GRAHAM A. LANDON explores the story behind the stories of Washington Irving’s ‘Tales of the Alhambra’: ‘Unlike many collections of short stories, Irving’s book is not merely a selection of random tales, but is rather an intricate network of interconnected fables, many forming stories within stories, some supplemented by the author’s own imagination, and some derived from his actual experiences at the location.’
‘The Charles Dickens that we largely remember is the novelist of instalments, who sympathised with the orphan’s plight and the poor man’s complaints [but] he also produced short ghost stories, which, by his death in 1870, constituted a huge collection…’ In this essay, SCOTT WILSON delves into Dickens’ Ghost Stories.
TRACY FELLS explores Kate Atkinson’s Not The End Of The World, a collection that, like all her novels, ‘resonates compassion and humanity’.
STORY: Read ‘The Best Place in Town’ by award-winning author Stuart Evers. ‘David Falmer couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment he lost control of John’s stag party; but he knew it was long before the topic of conversation had turned to hookers…’
This year’s Fish Short Story Prize winner, MARY O’DONNELL considers the value of literary competitions and urges all to take the leap and enter our work.
PAULINE MASUREL shares her thoughts on the benefits and drawbacks of writing workshops and invites readers to share their own experiences.
PAULINE MASUREL asks: ‘Should we write what we know or write what we don’t?’
Performing live isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but if you write fiction for publication then sooner or later you are likely to be invited to give a reading and you want to make sure that you can do your stories justice.
Reading with a view to editing is different too from reading for pleasure. There is a responsibility attached to it: the responsibility to attempt to be less partial than you might otherwise be. You are not, for instance, furnishing your own home.
