Short Stories…
My first published short story was entitled 'Grey Wolf' and won the Winchester Short Story Prize in 2018. Like many a story, this one began with an idea of 'place': a nondescript pathway in woods where I have walked many times, and which for no very obvious reason took on such significance that I determined to write about it. 'Grey Wolf' is the result.
Sadly, the anthology in which it was originally published is now out of print, so I have published it again here. Please feel free to take a look.
In 2019, 'Five Strong Colours' was longlisted in the Leicester Writes short story competition run by Dahlia Publishing. Later that year it featured in their anthology, and I had the privilege of reading an extract from it at the Crossroads Festival.
'Five Strong Colours' is a work of fiction inspired by a BBC News report c.2015. The news story highlighted the plight of goatherds on the drought-stricken Tibetan Plateau as they watched their grassland home turn to desert.
'A Second-Hand Coat', 'The Tightrope Walker', 'Collecting Pine Cones' and 'A Smile in a Fogged-Up Coffee Shop' are all very short stories - sometimes called flash fiction - and can be reached via the links below.
'A Letter from the North' was shortlisted in the 2019/20 Fish Short Story Prize. It is published below and in the Fish Anthology 2020.
'The Eccentric Tourist' is a short story and podcast recently published at The Casket of Fictional Delights website. To listen, click here https://thecasket.co.uk/story/the-eccentric-tourist/. Also available on iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
