NEW ANTHOLOGY THIS YEAR + NEXT EVENT
The next event will be in the autumn of 2026 and will be part of the Stroud Book Festival.
Watch this space for more news.
John
Thursday, 22 January 2026
Monday, 10 November 2025
Author pix from the November 2025 event ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY
Here are the authors who read/performed in front of an enthusiastic audience at our recent sell-out event at a new venue, the Lansdown Hall. Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and came along to support local authors.
We were delighted to be part of the Stroud Book Festival.
The authors are in the order in which they read/performed. Snaps by Ed Holland. Thank you, Ed.
 |
| Mark Rutterford who hosted the event |
 |
| Steve Wheeler The Beautiful Couple |
 |
| Hannah Glickstein I Make Him Sick |
 |
| Nikki Vivian Lamello Zeta P2 |
 |
| Christine Griffin The Rag-Rug Boy |
 |
| Simon Gowers The Camberwell Beauty |
 |
| Laura Kinnear Mary |
 |
| Poppy Lomax I'll Keep All of My Useless Beauty to Myself |
 |
| Author Rod Gowers with co-reader Natalie Lee 2050: A Conversation on Beauty |
 |
| Ruth Pilston Shrinkflation |
 |
| Rebecca Klassen Egg |
Friday, 31 October 2025
Wednesday, 1 October 2025
Ticket Information for 9 November 2025 ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY + The Winning Authors and their Stories
TICKETS, priced at £12, for the Special 30th SSS event, All This Useless Beauty, are currently on sale from the Lansdown Hall website -
https://lansdownhall.org/stroud-short-stories-all-this-useless-beauty/
The event, part of the 2025 Stroud Book Festival, is on Sunday 9 November at the Lansdown Hall, Lansdown, Stroud, GL5 1BB. It starts at 7.30 (doors 7.30) and ends 9.45-10.00. There will be an interval and a bar selling alcoholic and non-alcohlic drinks including tea and coffee before the event and during the interval. When you book you can choose exactly where you sit.
Best to park in the Church Street Car Park and walk down the High Street to Lansdown.
This event will not be recorded.
HUGE THANKS to the 78 writers who submitted 112 stories on the theme of Beauty for our 9 November event All This Useless Beauty.
My co-judge this time, Ali Bacon, and I have announced the ten authors and their stories for the event. Here they are -
Hannah Glickstein - I Make Him Sick
Rod Gowers - 2050: A Conversation on Beauty
Simon Gowers - The Camberwell Beauty
Christine Griffin - The Rag-Rug Boy
Laura Kinnear - Mary
Rebecca Klassen - Egg
Poppy Lomax - I'll Keep all of my Useless Beauty to Myself
Ruth Pilston - Shrinkflation
Nikki Vivian - Lamello Zeta P2
Steve Wheeler - The Beautiful Couple
Sincere congratulations to these authors and thanks to them for submitting their brilliant stories to SSS. The stories range from the hilarious to the sad and poignant. There will be a sea voyage, a magnificent DIY tool, angels, a designer baby and, of course, an egg. It's going to be a great evening.
FIVE of the writers are new to SSS so will be the 137th, 138th, 139th, 140th and 141st writers to read at one of our events. Rod and Simon Gowers are brothers!
At the other end of things, Steve is reading for the ninth time and each of Hannah, Laura and Rebecca for the fourth time. It will be Ruth's second reading.
John
Sunday, 21 September 2025
We are Closed for Submissions for our 9 November 2025 event ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY. Here are the Important Selection Dates + Ticket Information
Here are the Important Selection Dates -
*Long List announced - Thursday 25 September
*Short List announced - Sunday 28 September
FINAL TEN announced - Wednesday 1 October
*Please note that only those writers who have submitted stories for this event will receive the Long and Short Lists
TICKETS go on sale from the Lansdown Hall website from Friday 3 October. ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY is part of the 2025 Stroud Book Festival and takes place on Sunday 9 November at the Lansdown Hall at 7.30 (doors 7.00).
Seats are reservable so you can choose exactly where you sit. There will be an interval and a bar serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, coffee and tea before the event and during the interval.
Street parking is limited so the best bet is the Church Street car park then walk down the High Street or through Bank Gardens.
See you there!
John
Friday, 16 May 2025
We remain open for your submissions for our Special 30th Event ALL THIS USELESS BEAUTY at the Lansdown Hall on Sunday 9 November 2025. We close for submissions on Sunday 21 September at 23.59.
The theme is BEAUTY/BEAUTIFUL
It can be the beauty of anything - nature, landscape, people, children, love, writing, an object, a work of art or craft, architecture, the beauty of the accidental, a score or move in sports and games, day, a deity, the sky, a city or village, music, clothes, cosmetics, cosmetic surgery, beauty treatments/grooming, beautician, vanity, tattoos, health & beauty, animals, pets, inner beauty, hidden beauty, a beautiful friendship...you name it, you can use it in your story.
NB Please remember that we are looking for STORIES, something with a 'narrative arc' to read to a live audience.
The title of the event is All This Useless Beauty based on the 1996 Elvis Costello song and the 1926 Maupassant short story.
As always it's free to submit.
OUR NEW VENUE is the Lansdown Hall in Stroud and the event will be part of the 2025 Stroud Book Festival. The Cotswold Playhouse was unable to offer us any dates that would allow us to be part of the Book Festival. Like the Playhouse, the Lansdown Hall has a seating capacity of 150.
KEY DATES - Submissions are now open but close on Sunday 21 September. The results will be publicly announced on Wednesday 1 October and tickets will go on sale on Friday 3 October from the Lansdown Hall website. If you're interested, please make a note of these dates.
We choose ten stories to be read/performed by their authors. We take both new and previously published stories of 500 to 1500 words. Under our legendary Rule 11 (now 12!), the authors who read at the Keep on Movin' event back in May are unable to submit to this event.
I am co-judging this time with short story author and novelist Ali Bacon who has read a number of times at SSS and won awards for her short fiction. Ali's novel The Absent Heart was published in March this year.
Link to info about the JUDGES is here.
Link to the Rules and How to Submit is here.
Link to Tips on Writing for SSS is here. This is essential reading!
John
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Pix of the Authors who read at KEEP ON MOVIN' on Sunday 11 May 2025
Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and came along to our event, Keep on Movin' on Sunday 11 May at the Cotswold Playhouse. Here are the authors who performed their brilliant stories at our 29th event. They are in the order in which they read.
Photography by Angela Fitch. Thank you, Angela!
 |
| Robin Booth - Paulie |
 |
| Joel Levy - Remora |
 |
| Stella Waller - Three Sisters |
 |
| Steph Smith - Sea Shanty |
 |
| David Goodland - Elvis and Billy and that Old Crab |
 |
| Val Ockwell - Taking a Leap |
 |
| Sophie Holland - Next of Kin |
 |
| Sean W. Quigley - Making the Most of it |
 |
| Jacob Parker - Neon Pizza |
 |
| Jess Blatchley - The Year of Mud and Liquids |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)