Tag Archives: Anthologies

Restore to Factory Settings : Bath Flash Fiction Volume Five

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

Buy Now

The Bath Short Story Award Anthology 2020

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

Buy Now

With One Eye on the Cows : Bath Flash Fiction Volume Four

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
Buy Now

The Bath Short Story Award Anthology 2019

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
Buy Now

Flash Fiction Festival Three

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
Buy Now

Things Left and Found by the Side of the Road : Bath Flash Fiction Volume Three

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
Buy Now

Flash Fiction Festival Two

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
Buy Now

The Bath Short Story Award Anthology 2018

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
Buy Now

In the Debris Field : Three Novellas-In-Flash

A collection of three flash fiction novellas from the second Bath Flash Fiction Award which demonstrate the range and scope of this exciting and innovative genre.

In the Debris Field by Luke Whisnant… chronicles the unconventional experiences of a male protagonist from childhood through middle-age. It is a breathtakingly imaginative study of the strangest ways family members will accidentally scar one another. Readers will relax and enjoy the ride, because they’re in the hands of a flash fiction master.

A Slow Boat To Finland by Victoria Melekian… in which we are not sure how a bereaved mother will recover after losing her toddler daughter in a car accident. Especially when the little girl’s heart saves another child. The strong and convincing writing will pull you right into this story and make you want to know what happens next.

Latter Day Saints by Jack Remiel Cottrell… is a highly inventive quest story. A young man tries to find answers about life and whether it is worth living, from his visits to ‘saints’. Flawed characters, the saints include a labourer, a celebrity, a taxi driver, a city business woman, a second-hand dealer, and an old and frail man. They sometimes help him, and often make him question more.”
—Meg Pokrass, writer, poet, editor, tutor. Author of Bird Envy, Damn Sure Right, The Dog Looks Happy Upside Down and Here, Where We Live.

Paperback; ISBN 978-1-912095-61-2; 196mm x 134mm; 112pp

£9.99 GBP
Buy Now

The Lobsters Run Free : Bath Flash Fiction Volume Two

One hundred and thirty-five flash fiction stories from world-wide authors selected from the long lists of the three Bath Flash Fiction Awards in 2017. These dazzling fictions, all 300 words or under, give us fresh insights into world wide concerns – from relationship issues and domestic situations tender or fraught, to war torn landscapes and the plight of the dispossessed. So much is compressed into so few words. So much will linger after reading.

“The stories were of a very high standard…I’m so impressed with how organized and efficient all of the Bath contests appear to be. The production of a beautiful anthology from the contest long list is also very impressive…”
—Kathy Fish, author of Together We Can Bury It and co-author of RIFT.

“I could not believe how many powerful stories I read in the long list of fifty stories. It was very difficult to select the short list of twenty and then to choose the winners.”
—Meg Pokrass, author of Bird Envy, Damn Sure Right and The Dog Looks Happy Upside Down.

“Every single flash I received possessed qualities I admired and envied…I marvelled at the form’s ability to permit such a range of approaches – from slices-of-life to epic narration to poetic experiments and beyond…”
—David Swann, author of Stronger, Faster, Shorter and The Privilege of Rain.

Paperback; ISBN 978-1-912095-69-8; 196mm x 134mm; 160pp

£9.99 GBP
Buy Now

Flash Fiction Festival One

Seventy-four micro-fictions written by presenters and participants at the first ever literary festival entirely dedicated to flash fiction, held in Bath, June 2017. These short-short stories, 250 words or under, show the wide variety of styles possible in this emerging genre.

Most of the UK’s top flash fiction writers and teachers offered workshops and talks and readings at the Flash Fiction Festival: David Gaffney, Tania Hershman, Calum Kerr, David Swann, Vanessa Gebbie, Kit de Waal, Paul McVeigh, Peter Blair, Ashley Chantler, KM Elkes, Meg Pokrass, Jude Higgins, Christopher Fielden and Michael Loveday. Plus distinguished international guest and leading exponent of the form, Pamela Painter, from the United States.

“It was a wonderful assembly of authors and editors and ‘students’ – though the students already seemed like authors.”
—Pamela Painter

“You managed to create a relaxed yet focussed ambiance so that participants could let anxieties fall away, have fun writing and immersing themselves in craft and other skills, soaking up all the varied and sparkling influences that abounded.”
—Vanessa Gebbie

“…I had previously come across the genre, viewing it more or less exclusively as something light and whimsical but I had completely under estimated its potential and the discipline involved. It was these latter two aspects that intrigued me…”
—Patricia Wallace

“…comments and insights from the workshops showed me how the embryonic idea I started with could be developed and given depth.”
—Mary Bevan

Paperback; ISBN 978-1-912095-67-4; 196mm x 134mm; 112pp

£9.99 GBP
Buy Now

How to Make a Window Snake : Three Novellas-In-Flash

Three winning flash fiction novellas from the 2017 Bath Novella-in-Flash Award demonstrate the scope and range of this increasingly popular genre.

How to Make a Window Snake by Charmaine Wilkerson… creates a brilliant picture window through which we see a loving but deeply wounded family trying to survive more tragedy.

A Safer Way to Fall by Joanna Campbell… stakes are high and violence becomes a reliable companion. One realises that there simply is no safe way to fall.

Things I Dream About When I’m Not Sleeping by Ingrid Jendrzejewski… beautifully detailed portraits, thrusts us into a world of emotional limbo, watching the asymmetry of a couple grappling with mismatched wishes and obsessions.”
—Meg Pokrass, writer, poet, editor, tutor. Author of Bird Envy, Damn Sure Right, The Dog Looks Happy Upside Down and Here, Where We Live.

Paperback, ISBN 978-1-912095-71-1, 196mm x 134mm; 128pp

£9.99 GBP
Buy Now

To Carry Her Home : Bath Flash Fiction Volume One

One hundred and forty-five very short stories, by authors from eleven different countries, that tell of life in today’s world. From perilous journeys and strange encounters to tales of love of loss, the stories challenge, linger after reading and evoke the full range of emotions. So much is covered in these page long pieces.

“unique landscapes, with unusual words, startling sentence fragments and odd characters… remarkably crafted stories… truly international with heartfelt prose, playful poetics and taking literary risks”
—Robert Vaughan, writer, poet and editor, author of Addicts & Basements and co-author of RIFT.

Paperback, ISBN 978-1-912095-00-1, 196mm x 134mm; 160pp

£9.99 GBP
Buy Now