Ten Years Up! Our Next Event is on 9 May 2021. And we open for submissions on 29 January

We open for your submissions on Friday 29 January 2021 and close on Sunday 21 March.

To celebrate our tenth birthday (the first SSS event was in June 2011), it's an open theme this time, so write about anything you like in any way you like (so long as it's a short story). You have complete freedom.

As ever it's free to submit and we accept both unpublished and published pieces.

Ten stories by Gloucestershire/South Gloucs authors will be selected. They will read/perform them at our 21st event which will be on Sunday 9 May. 

The event will take place either online via YouTube or at the Cotswold Playhouse, Parliament Street, Stroud, GL5 1LW on Sunday 9 May at 7.30pm. Obviously I hope it will be a live show and therefore the Playhouse is booked - but a decision will be made based on safety. Either way it will take place/be available on 9 May.

My co-judge will be the brilliant 2020 Saboteur Award winner Chloe Turner. More about the judges here.

IMPORTANT - The Rules and How to Submit are here.

Our last 14 live events all sold out. And the YouTube videos of the online November 2020 event 'Disruption' have received a total of 1,700 views to date.

After this terrible year we really are desperate to read some great stories. It's down to you now.

Stroud Short Stories 20th Event 'DISRUPTION' - part of the 2020 Stroud Book Festival 

YouTube links here - Free and Unticketed

Grab a cup of tea or something stronger and click on the links to see the authors read their stories. I have placed the stories in an order which I think works well, but you can, of course, pick and choose as you wish.

This event is dedicated to the late Rick Vick - author, creative writing tutor, events organiser and SSS alumnus.

Many thanks to Dr Steve Goodwin of the Cotswold Playhouse/Amberley Music Makers for the videos; to Ali Bacon, my co-judge on this occasion; and to Stroud Book Festival for their support.

👈 Stroud Short Stories Organiser John Holland introduces the event

👉 He followed her up the footpath and across the meadow as though retracing her route would somehow bring her back - Steve Wheeler reads Puffballs

👈 A crack has split the town in two and even the dogs are afraid to cross it - Robin Booth reads Two Towns

👉 Feel the tension when three siblings come together at their mother's hospital bed - Claire Harrison reads Peace Lily

👈 What happens when the Big Man says he is very, very sorry - Mark Rutterford reads Correcting an Error

👉 An elegy for lost love and an exploration of what can happen when you live alone - Geoff Mead reads White Christmas

👈 A minor accident makes a teenage boy face up to his grandfather - Hannah Glickstein reads Roadkill

👉 How long will a man lie i the earth ere he rot? Simon Piney reads Waking the Dead

👈 Is there a line that you wouldn't cross? Sharon Webster reads Jumping the Queue

👉 Isolated during a pandemic, Frank begins to suspect a connection between the virus and the climate change protesters camped outside his home - Stephen Connolly reads The Corvidae Diary

👈 Death comes to Derbyshire’s fourth largest tourist attraction - Emma Kernahan reads A Brief History of Lady Charlotte, Duchess of Beaumont

If you enjoyed the stories, or just want to support SSS, why not buy the book? Six of tonight's authors have stories in the SSS Anthology 2015-18. In all there are 57 stories by 45 Gloucestershire authors. More info and links to buy here.

Join us HERE on Sunday 8 November SSS 2020 from 7.30pm for our 20th event - on the theme of 'Disruption' - it's FREE!

The need for everyone's safety means that the Stroud Short Stories event 'Disruption' (!) will take place online.

I hope you'll join us on the SSS YouTube channel via links here on our website from 7.30 on Sunday 8 November to enjoy ten Gloucestershire authors reading/performing their stories. (Please note that there is no access to the SSS event on the Stroud Book Festival YouTube channel.)

The event, which is our 20th and is dedicated to the late Rick Vick, will feature the ten stories initially selected from the 119 stories submitted for the postponed April event.

Just a reminder of the stories which will be read by their authors. (Click on the links for the authors' websites) -

A Brief History of Lady Charlotte, Duchess of Beaumont - Emma Kernahan (Stroud)
Correcting an Error - Mark Rutterford (Filton, South Gloucs)
The Corvidae Diary - Stephen Connolly (Siddington, Cirencester)
Waking the Dead - Simon Piney (Eastcombe, Stroud)
Jumping the Queue - Sharon Webster (Leckhampton, Cheltenham)
Peace Lily - Claire Harrison (Charlton Kings, Cheltenham)
Puffballs - Steve Wheeler (Sheepscombe)
Roadkill - Hannah Glickstein (Stroud)
Two Towns - Robin Booth (Brimscombe, Stroud)
White Christmas - Geoff Mead (Kingscote, Tetbury)

These are brilliant stories, so please join us here from 7.30 on Sunday 8 November on the SSS website when I will post links to the ten readings/performances on YouTube. Please note that there is no access to the SSS event on the Stroud Book Festival YouTube channel.

Our last 14 events sold out. You will not need a ticket for this one. And there will be no charge to watch/listen to the videos.

MAY 2021 Event - We will open again for submissions in late January for our Sunday 9 May 2021 event. There will be an open theme - so any subject, any genre, any approach so long as it's a short story of 1,500 words or less. COVID allowing, it will take place at the Cotswold Playhouse in Stroud or, failing that, online again.

