“All the writers have a praise-worthy handle on prose and they embrace the short story form with imagination and zest. The stories are brilliantly varied, encompassing snapshot events, descriptions of sprawling political movements, and intimate essayistic monologues.”
Lucy Luck and Olivia Bignold from Conville & Walsh Literary Agency, judges, BSSA 2025
Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-76-6; 133mm x 203mm; 144pp
£10.99 GBP
There are 137 flash fictions in this, our ninth yearly anthology — the long listed, short listed and winning pieces from the three 2024 Bath Flash Fiction Awards. Dip in or read all the way through. You’ll find much variety and extraordinary linguistic feats, in these stories, all 300 words and under by writers from all over the world.
“I’m in awe of the flash fiction pieces I read, the idea, the crafting of the story, the structure and how these stories got such a variety of reactions from me. A sharp intake of breath, a few tears, a nodding of the head, a smile…”
— Susmita Bhattacharya, author of Table Manners (February Award judge)
“This was a rich set of flash fictions, and they required reading several times before the ones that stuck started to emerge – because so many were memorable. I have so enjoyed considering the many virtues of all of them.”
— Michelle Elvy, author of the everrumble (June Award judge).
“Flash fiction presents such a wide range of possibilities in terms of narrative, character, tone and form, and the writers of these pieces have made full use of these.”
— Matt Kendrick, writer, editor and teacher (October Award judge).
Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-66-7; 133mm x 203mm; 172pp
£10.99 GBP
“The stories in BSSA’s eleventh anthology offer a rich tapestry of experiences and emotions. Each, in its own way, illuminates a strand of existence that deserves to be documented, from the fanciful and frivolous to the painful and profound. From intricate character studies to innovative narrative structures, these stories exemplify the power of the short story form to convey profound insights and evoke new emotions.”
2024 judge, Sophie Haydock, award winning novelist, journalist and short story champion.
Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-64-3; 133mm x 203mm; 156pp
£10.99 GBP
Over seventy short-short stories to marvel at, in this, the fifth anthology in the rainbow series from Flash Fiction Festivals, U.K. These stories are written by presenters and participants from around the world who came to the online flash fiction days and the flash fiction festival in-person weekend in 2022. Inventive, heart-warming, fun, tragic and thought-provoking, there’s so much to inspire in this latest anthology of festival flash fictions.
“It’s been a pleasure being involved with the weekend festivals since 2017. I’ve found it exciting and rewarding to help bring together so many writers and to watch connections and friendships being formed. I hope that the festival continues to flourish and inspire!”
~Diane Simmons, UK based writer and Flash Fiction Festival Co-Director 2018-2022
“The Flash Festival experience was life-affirming! The workshops, prompts, panels and readings have turbo-charged my flash flow and meeting all those friendly fellow flashers in the flesh was unforgettable (in a good way).”
~S. A. Greene, UK based writer.
“Jude Higgins and Diane Simmons have created a Mecca for the world of flash. It was an exciting treat for this relative newbie to mingle with leading exponents of the genre from both sides of the Atlantic. There was a rich buffet of terrific workshops – including on the novella in flash – and the chance to meet fellow flashers previously seen only online or in print. Sign me up for the next one!””
~David X. Lewis writer based in Ferney-Voltaire, France.
Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-56-8; 133mm x 203mm; 126pp
£10.99 GBP
The eighth yearly anthology of stories from the thrice-yearly Bath Flash Fiction Awards. 134 fantastically varied flash fictions of 300 words or under. Dip in to be surprised, astonished and inspired. Our judges said the following:
“…a compendium of so many gorgeous tiny tales, varied in styles, in subject matter, in approach, in geography, in history.”
Sudha Balagopal, judge for the February Award and author of the Novella in Flash Things We Can’t Tell Amma
“…many stories beautifully structured and beautifully written; some evoked powerful and/or tragic historical events; several found new and clever ways to harbour time-worn human truths and experimented with form and language in ingenious, original ways.”
