NEXT EVENT + NEW ANTHOLOGY
The next SSS event will be on Sunday 8th November 2026 starting at 7.30 at the Lansdown Hall in Stroud and will be part of the Stroud Book Festival.
Submissions will open for all Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire writers on Sunday 16 August. As always, it is free to submit your stories.
The theme is HEAT/HOT. Think of the theme as widely as possible. For example, you could write stories about fire, temperature, climate change, anger, an attractive person, passion, pressure, insurrection, inflaming the senses, spicy food, hot gossip, etc. I'm sure you can think of more.
We are looking for well-crafted and engaging stories which will entertain, excite and inspire an audience. As always, the dark, ironic and funny are very welcome.
Submissions close on Sunday 27 September. We will select 8 to10 stories for their authors to read at the event. The autumn SSS events has sold out in advance for the last 12 years, so you will almost certainly be reading to a capacity audience.
I am delighted to say that my co-judge this time will be award-winning short story author and novelist Joanna Campbell.
Under SSS rules, those writers who read at our last event (All This Useless Beauty, Nov 2025) may not submit this time.
The Rules and How to Submit are here.
SSS Writing Tips are here.
Information about the judges is here.
Additionally, it'll soon be time for us to publish our new anthology STROUD SHORT STORIES VOLUME FOUR 2022-2025 featuring 60 stories from our last 6 events by 40 Gloucestershire authors.
We're currently formatting the new anthology and planning a Thursday 8 October evening launch at the Stonehouse Court Hotel. The launch will be free to all. Please come along. More information to follow.
John
