Here’s a handy round up of recent/imminent happenings related to all things Novella-in-Flash. In the list below, look out for new book discussion events, workshops, and publications, for July 2023 and onwards:
(1) The “NIFTY Book Club” discussing novellas-in-flash, which was launched a few months back by Matt Kendrick, seems to be thriving nicely. It’s about to continue with a new 6-month series, starting in July, and for this series Laura Besley will be the host. The next meeting (two dates to choose from: 16th or 17th July) will be a discussion of Evan S. Connell’s wonderful book Mrs Bridge, one of the very first novellas-in-flash, and through its 117 brief episodes, one of the very best examples of the form at its most novel-like. It was published in 1959, over 50 years before the novella-in-flash label itself was established. You can find out more details about the NIFTY Book Club series here: https://www.mattkendrick.co.uk/nifty-book-club
(2) Around the same time, the annual Flash Fiction Festival (14th-16th July) will be happening in Bristol, in the SouthWest of the UK, and there will be plenty of focus there on the novella-in-flash, with lots of recently published novellas for sale at the festival bookshop, plenty of published NIF authors you can talk to among the festival attendees, and a workshop on Sunday 16th (11.00 am – 12.30 pm) on generating ideas for a Historical Novella-in-Flash: ‘A Blast from the Past!’ Find out more here: https://www.flashfictionfestival.com/
(3) On 29th July OR 13th August (either date) you can attend an online novella-in-flash workshop with author and teacher Alison Woodhouse through The Crow Collective: ‘Mapping the Stars: Charting Novellas-in-Flash’. Alison is the author of the brilliant novella-in-flash The House on the Corner (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2020). More details about this workshop here: https://crowcollectiveworkshops.com/2021/11/22/novella/
(4) Michael Loveday’s NIF craft guide Unlocking the Novella-in-Flash: from Blank Page to Finished Manuscript (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2022) has just been announced as one of three Finalists in the Writing/Publishing category of the International Book Awards 2023. This follows on from its recognition in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2023 (Silver Medal Award for Writing/Publishing), the National Indie Excellence Awards 2023 (Finalist) and the Next Generation Book Awards 2023 (Finalist). If you’re interested in writing a novella-in-flash, you can find out more about this craft guide here: https://www.adhocfiction.com/2022/04/unlocking-the-novella-in-flash-michael-loveday/
(5) A number of new Novella-in-Flash publications have made their way into the world in recent weeks, or been announced as imminently arriving. Here are just some of the recent releases and forthcoming books/chapbooks, based on announcements on social media: ‘Unpasteurized’ by Lisa Jervis Biggar (Alien Buddha Press, 2023), ‘Summer 1969’ by Sheree Shatsky (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2023), ‘Throw a Seven’ by Nod Gosh (Reflex Press, 2023), ‘The Bones of the Story’, by Sandra Arnold (Impspired, 2023), ‘Chasing the Dragon’ by Kathy Hoyle (Alien Buddha Press, 2023), ‘Essence’ by Christopher M Drew, and ‘The Twisted Wheel’ by David Swann (both Ad Hoc Fiction, 2023). And there will have been other recent novella-in-flash publications that I’ve accidentally neglected in making this list. These are just the ones most recently mentioned in the Novella-in-Flash Facebook group, which you can find out more about in (7) below…
(6) Awards success! Three novellas-in-flash were recently shortlisted for Best Novella in the 2023 Saboteur Awards in the UK: ‘The Clothes Make the Man’ by Finnian Burnett, ‘All Their Favourite Stories’ by Slawka G. Scarso, and ‘Gull Shit Alley and Other Roads to Hell’ by Jupiter Jones (all published by Ad Hoc Fiction, which was also shortlisted for Most Innovative Publisher in the same awards).
And finally…
(7) The novella-in-flash Facebook community continues to thrive, and has recently passed the 400-mark for its number of participants. It’s open to anyone interested to discover more about the novella-in-flash, and you are welcome to join via the following link, where you’ll find a group of enthusiastic readers and writers all keen to support this unique literary form and share news and information. The group is a great place for finding out about new publishing opportunities for NIFs that you’re keen to get out into the world, new reading events, or new workshop offerings and mentoring from novella-in-flash teachers. So do join us!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/642008596648020
I think that’s it for now! Lots going on, and lots more novella-in-flash news to look forward to in the months ahead…
This news round up is part of a regular blogpost series containing writing prompts, novella-in-flash book reviews, workshop/mentoring offers, and other announcements related to all things novella-in-flash.
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The Novella-in-Flash 