Tim Craig, judge for the June Award and author of the flash fiction collection Now You See Him
“I spent a long while…holding my breath as I read, reveling in the wide range of characterizations, voices, settings, and structures.”
Sara Hills, judge for the October Award and author of the flash fiction collection, The Evolution of Birds
Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-54-4; 133mm x 203mm; 170pp
£11.99 GBP
There are nineteen exceptional stories in our tenth BSSA anthology, all shortlisted in our 2023 Award. Our judge, Farhana Shaikh, founder of Dahlia Publishing, said this about them:
“The writers shortlisted in this year’s Bath Short Story Award have understood this: that each component part must work in harmony, be in service to a story that must entertain… In my selection I have chosen the stories that resonated with me, the ones that having read them for a third or fourth time still surprise me in some way; where I found something beautiful, quiet, raw, that let me forget just for a moment that it was forecast to rain for the whole of next week. So, these are the stories that stuck with me, and didn’t quite let go. I hope you find as much joy in them as I do.”
Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-52-0; 133mm x 203mm; 168pp
£10.99 GBP
Over seventy short-short stories to marvel at, in this, the fifth anthology in the rainbow series from Flash Fiction Festivals, U.K. These stories are written by presenters and participants from around the world who came to the online flash fiction days and the flash fiction festival in-person weekend in 2022. Inventive, heart-warming, fun, tragic and thought-provoking, there’s so much to inspire in this latest anthology of festival flash fictions.
“It’s been a pleasure being involved with the weekend festivals since 2017. I’ve found it exciting and rewarding to help bring together so many writers and to watch connections and friendships being formed. I hope that the festival continues to flourish and inspire!”
~Diane Simmons, UK based writer and Flash Fiction Festival Co-Director 2018-2022
“The Flash Festival experience was life-affirming! The workshops, prompts, panels and readings have turbo-charged my flash flow and meeting all those friendly fellow flashers in the flesh was unforgettable (in a good way).”
~S. A. Greene, UK based writer.
“Jude Higgins and Diane Simmons have created a Mecca for the world of flash. It was an exciting treat for this relative newbie to mingle with leading exponents of the genre from both sides of the Atlantic. There was a rich buffet of terrific workshops – including on the novella in flash – and the chance to meet fellow flashers previously seen only online or in print. Sign me up for the next one!”
~David X. Lewis writer based in Ferney-Voltaire, France.
Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-32-2; 133mm x 203mm; 120pp
£10.99 GBP
The seventh Bath Flash Fiction anthology, Dandelion Years, contains brilliant flash fictions of 300 words or under by 132 winning and listed writers in the three international awards in 2022. Many different subjects and themes are covered. Read these stories to be inspired by this exciting, challenging and experimental short-short prose form by writers from many countries around the world.
The Bath Flash Fiction Award judges said:
“I was presented with a long list filled with amazing stories. I loved every single one, so whittling down to twenty for a short list felt like an impossible task.”
~Karen Jones, writer, editor and teacher from the UK.
“The long list provided excellent examples of how stories can start and how they can grip a reader through conflict, through character, through precise and beautiful language.”
~Tommy Dean, writer, editor and teacher from the US.
“There was something to admire in every story on that long list, and the selection was brilliantly varied – some made me laugh, some made me think in a different way, some took a piece of my heart, while others made me swoon at their boldness and originality.”
~Emily Devane, writer, editor and teacher from the UK.
Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-10-0; 133mm x 203mm; 168pp
£11.99 GBP
2022 has seen little relief from seismic world events but again we were impressed and delighted by the range and quality of stories submitted to this year’s international competition.
Our ninth BSSA anthology presents the twenty short-listed and prize-winning stories, traversing lifelong friendships, audacious middle-aged women, the perils of house-sitting pets and a yearning for alien intervention. They range from absurd and darkly funny to raw and vulnerable to wise and poetic and showcase just what the short story form is capable of.
‘It speaks to the reputation of the Bath Short Story Prize that the stories had such variety in genre, plot and style with impressive quality and I very much enjoyed reading them.’
