2017 in Books
This year I have been mostly reading: Happy New Year! Roll on another year of reading.Read more
‘The Ideal Husband Exhibition’ in The London Magazine
My prize-winning story ‘The Ideal Husband Exhibition’ is free to read on The London Magazine website right now. Click here to take a look. You can purchase a print copy of the August/September 2017 edition (also containing the story) here too. This was a bit of a departure for my style-wise as I tend to…Read more
The London Magazine Prize-giving Ceremony
Last Tuesday saw me heading down to London for The London Magazine Short Story Prize-giving Ceremony. I had this to say as my train left Grantham station: Suited, booted and on train to big smoke for the @TheLondonMag short story prize giving. First time in ages that I’ve worn a suit. — Dan Powell (@danpowfiction)…Read more
Writing East Midlands Aurora Poetry & Short Fiction Competition
Those brilliant folks over at Writing East Midlands have extended the closing date for their 2nd Annual Aurora Poetry & Short Fiction Competition. Here’s the details: Aurora Poetry & Short Fiction Open Competition 2017 Closing date for entries has been extended to 9th April 2017 We’re giving you more time to polish off your poems and short…Read more
Shortlisted for 2017 Pageturner Prize
My as-yet-unpublished novel, The Everlasting Knock, has been shortlisted for this year’s Pageturner Prize. Coming so soon after my London Magazine news, this is a double thrill. I am really liking 2017 so far. The winner was announced earlier this week, along with details of the shortlist: ‘Tibor Jones are thrilled to announce the winner of…Read more
The Ideal Husband Exhibition wins 3rd Prize in London Magazine Short Story Competition
Had a lovely surprise email on Friday evening telling me that my story, The Ideal Husband Exhibition, had won third prize in the London Magazine Short Story Competition. This feels very special, not least because of the following from their website: ‘The London Magazine has published short stories by some of the most well-respected…Read more
Two Pair of Nightjars
Spent some of my Christmas break catching up on my reading. I made time to read the wonderfully chilling and complex His Bloody Project (should have won the Booker IMHO), I spent New Year’s Day and the day or two after finally giving Chris Ware’s beautiful Building Stories the time and attention it deserves, and…Read more
‘A Father’s Arms’ nominated for a Pushcart Prize
Been meaning to post about this for a while but life and writing keep getting in the way. I am thrilled to be able to report that, alongside fellow contributors Iain Robinson and Courtia Newland, my story from Being Dad: Stories about Fatherhood, ‘A Father’s Arms’ was nominated for a Pushcart Prize back in November…Read more
2016 in Books
Happy New Year everyone. And apologies. It’s been a while since I last posted here. The last few months have been swamped with the day job and cramming in editing of the latest novel in preparation for submission to agents. Hence the blogging had to give. I can report though, that I hit send on the latest novel recently. What does this mean? Well I am loving being able to switch gears and get back into writing some short fiction. I almost immediately stepped back into a short story. I have two characters, thrown together and currently no real idea of where they are about to take me. Getting back…Read more
First Story: how you can help young writers across the UK
Today begins my third year of working with the brilliant First Story. This year I will be writer-in-residence at Skegness Academy and our first workshop is set to take place this afternoon. I can honestly say my work with First Story is the best and most important part of my working week. Seriously life-changing stuff for everyone who takes…Read more
The End begins in Norwich
Spent a wonderful evening at the launch of The End at UEA’s Enterprise centre last night. This was a doubly special launch as it was the first showing of the wonderful Nicolas Ruston paintings that inspired the stories in The End: Fifteen Endings to Fifteen Paintings short fiction collection, as well as being the first…Read more
East Midlands Book Award at the Lowdham Book Festival
This coming Friday sees the award ceremony for this year’s East Midlands Book Award. One lucky writer will receive the coveted EMBA trophy: As I am one of the trio of judges for this brilliant prize, I’ll be there. Judging the EMBA has been a great experience. Back in December I received a huge box…Read more
Being Dad wins Saboteur 2016 Award for Best Anthology
A little late posting this as I am neck deep in novel edits, but I was thrilled to find that Being Dad was name Best Anthology of 2016 in he recent Saboteur Awards. Here’s a picture of the shiny-shiny trophy, courtesy of editor-extraordinaire Dan Coxon: You can check out the full list of worthy winners…Read more
Reading @ PowWow Festival of Writing 24th April 2016
I am thrilled to be able to say that I will be at the PowWow Festival of Writing this Sunday. If you don’t know what Pow Wow is, here’s the lowdown from the PowWow website: The PowWow Festival of Writing brings industry experts, experienced authors and inspiring debate to one of the friendliest events for writers. We’ll…Read more
Essays galore over on Thresholds
My Thresholds shortlisted essay examining William Gay’s ‘Where will you go when your skin cannot contain you’ is now live over on the Thresholds, The University of Chichester’s Short Story Forum. In this piece I explore the first short story of Gay’s that I stumbled across in the pages of The Best American Short Stories…Read more
Being Dad launch @ Norwich Writers Centre
From the blurb: In Being Dad, fifteen contemporary writers – all fathers themselves – explore the highs and lows of fatherhood. From protective instincts gone awry to the ghosts of our fathers haunting every parenting decision, these short stories shine a light on what it means to be a father in the twenty-first century. Well,…Read more
Shortlisted (again) for the Thresholds Prize
For the fourth year running I have managed to make the Thresholds Feature Writing Competition shortlist. The competition which celebrates the short story form is now in its fifth year and the shortlist is always crammed with some great writing that gives a fresh perspective on short stories and writers both well known and more…Read more
Judging the East Midlands Book Award 2016
This year I am thrilled to be one of the judges of the East Midlands Book Award, the prestigious literary prize awarded annually to the best book written by an East Midlands author. From the EMBA website: ‘Every year £1000 is awarded to a writer of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry or plays. This can include work…Read more
Tutoring First Story Prize Winners’ Arvon residential at Lumb Bank
Barely ten weeks into 2016 and I’ve already experienced what I am sure will be a high point in my writing year. Last week I was fortunate enough to be co-tutor, alongside the brilliant Malika Booker, on the First Story Prize Winner’s Arvon residential at Lumb Bank, the 18th-century mill-owner’s house in West Yorkshire, which once belonged…Read more
Being Dad
For those of you wondering what Being Dad is, here’s the blurb from the Tangent Books Being Dad order page: Fatherhood is in a state of flux. Gone are the simplistic gender roles of yesteryear, the clear divisions between mothers and fathers. More dads than ever before are staying home to be full-time parents…Read more
