Thursday 20th December; 5.30pm to 7pm,
CCA Clubroom:
‘Getting Started’ – Generating Short Story Ideas, with Allen Ashley
London author Allen Ashley is a leading editor of the independent press and one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary fiction. He is the author or editor of nine published books to date. In 2006, he won the British Fantasy Society award for “Best Anthology” as editor of The Elastic Book Of Numbers (Elastic Press, 2005). A specialist in short form, he was the sole judge for the British Fantasy Society Short Story Competition in 2012. His most recent book is as editor of Where Are We Going? (Eibonvale Press, 2012) – an anthology of stories about “Journeys. On Earth. No quests.”
Allen is an experienced tutor and operates several regular literary groups, including Clockhouse London Writers. In this workshop, Allen will showcase a range of methods to commence on short stories and help improve – and make publishable – your writing. Allen’s workshops are always task-based and purposeful, so expect to be fully occupied throughout! Bring a pen, paper, something to lean on, plus your imagination.
Tickets: £6 (£3 for SWC members and concessions).
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Thursday 20th December; 7pm,
CCA Clubroom:
‘Launching into the Slipstream’ with Douglas Thompson
Douglas Thompson’s short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, most recently Ambit, Postscripts, and New Writing Scotland. He won the Grolsch/Herald Question of Style Award in 1989, and second prize in the Neil Gunn Writing Competition in 2007. His first book, Ultrameta, was published by Eibonvale Press in August 2009, nominated for the Edge Hill Prize, and shortlisted for the BFS Best Newcomer Award. His critically acclaimed second novel, Sylvow, was published in autumn 2010 (also from Eibonvale). A third novel, Apoidea, was released from The Exaggerated Press in 2011, a fourth, Mechagnosis, from Dog Horn, and a fifth, Entanglement, from Elsewhen Press in autumn 2012. In 2014, The Rhymer, The Brahan Seer, and Volwys & Other Stories, were published by Elsewhen Press, Acair Books, and Dog Horn respectively.
See http://douglasthompson.wordpress.com/.
Douglas will be launching and reading from his fourth and fifth novels – Mechagnosis and Entanglement (published by Dog Horn and Elsewhen Press). He will be introduced by editor and ‘slipstream guru’ Allen Ashley, in the form of a talk about what exactly ‘slipstream’ fiction is and why its special blend of fantastical and realistic elements make it the perfect contemporary fiction for the 21st century. Copies of the author’s books will be available for purchase and signing.
This is a free event, open to all.