2022 Judge, writer Paul McVeigh, author of The Good Son
Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-30-8; 133mm x 203mm; 196pp
£9.99 GBP
Eighty-five stories from presenters and participants from around the world, who came to the nine online Flash Fiction Festival days, from March 2021 to January 2022. Inside this fourth Flash Fiction Festival anthology, sponsored by Ad Hoc Fiction, you’ll find flash fictions that experiment with structure, cover many different subjects in surprising ways and show how much is possible in this very short form.
‘As someone whose flash fiction writing only really took off during the pandemic, it was such a gift to be able to meet up online for some amazing input from writers whose work I revere. I made new online friendships, many of which have persisted via Twitter and in other workshops since. I was amazed to find my work accepted for the anthology, and am now looking forward (all paid up) to meeting some people ‘IRL’, in July 2022 at the Bath Flash Fiction Festival.’
~ Bonnie Meekums, from the UK
‘The Flash Fiction Festival is about so much more than writing flash. I came to these online festivals as a relative newbie to the flash scene and found a welcoming community of flash writers of all levels of experience from beginners to master. The community welcomed everyone and throughout the course of the festival, we attended online workshops, participated in writing challenges, chatted with other writers and wrote a lot. Having an opportunity to submit pieces we wrote during the festival workshops to the anthology was an added bonus. More than that, the things I took from this festival have had long-lasting effects. I learned of submission opportunities that led to publishing, I met other writers who give workshops and through those, have extended my circle of writing friends and colleagues even further. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to have attended this event and I look forward to more.’
~ Finnian Burnett from Canada
‘I think the online flash fiction festival is a constant gem and a huge source of inspiration. Looking back at 2021, the festival days proved a consistent source of new pieces for me. All the ones I wrote for the writing challenges have found a lovely home since. I also loved the break-out rooms and the opportunity to meet other writers from around the world.’
~ Slawka G. Scarso from Italy
Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-06-3; 133mm x 203mm; 132pp
£10.99 GBP
The sixth yearly Bath Flash Fiction Award anthology contains 136 flash fictions, all 300 words or under from the three rounds of the Awards in 2021. Inside, you’ll find heart-felt pieces about the state of the world, others that focus on the intricacies of relationships with friends, family and lovers. The writing style often surprises and there are many exciting experiments with form. It’s an excellent and varied selection of stories by writers from all over the world.
“After reading through the long list, I was reminded why the anthology is a gift to anyone who loves to read flash fiction…Some pieces drew me into the world of the story right away with a compelling first line or memorable detail. Others sneaked up on me, starting out quietly then surprising me with a turn that left me thinking, thinking, thinking.”
~ Charmaine Wilkerson, judge of the February, 2021 Award and author of How to Make a Window Snake, Ad Hoc Fiction, 2017.
“You encounter risky, raw stories that promise to leave you changed; love-at-first-sight stories full of confident verve; ones that have an allure through their use of language; quietly persuasive stories, confident in their low-key power; there are stories to admire for their elegance and beauty, and ones that raise a smile with their quirky charm.”
~ K. M. Elkes, judge of the June 2021 Award and author of All That Is Between Us, Ad Hoc Fiction 2019.
“All the stories here would find applauded homes in magazines… pieces that take the risk to step out on to the high wire… dreamscapes and dystopias, unheard perspectives and hidden inner dialogues, reworked fairy-tales and school play rebellions, the unexpected significance of custard, an earthquake on the page.”
~ Sharon Telfer, judge of the October 2021 Award and author of The Map Waits, Reflex Press, 2021.
Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-00-1; 133mm x 203mm; 156pp
£11.99 GBP
2021 has been marked by lockdowns, loss, love and making connections through glass screens and online platforms. The stories here were born of these times and there is a dark vein running through them but, ‘yet there is great beauty and humour too – the flip side of our human coin. The winners of this year’s Award all demonstrate radical compassion, diverse perspectives, and truly extraordinary voices.’
