COMPETITION SHORTLIST: ‘This year our team of judges found a very high quality of writing across the board, with vibrant and insightful pieces that captivated us, surprised us and even challenged our preconceptions…
Over the past few weeks, the team of THRESHOLDS judges has been busy reading and re-reading the entries, debating and deliberating. Finally, we bring you.… The 2014 THRESHOLDS Features Award longlist.
THRESHOLDS EXCLUSIVE: Guardian columnist and short story writer Chris Power discusses the state of the short story and why the dominant narrative of imminent death or blazing renaissance should be rejected…
MIKE SMITH discusses the adaptation of Somerset Maugham’s short stories into films: ‘They have not necessarily damaged the story. What they have done, though, is to radically change its message…’
‘A story about opposites: the hellish North versus the open skied South, reality versus the world of dreams, life versus death…’ LOUISE HEGARTY explores the conflicts and mysteries in Jorge Luis Borges’ short story ‘The South’.
ANUSHREEE NANDE gets under the skin of ‘Witness Protection’ by Guy Ware: ‘The narrative revolves around Henry and Stella, and their seemingly routine life that hides secrets, lies and, possibly, violence…’
VICKI HEATH examines Once Upon a Time There Was a Traveller, the 2013 anthology of Asham Award-winning stories: ‘As I read, I considered each story carefully, wondering what made these particular pieces stand out for the judges…’
Short story writer, novelist and creative writing lecturer SALLY O’REILLY ponders the writer’s notebook: ‘For most writers, a notebook is the closest thing we have to an artist’s sketch book, and the equivalent of a studio…’
‘There’s a stage in front of me. There’s a microphone on the stage. There are lights that make your eyes go funny and a room full of people….’ HOLLY DAWSON shares the tips she found most useful when facing the dreaded public short story reading.
In this feature SARADA GRAY takes us through four of the tales in the Ideas Above Our Station short story anthology: ‘…this is not a book about trains, but a book for trains; a book to dip into while glancing up at the arrivals board…’