John 

'Disruption' event 8 November 2020 - The Ten Authors and Their Stories

I am delighted to announce the authors and titles of the stories for our re-arranged 20th event at the Cotswold Playhouse on Sunday 8 November 2020. The event is on the theme of Disruption (!) and is dedicated to the late Rick Vick. It will also be part of the Stroud Book Festival.

90 Gloucestershire/South Gloucestershire writers submitted 119 stories. We have shared with those authors our Long List of 44 stories and then our 16-strong Short List. 

These are the ten stories which my co-judge, Ali Bacon, and I have selected for this event (in alphabetical order by title). Click on the links for the authors' websites -

A Brief History of Lady Charlotte, Duchess of Beaumont - Emma Kernahan (Stroud)
Correcting an Error - Mark Rutterford (Filton, South Gloucs)
The Corvidae Diary - Stephen Connolly (Siddington, Cirencester)
ICMP - Simon Piney (Eastcombe, Stroud)
Jumping the Queue - Sharon Webster (Leckhampton, Cheltenham)
Peace Lily - Claire Harrison (Charlton Kings, Cheltenham)
Puffballs - Steve Wheeler (Sheepscombe)
Roadkill - Hannah Glickstein (Stroud)
Two Towns - Robin Booth (Brimscombe, Stroud)
White Christmas - Geoff Mead (Kingscote, Tetbury)

Huge congratulations to these authors for creating such brilliantly-crafted stories which will provide a wonderful evening for our audience on 8 November.

Seven of our Final Ten authors have read at SSS before, but, as always, we have SSS newcomers. I am delighted to welcome Hannah Glickstein, Claire Harrison and Sharon Webster, who will be the 112th, 113th and 114th authors to read at an SSS event!


TICKETS for Sunday 8 November will be on sale later in the year and I will add that information here on the SSS website when it's available. It's going to be a great evening.

Thank you EVERYONE for submitting your stories. And STAY SAFE.

John

19 APRIL EVENT 'DISRUPTION' POSTPONED TO 8 NOVEMBER

In the face of serious public health issues I have decided, jointly with the Cotswold Playhouse, to postpone the 20th Stroud Short Stories event 'Disruption' from 19 April to Sunday 8 November. The irony of the theme will not be lost on you.

I do this with a heavy heart. But given the age profile of many authors and audience members, as well as the Playhouse staff and volunteers, I consider it essential to make your/their health and well-being our priority.

The good news is that this is not a cancellation. No one is going to miss out. You will be able to hear/see the ten stories we select on the theme of DISRUPTION read/performed by their authors on Sunday 8 November at the Cotswold Playhouse. The event will still be dedicated to the late Rick Vick. Additionally, the event will also now be part of the fabulous 5th Stroud Book Festival.

In terms of the current selection process, Ali Bacon and I will continue our work. From 119 submissions, we chose a Long List of 44, and have now selected a really strong Short List of 16 outstanding stories. All authors who submitted have been informed of the titles on those lists.

This week we will choose the ten stories for the 8 November event. As time is no longer pressing, we're going to give ourselves an extra day, and therefore notify the submitting authors of the Final Ten by Thursday 19 March and then announce the ten publicly here on our website on Friday 20 March.

Thank you for your patience and support. 

Take care, everyone.

John

Thank you to everyone who submitted stories for our 19 April 2020 event 'Disruption' - The Selection Process is Underway

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who submitted stories for our 19 April event 'Disruption'. 90 writers submitted a total of 119 stories - our third highest total ever.

The ten stories to be read at our event at the Cotswold Playhouse will be announced here on Thursday 19 March.

As things stand, the event will be on Sunday 19 April at 7.30 (doors & bar 7.00) at the Cotswold Playhouse, Parliament Street, Stroud, GL1 5LW.

Tickets, priced at £8 go on sale on Friday 20 March, the day after we announce the names of the authors who will read their stories. Tickets are only available from the Cotswold Playhouse website or by phone on 0333 666 3366 (this is not a premium rate number).

The Playhouse has a sensible statement about Coronavirus on its website. If the event has to be postponed (it won't be cancelled altogether) I will post that information here immediately. Should this be after ticket sales commence, the Playhouse staff have confirmed that you will receive a full refund.

John

We are Open for your Submissions for our special 20th Event on 19 April 2020

The next SSS event is on the theme of DISRUPTION and will take place on Sunday 19 April 2020 at 7.30 (doors/bar 7.00) at the Cotswold Playhouse in Stroud. 

We are open for submissions from Gloucs/S.Gloucs writers until Sunday 8 March at 23.59 ie one minute to midnight.

This event is dedicated to the late Rick Vick - poet, creative writing tutor, events organiser and SSS stalwart. The Stroud News article on Rick is here. The Guardian obituary is here.

This is also our 20th event since our inception in 2011.

Try to think of the theme of DISRUPTION as widely as possible. Almost anything can be disrupted - lives, relationships, work, health, peace and quiet, law and order, traffic, events, games, sport, sleep, short story readings, the status quo, city/town/village life, society in general. They're just examples. You will be able to think of even more, I'm sure.

As always we welcome any take on the theme including the funny and ironic.

I am co-judging with author Ali Bacon this time. We both read all stories, and we do it 'blind' ie without knowing the writer's name.

See our Rules and How to Submit here.

Information about the Judges here.

We really want to read your stories on this theme. Let's make this a great event.

Tickets on sale from Cotswold Playhouse website from 20 March.

John