Author Archives: Dan Powell

About Dan Powell

Dan is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing during which he will either write a novel or fail. He’s aiming for the former. His short fiction has popped up all over the place. He procrastinates at http://danpowellfiction.com

Best British Short Stories 2012

Posted on by Dan Powell
5

A little while  ago I promised some big news. Happy to say I can now spill the beans. One of my short stories has been selected for inclusion in Best British Short Stories 2012 from Salt Publishing, due out in April.

From Salt Publishing’s Best British Short Stories webpage:

This series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers, whether based in the UK or elsewhere. The editor’s brief is wide ranging, covering anthologies, collections, magazines, newspapers and web sites, looking for the best of the bunch to reprint all in one volume. Neither genre nor Granta shall be overlooked in the search for the very best new short fiction.

I am of course thrilled to be included. This year’s collection features an amazing line-up (as announced by Salt Publishing’s Jen Hamilton Emery on Facebook):

After a year of reading and months of deliberation by editor, Nicholas Royle, the line-up for Best British Short Stories 2012 has been finalised. Coming your way in April: Emma Unsworth, HP Tinker, Michael Marshall Smith, Dan Powell, Julian Gough, Stuart Evers, Stella Duffy, Socrates Adams-Florou, Jonathan Trigell, Will Self, Jaki McCarrick, Robert Shearman, Alison MacLeod, Jo Lloyd, Neil Campbell, Joel Lane, Ramsey Campbell, Jeanette Winterson, Jon McGregor and AK Benedict.

Can’t wait to see my little story sitting shoulder to shoulder with work from so many great authors.

The Composites

Posted on by Dan Powell
Reply

The Composites is a brilliant new tumblr that features ‘images created using law enforcement composite sketch software and descriptions of literary characters.’ My favourite of those posted so far has to be this image of Pinkie from Brighton Rock: This composite was created by Brian Joseph Davis, creator of The Composite tumblr project, from this description from Greene’s classic:

He had a fair smooth skin, the faintest down, and his grey eyes had an effect of heartlessness like an old man’s in which human feeling has died…Grey inhuman seventeen-year-old eyes…From behind he looked younger than he was in his dark thin ready-made suit a little too big for him at the hips, but when you met him face to face he looked older, the slatey eyes were touched with the annihilating eternity from which he had come and to which he went…The eyes which had never been young stared with grey contempt into…The eyes which had only just begun to learn a thing or two…In the tipped mirror on the washstand he could see himself, but his eyes shifted quickly from the image of smooth, never shaven cheek, soft hair, old eyes…‘They nearly got me too,’ and he raised his bandaged hand to his scarred neck.

There’s a list of characters Davis is soon to start work on over on the main blog page, and you can even suggest a character, so long as you provide a decent description from the text. Love this tumblr already. (via Faster Fiction)

The Man Who Lived Like A Tree published @ Referential

Posted on by Dan Powell
4

My story, The Man Who Lived Like A Tree, is the first fiction publication of 2012 over at Referential.

I like Referential because they do things a little differently over there:

Main Entry: ref·er·en·tial

Pronunciation: \ˌre-fə-ˈren(t)-shəl\

: of, containing, or constituting a reference; especially : pointing to or involving a referent <referential language> <referential meaning>

At Referential Magazine we will be nesting a site that builds from one piece of writing (be it prose or poetry). From that piece we want other artists to submit “referential“ material. This material could be visual, auditory, written etc. We expect this project to evolve the longer it exists. We look forward to hearing from you.

So everything on the site references another work, be it a poem, a piece of art or a piece of fiction. In my story I refer to Madeline Mora-Summonte’s excellent Rooted in the Past.

If you are anything like me and you click through to my story, you won’t be able to stop yourself checking out Madeline’s. From there you are just a click away from the story from which hers is referred. The first time I visited the site I spent ages going from story to poem to artwork. There really is some great stuff over there and the fact that all the pieces there form this referential network is indeed very cool. Hope you enjoy my story and the other work presented there.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Posted on by Dan Powell
Reply

In every sense of the word, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is fantastic:

From Moonbot Studios Vimeo page:

Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, “Morris Lessmore” is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) award winning author/ illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a new narrative experience that harkens back to silent films and M-G-M Technicolor musicals. “Morris Lessmore” is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.

“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” is one of five animated short films that will be considered for outstanding film achievements of 2011 in the 84th Academy Awards ®.

Film Awards Won by “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
To date, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” film has drummed up fans all over the world taking home the following awards:
· Cinequest Film Fest: Best Animated Short
· Palm Springs International ShortFest: Audience Favorite Award
· SIGGRAPH: Best in Show

You can buy The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore on iTunes. After watching this video, I did.

Found via bookshelfporn.com

Soiled published @ FRICTION

Posted on by Dan Powell
Reply

Issue 4 of Friction, Newcastle University’s online journal for creative writing, theory and practice, is now available online. This latest edition includes my short story Soiled.

From the introduction for Friction Issue 4:

As writers, and readers. We have been changed this month by some wonderful words. We’ve been chased down in the outback by Nikesh Murali; alongside David Houston, tracked an Arctic Fox in Crystal Palace; we’ve felt Soiled with Dan Powell; gone home with Elaine Ewart; faced up to space with Eleanor Stewart; and got closer to Junior with Dolan Morgan.

Soiled is a story that I wrote during my OU diploma in Creative Writing and continued to redraft over the time between then and my subbing it to Friction. It is a story I am particularly fond of as, I feel, it presents a positive view of men and male relationships. A word of warning though, there is a fair amount of bad language contained within, though I would add it is all there to serve the story. Just a warning for those viewing at work or with the prying eyes of little ones round about.

Please do pop over there and have a read. There is a comment form for each story so any thoughts would be welcome, good or bad, there or, if you prefer, here. If you do pop over there I would recommend taking the time to read some of the other writing on offer. There’s a whole host of interesting writing by an exciting body of authors and poets in the issue, as well as news about the theme for issue 5:

We will be publishing Issue #5 of Friction in May 2012. It will be a themed issue—we are working in collaboration with the NCLA Festival of Belonging, so we look forward to all of your work, poetry, prose, fiction or non-fiction, creative work of all shapes and sizes, on the theme of ‘belonging’.

The festival runs from Monday April 30th to Monday May 7th. The deadline for work is Sunday May 13th. You can see Friction’s submission guidelines here.

Have a read then get writing and submitting.