping out to the shed. Touching the recently emptied matchbox in her pocket, Margo watched him go; knowing that she now had a whole afternoon to herself.  

And A Bottle of Rum 

by Garreth Wilcock

"Then the Pirate Queen sliced my ribs with her cutlass and I fell to the deck as she left."

He lifted his gown to show the gruesome scar to his niece.

"So how did you get off your ship and into Papworth Hospital?"

"Glad you asked. Mermaids towed my ship to shore, and my parrot stole a mobile and called 999."

"Daddy says you had a double lung transplant, and you might be confused. Because of morphine."

Morphine, yes, but not confused. Just not ready to tell a child that he was breathing with treasure from a dead man's chest.

Spreading the Chaos 

by Mark Newman

He is taking groceries into the house, an obedient little puppy; his wife directing him as if this is something that needs supervision.

Out the window she yells 'oi, shit brains. I've had the abortion, so screw you, have it all your way'.

He looks on with a bemused expression, a lost little boy, unsure which way to turn. His wife punches him on the shoulder; still he holds her gaze.

She winds the window up; gives a mock salute and drives away.

She has never seen this man before. This is just something she does; spreading the chaos.

Maturity 

by Jude Higgins

I'll avoid sitting on cold flag stones, swimming on a full stomach, going out with wet hair, bringing lilacs into the house or trusting men whose eyebrows meet in the middle.

I'll wear a dress – sometimes heels, attend my degree ceremonies, get a proper job, stay married, have babies, cook roast dinners, celebrate Christmas, visit relatives, hold family gatherings, stop causing arguments. Be kind.

I'll do what I want, even if my mother wants it too.

Even if it makes me happy.

Stiff 

by Joanna Campbell

When our Rose wouldn't put her arms in the sleeves of her best frock, Mam wept. Not just because of wanting Rose beautiful, but on account of the photographer charging by the minute.

“We’re up to a week’s housekeeping already,” Mam hissed, pinching Rose’s cheeks to raise a bloom.

I imagined four loaves, three quarts of milk and a string of prime sausage floating out the window.

Rose were right starchy-stiff. I couldn't twist her arm.

So I crouched behind and pushed my arms through her sleeves, lacing my fingers, just how our Mam wanted the corpse to look.

Micro-Fiction Competition 2015 - Longlist

Hello everyone,

Well, the judges have been doing their thing, and we are close to being able to announce our top 10 and our winner!

But just to get you in the mood, here is our longlist of 25. I will only post the titles at the moment, but you'll know who you are.

Final announcement of the top ten will be out soon.

Well done to everyone who entered. A hard job for the judges as ever.


Longlist:

A Giant Emerges
A History Of Ants In The Sugar Bowl
A Weekend Away
And A Bottle Of Rum
Another's
At the Seams
Cosmic Latte
Fly
Home Maintenance
I want someone who wants me so much they don’t care about grammar
Instructions for Dreaming of the Dead
Justified Violence
Letters
Marks and Sparks
Maturity
Night Watch
Ramon The Killer
Sisters
Spreading the Chaos
Staying At Grandma’s
Stiff
The City in Winter
The Mark of the Finger
The Pacifist
Tinted