2021 Judge, Norah Perkins, from literary agency Curtis Brown
Paperback, ISBN 978-1-912095-31-5, 133mm x 203mm, 168 pages.
£9.99 GBP
Our fifth yearly anthology contains micro fictions by writers from all over the world. 136 stories covering many subjects and themes – some focussing on dramas within family relationships, some politically themed or about war, others spanning whole life times and longer. All in 300 words and under – the real, the surreal and the experimental. So much inventiveness and so much to read and enjoy.
“Reading the fifty long listed flashes I received, I knew these stories were – are – loved by their authors. But they were also so much more than that. Each story had its own distinct quality, its own voice, its own style and structure. Each had sentences I underlined and words I circled. Not knowing what I was looking for, I found everything.”
~Santino Prinzi, author of This Alone Could Save Us
“… I read a lot of flash and when I read the BFFA long list I thought there had to be some mistake, I must be reading the short list instead of the long list, so high was the quality of the work I was looking at. This made the judging process incredibly enjoyable on the one hand – to see so much variety, so much stimulating and original work, a wonderful willingness to experiment, and on the other hand, so difficult to choose.”
~Mary Jane Holmes, author of Don’t Tell the Bees
“It’s been a pleasure reading these pieces, the quality indicates how well contributors craft their stories, producing shining gems of literature that demonstrate this genre is not alone alive and well, but thriving. The range of topics and styles on offer show practitioners of this form can still find something fresh, or interpret ideas in a novel way.”
~Nod Ghosh, author of Filthy Sucre
Paperback, ISBN 978-1-912095-10-0, 133mm x 203mm, 262 pages.
£12.99 GBP
Political turmoil and a raging pandemic might have marked 2020 as a year to forget but in this anthology you’ll find memorable stories to transport you to different worlds, all celebrating the resilience of human nature.
“I appreciated the variety here, be it in voice, form, mood, setting, or time period. Some stories had a literal magical twist; for others the magic was in conjuring a whole world of emotion and humanity in less than 2,200 words. Every single story exhibited a mastery of the written word, and it was tough to choose.”
~The 2020 Judge, Kate Johnson, MacKenzie Wolf Literary Agency.
Paperback, ISBN 978-1-912095-08-7, 133mm x 203mm, 182 pages.
£9.99 GBP
This anthology, the fourth from the Bath Flash Fiction Awards, contains 137 micro fictions of 300 words or under by writers from all over the world. The stories cover many topics: relationships in all their forms, familiar, strange, tragic or benign; war and displacement; the climate emergency; historical subjects; the fantastical and surreal. So many different styles and themes. So much to enjoy, make you think, and inspire you to write your own stories.
“From lush description to plot surprises to current events and complicated relationships of all kinds… a wonderful cross-section of flash fiction.”
~Nancy Stohlman, author of Madam Velvet’s Cabaret of Oddities
“There’s humor and pathos in these stories, conventional plots alongside innovative structures… personal stories and those concerning larger cultural themes.”
~Christopher Allen author of Other Household Toxins
“A real cornucopia of flash skills…all sparking joy.”
~Vanessa Gebbie author of The Coward’s Tale
Paperback; ISBN 978-1-912095-85-8; 196mm x 134mm; 194pp
£9.99 GBP
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The twenty distinctive stories in our seventh anthology reveal the secrets, pains and pleasures of being human. Set in different times, cultures and places they reflect universal truths and beg to be read.
‘What struck me most was the inventiveness of the stories, whether in their structure, their voices, or in the wonderful range of vivid imagery. A girl suspended in mid-air, survivors healing through song in a candlelit chapel, two streetlamps leaning into each other, in love, in the twilight. These were images that remained with me long after reading.’
—Samuel Hodder, Blake Friedmann Literary Agency
Paperback; ISBN 978-1-912095-89-6; 196mm x 134mm; 182pp
£9.99 GBP
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82 micro fictions from participants and presenters who came from around the world to the third Flash Fiction Festival UK which took place in Bristol, UK in June 2019. Dip in to discover short short stories – all 250 words or under – in different styles and on many different themes from the personal to the political.
