Read All About It!
In ‘Read All About It’, ANNABELLE CARVELL walks us through the steps of a news story writing exercise that’s sure to get your fingers itching.
Story: ‘Thirst’ by Rachel Cusk
STORY: We are delighted to bring you ‘Thirst’ from award-winning writer RACHEL CUSK. ‘Arriving in Venice the Gibsons – mother and daughter – were inexplicably startled by the omnipresence of water. Julia Gibson had concerned herself too much with the practicalities of the trip; her daughter Charlotte too little…’
What I Want as a Reader, Discovered via Keret
ANGELA READMAN shows us the ‘Yes Factor’ in Etgar Keret’s work: ‘…reading should give us a buzz too. I recommend Keret, but mostly I recommend getting in touch with small things in fiction that have the ‘Yes Factor’ for you…’
Author Profile: Etgar Keret
SHAWNA VESCO looks at the life and work of Israeli writer Etgar Keret ‘… Keret has a Kafkaesque absurdism that borders on grotesque and is steeped in irony.’
Lick My Words
In her essay, EVER DUNDAS introduces us to ‘The Erl-King’ by Angela Carter: ‘I haven’t come across another writer who makes me feel such joy when I read their work. She weaves a spell, pulling you into her dark, beautiful and perverse worlds.’
Screwtop Thompson by Magnus Mills
In his essay, EAMONN GRIFFIN looks at how Magnus Mills’ work is ‘characterised by its constraints: Englishness, routine, lack of information, anonymised male narrators, potentially comic situations with an unfolding atmosphere of unease…’
Finding Short Stories Within a Novel
In her essay on Carol Shields’ The Stone Diaries, RUBA ABUGHAIDA discusses the short story elements of this award-winning novel: ‘…a series of Russian nesting dolls, with the stories nesting within each other, yet each one still capable of standing on their own…’
2013 Feature Writing Competition
We are delighted to announce that the 2013 THRESHOLDS Feature Writing Competition is now open, with a first prize of £500 for the winning essay in each category – Author Profiles and We Recommend.
A Singular Collection
In his essay, MIKE SMITH discusses the short stories of James Joyce, from the collection Dubliners: ‘Instead of being led, or driven, by authorial enthusiasm this writing told of flawed individuals who failed to rise to traditional heroics…’
Short Story Masterclass… with Margaret Drabble
PODCAST: In the final instalment of our Short Story Masterclass series, Steve Wasserman talks with MARGARET DRABBLE about the adventurous nature of short stories, jigsaw puzzles, showing not telling, and taking a walk to find an idea.