THE HEAT IS ON, the next Stroud Short Stories event, opens for submissions on 16 August 2026

With a theme of HEAT or HOT, the next Stroud Short Stories event, THE HEAT IS ON, opens for submissions on Sunday 16 August and closes on Sunday 27 September.

The event takes place on Sunday 8 November at 7.30 pm (doors 7.00) at the Lansdown Hall in Stroud as part of the brilliant Stroud Book Festival 2026.

8-10 stories will be selected for their authors to read.

Tickets, priced at £12, will be available from the Lansdown Hall website from Friday 9 October.

Stroud Short Stories 30th event, ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY, took place on Sunday 9 November 2025

The 30th SSS event, All This Useless Beauty, was held on Sunday 9 November 2025 at a new venue for us, the Lansdown Hall in Stroud.

Hannah Glickstein, Rod Gowers, Simon Gowers, Christine Griffin, Laura Kinnear, Rebecca Klassen, Poppy Lomax, Ruth Pilston, Nikki Vivian and Steve Wheeler who read to a sell-out audience of 135 people.

The event was part of the Stroud Book Festival.

Stroud Short Stories is OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS on the theme of BEAUTY

The next SSS event, entitled ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY, is on Sunday 9 November and is part of the 2025 Stroud Book Festival. The theme is Beauty.

We are currently open for submissions which are FREE. We close for submissions on Sunday 21 September.

It is the 30th SSS event.

It’s new venue this time - the 150 seater Lansdown Hall in Stroud. All info on the Stroud Short Stories website.

The next Stroud Short Stories event 'Keep on Movin'' on the theme of JOURNEYS takes place on Sunday 11 May 2025

Submissions open on 16 February 2025 and close on Sunday 30 March. The theme is JOURNEYS.

The ten stories and their authors will be announced on Wednesday 9 April

Tickets, priced at £12, go on sale from the Cotswold Playhouse website on Friday 11 April

All information about submitting stories is on the Stroud Short Stories website

Submissions are free and we accept both new and previously published stories.

My co-judge this time is award-winning short story author Chloe Turner.

Stroud Short Stories 'Family Affair' Submissions close 22 Sept Event 3 November

The 28th Stroud Short Stories event ‘Family Affair’ takes place on Sunday 3 November at the Cotswold Playhouse. As the event title suggests, the theme is family. Submissions are free and close on Sunday 22 September. The co-judges this time are Joanna Campbell and me. All information about submitting is on the Stroud Short Stories website.

Tickets, priced at £12, go on sale from the Cotswold Playhouse website on 4 October. The event is part of the 2024 Stroud Book Festival.

Awarded Community Award

In June 2024 I was awarded the Stroud News & Journal Community Award in the category ‘Contribution to the Arts’ for my work with Stroud Short Stories

Next Stroud Short Stories event 'Something Better Change' will be on 12 May 2024

The next Stroud Short Stories event ‘Something Better Change’ is on the theme of change/changes/changing.

This is our 27th event. More info here.

The event will take place at the Cotswold Playhouse in Stroud on Sunday 12 May at 7.30 (doors 7.00). Tickets, priced at £12, are available in advance from the Playhouse website.

'Booboo' published in the To Hull And Back 2023 Anthology

Short listed for the 2023 To Hull And Back international short story competition for humourous stories, ‘Booboo’ has now been published the 2023 print anthology.

My story 'Booboo' has been Short Listed for the £1,000 2023 To Hull And Back Short Story Competition.

I’m delighted to say that my story ‘Booboo’ has been Short Listed for the £1,000 international short story competition, To Hull And Back. There were a record 594 submissions. The winner will be revealed on 1 October.

Stroud Short Stories Next Event ‘Love is Strange’ on 5 November 2023

Stroud Short Stories is currently open for submissions for its next event, ‘Love is Strange’, on the joint theme of love or obsession. Submissions close on 1 October at 23.59.

It’s free to submit and ten stories will be chosen for their authors to read.

The event takes place at the Cotswold Playhouse in Stroud at 7.30pm (doors 7.00) on Sunday 5 November.

All info on the SSS website.

Stroud Short Stories Volume Three 2018-2022 has been Short Listed for the prestigious Best Anthology Award in the 2023 Saboteur Awards

The latest Stroud Short Stories anthology is one of just five anthologies which have been short listed for the prestigious 2023 Best Anthology Award.

'Creation' published by Ellipsis Zine

My silly piece of flash fiction ‘Creation’ has been published by Ellipsis Zine in print and digitally in its Volume 13, an anthology of humourous flash/micro fiction entitled ‘Hoochie Coochie’.

More information about the contents and information about how to buy is here - https://www.ellipsiszine.com/thirteen/

'The Call of Owls' published in the National Flash Fiction Flash Flood

My little flash piece ‘The Call of Owls’ was published in the National Flash Fiction Flash Flood on Saturday 18 June 2022. Lots of lovey comments on Twitter.

Here it is - The Call of Owls

'The Call of Owls' has been selected for the National Flash Fiction Day Flash Flood Journal

My story ‘The Call of Owls’ has been chosen for online publication as part of the 18 June National Flash Fiction Day Flash Flood Journal. It will appear at about 14.20.

'The Frozen Lake' selected for publication by Truffle Literary Magazine

My funny story ‘The Frozen Lake’ has ben selected for publication in Issue 05 of the online literary magazine, Truffle. Truffle is a great litmag and I couldn’t b more pleased.

'The Call of Owls' is included in The Outpost Project print anthology

My little story ‘The Call of Owls’ has been published in the Outpost Project’s ‘Missives from Isolation’ Anthology 2020-22.

This is a selection of work from the canvas/mapping experiment from the lockdown period.

Tickets remain for the 8 May 2022 Stroud Short Stories event 'The Orange Tree & Other Stories' at the Cotswold Playhouse

The 23rd SSS event starts at 7.30 and includes the writers Sophie Flynn, David Goodland, Anthony Hentschel, Jason Jackson, Laura Kinnear, Gillian Metheringham, Sean W. Quigley, Andrew Stevenson, Chloe Turner and Steve Wheeler.

All info - http://stroudshortstories.blogspot.com/

Tickets - https://www.cotswoldplayhouse.co.uk/whats-on

'Drawing a Line under the Dog' to be included in the Cranked Anvil Anthology

The publisher Cranked Anvil has sought my permission to include my story ‘Drawing a Line under the Dog’ in a new print anthology. Of course, I have said Yes.

'A Madness' published in '81 Words' Anthology

I’m delighted that my 81 word flash piece ‘A Madness’ has been published along with 999 other flash pieces by 999 other writers in the unofficial world-record holding print anthology ‘81 Words’. ‘A Madness’ is number 381! The anthology is published by Victorina Press.

'Da' Published by To Hull And Back

As a story short-listed for the 2021 To Hull And Back Short Story Competition, my story ‘Da’ has now been published in its annual print anthology.