“A festival of riches, the UK Flash Fiction Festival is for adventurous writers and readers. From memoir and travel writing to novellas and dream sequences, the sessions in the third UK Flash Fiction Festival engaged writers new or experienced in the form and encouraged outside-the-box writing. Participants polished their skills, learned new ones and discovered hot-off-the-press books. Flash at its very best – with the very best!”
~ Michelle Elvy, writer, tutor, editor and festival workshop presenter. Author of the everrumble.
“The 2019 Flash Fiction Festival was a revelation. Fabulous workshops, great company. Came home with my head popping with ideas. A great confidence booster!”
~ Anne Howkins, festival participant.
Paperback; ISBN 978-1-912095-87-2; 196mm x 134mm; 134pp
£9.99 GBP
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133 short short fictions selected from the winners, short listed, and long listed authors from the three rounds of the 2018 international Bath Flash Fiction Awards. All 300 words and under, these stories are by writers representing over twenty different countries. Experimental fictions exploring many different themes and subjects which show the variety possible in his exciting and continually developing genre.
“Writers flowed but did not meander. I went to places I haven’t been before, and I was shown ordinary objects in a different light, heard language used in a new way, smelled new smells, felt new feelings.”
Tara L. Masih, novelist, short story writer, editor of The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction, author of My Real Name Is Hanna
“A fascinating dip into the psyche of creative writers at this point in time… lots of examples of great writing here, by great writers.”
David Gaffney, novelist and short story writer. Author of More Sawn-Off Tales, All The Places I’ve Ever Lived, The Three Rooms in Valerie’s Head
“The standard was high… powerful writing and interesting themes… a feeling that many writers were working hard and pulling from deep resources.”
Nuala O’Connor, novelist, poet and short story writer. Author of Joy Ride to Jupiter, Miss Emily and Becoming Belle
Paperback; ISBN 978-1-912095-63-6; 196mm x 134mm; 168pp
£9.99 GBP
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Sixty micro fictions written by participants and presenters inspired by the second UK Flash Fiction Festival held in Bristol, July 2018. The stories here, by writers from several different countries, touch on world politics, relationships in all their forms, fantasy and historical themes. Short-short fictions that surprise and linger long.
“The Flash Fiction Festival 2018 was a wonderfully inclusive, supportive weekend for flash writers at all levels. Its workshops were well varied and inspirational, while the readings gave so much pleasure with the quality and range of the work. Not to be missed next year!”
—Carrie Etter, poet, flash fiction writer and Reader in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.
“The Flash Fiction Festival 2018, under the direction of Jude Higgins, is itself a collaborative work of art. It was a deep pleasure to be part of a world where everyone was open, engaged in each other’s writing, and made more adventurous by proximity to this community. We talked, we ate, we drank, we wrote. Then we wrote about what had just happened.”
—Laurie Stone, writer, critic and teacher.
“A great weekend. A lot of serious work done, but also a lot of fun. If you write, or want to write flash, book for next year as soon as booking opens!”
—Jenny Woodhouse, writer, U3A Group Leader.
Paperback; ISBN 978-1-912095-59-9; 196mm x 134mm; 126pp
£9.99 GBP
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The devastating consequences of a wild fire in ‘the bush’. An unreliable narrator who may have been wrongly accused of a crime. The skewed logic of a child in the aftermath of tragedy. Just some of the powerful winning and shortlisted stories that are included in this sixth anthology from Bath Short Story Award.
‘I was taken from the UK to Australia with detours to the Middle East, Japan and North America. And I was plunged into the lives of different characters dealing with a variety of emotions – grief, disappointment, anger and guilt. The writing is of a high standard throughout ans every one of these stories has things to commend them.’
—Euan Thorneycroft, Senior Literary Agent, A M Heath
Paperback; ISBN 978-1-912095-55-1; 196mm x 134mm; 186pp
£9.99 GBP
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