Author: Willesden Herald

Danielle McLaughlin takes The Times/ Audible Short Story Award 2019

“The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award is the richest prize for a single short story in the English language, worth £30,000 to the winner.”

Danielle McLaughlin
Danielle McLaughlin

London, September 12: Congratulations to Danielle McLaughlin, whose short story collection Dinosaurs on Other Planets is the calling card of a world-class young writer.

We’re well chuffed here because Danielle won the Willesden Herald prize in 2013, as chosen that year by David Means, for “Holidaying with the Megarrys” (New Short Stories 7.)

Earlier this year, we reported on Danielle McLaughlin receiving a Windham-Campbell award for 2019. On a roll!

The BBC National Short Story Award 2019 – Finalists

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The shortlist is:

  • ‘The Children’ by Lucy Caldwell
  • ‘Ghillie’s Mum’ by Lynda Clark
  • ‘Silver Fish in the Midnight Sea’ by Jacqueline Crooks
  • ‘My Beautiful Millennial’ by Tamsin Grey
  • ‘The Invisible’ by Jo Lloyd

The result will be announced on Radio 4 “Front Row” on October 1st.

Ref: Radio 4 British National Short Story Award

New Yorker: Louise Erdrich reads her short story “The Stone”

DonErdrich at the 2015 National Book Festival.‘t forget the new Twitter version provides a facility to “bookmark” tweets for later. This can help if you haven’t got time to read just now or have used up all your “free views” till next month. Direct link to text and reading: The Stone by Louise Erdrich.

Photo: “Author Louise Erdrich reading at the 2015 National Book Festival. Erdrich won the 2012 National Book Award for Fiction for her novel The Round House.” (Wikipedia)

Maggie Gee’s comments on New Short Stories 5 (video)

Frankly, we’re sharing some past glories here to encourage writers to submit and entrust us with their short stories for New Short Stories 11. (Submit)

Distinguished author Maggie Gee was the judge for the Willesden international short story prize in 2011. We were honoured when she came to our results event in the Willesden library centre events studio to announce her verdict. Maggie was also generous with her comments, referring to each of the stories in turn before revealing the winner.

And if you’ve reached the end of that video and want to see what happened next, here’s the answer. The charming Mary O’Shea, all the way from Cork for the night, graciously accepts her first prize award.

“Out of Season” by Mary O’Shea is included in Willesden Herald: New Short Stories 5. Maggie Gee’s latest novel is “Blood” (Amazon.co.uk, Waterstones etc.).

 

Adverts of a literary, bookish or academic nature

Would any organisations out there like to help fund our current project Willesden Herald: New Short Stories 11? We are open to a limited number of full page adverts of a literary, bookish or academic nature. Enquiries to editor@willesdenherald.com. Willesden Herald and Pretend Genius Press are non-profit, volunteer-based ventures. We receive no public or other official funding.

We’re setting a limit of three advertising pages in the book. Rates: Page in front £150, back £125. In return we will include a permanent “supported by” icon and link of your choice on this website and in book publicity. Technical constraints: Monochrome, space available 90 x 170 mm, after allowing for page margins.

“Willesden Herald: New Short Stories 11” will be published simultaneously in the US and UK in early 2020 and will be available from the main online booksellers by print on demand. We can also do print runs on favourable terms when bulk orders are requested.

The printers we use have production and distribution facilities both in the US and in the UK. All of our back issues remain available, which means your adverts are likely to be in circulation for a number of years.

Accepting submissions, more required

Update 30 August 2019: So far we have selected and confirmed three out of 88. The closing date is 30 September but as we’re “optioning” as we go, it’s advisable not to delay sending your submissions. The contributors already span oceans both geographically and in theme and styles. There is no reading fee. Each writer receives two copies of the book when it’s published.

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