Courttia Newland is the author of seven works of fiction. His latest, The Gospel According to Cane, was published in 2013 and has been optioned by Cowboy Films as TV Serial for the BBC. He was nominated for the Impac Dublin Literary Award and The Frank O' Conner award, as well as numerous others. His short stories have appeared in many anthologies and broadcast on Radio 4. He is Associate Lecturer in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, and is completing a PhD in Creative Writing.Tania Hershman is an award-winning writer of short and very short stories which have been widely published in print and online and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4. Her first collection, The White Road and other Stories (2008) was commended, 2009 Orange Award for New Writers. Her second, My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions (2012), contains 56 very short fictions and was longlisted for the 2012 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. Tania is founding editor of The Short Review, curator-in-chief of UK & Ireland short story hub ShortStops, and regularly teaches workshops on short fiction and using science as inspiration. Her website is taniahershman.com

Including advice from leading published writers, this is a complete practical guide to writing successful short stories.teach at the world famous Arvon Foundation writing course and have distilled the essence of their course into this practical handbook with contributions from leading writers.

Includes advice from such prize-winning writers as Edith Pearlman, Jane Rogers and Toby Litt

Foreword Preface Part 1 The History Of The Short Story: Tania Crime, Tricks, And Tales: Genre And The Short Story: Courttia The Shorter End Of Short Stories - Boundaries With Poetry: Tania Stories: Those Little Slices Of Life: Courttia Reflections On Writing And On Books On Writing: Tania Reflections 2: The What, When, How, Why And Where Of It For Me: Tania Reflections On The Evolution Of A Short Story: Courttia The Evolution Of A Short Story: Under The Tree: Tania Reflections: Permission And Risk: Tania Part 2 1. Alison Moore 2. Anthony Doerr 3. Elspeth Sandys 4. Alexander MacLeod 5. David Vann 6. Jane Rogers 7. Edith Pearlman 8. Vanessa Gebbie 9. Di Speirs 10. Jenn Ashworth 11. Tom Lee 12. Toby Litt 13. Adam Thorpe 14. Ryan O'Neill 15. Henrietta Rose-Innes 16. Clare Wigfall 17. Alison Macleod 18. Olive Senior Part 3 A Note On Craft And Critique: Writing Is Not A Democracy: Tania From Beginning To End: Courttia Where To Start - Ideas And Inspiration: Tania Where To Start: Titles, Beginnings And Endings: Tania Movement And Syncopation In Fiction: Writing The Long Short Story: Courttia Plot Versus Story - Where's The Tension?: Tania Editing And Revising: Courttia Tenses: Tania Step Into A World - Thoughts On Structure: Courtta Structure And How To Use It: Tania What Gets Left Out And Minimalism: Tania Speaking Their Minds - Character And Voice: Courttia Writing Flash Fiction, Liberation Through Constraint: Tania A Brief History Of Time In The Short Story: Tania Another Perspective - Point Of View In The Story: Courttia Harvesting - On Writing Your Collection: Courttia Short Story Collections - How Do They Work And How To Get One Published: Tania Voice And Dialogue, Using Scenes: Tania Close Reading Of Between My Father And The King By Janet Frame: Tania Experimenting And Experimental Short Stories: Tania Publishing Short Stories: Tania Short Story Competitions - How To Make Your Story Stand Out: Tania 60 Favourite Short Stories: Tania And Courttia 50 Favourite Collections: Tania And Courttia

Writing Short Stories: A Writers' and Artists' Companion is an essential guide to writing short fiction successfully. PART 1 explores the nature and history of the form, personal reflections by the editors, and help getting started with ideas, planning and research. PART 2 includes tips by leading short story writers, including: Alison Moore, Jane Rogers, Edith Pearlman, David Vann, Anthony Doerr, Vanessa Gebbie, Alexander MacLeod, Adam Thorpe and Elspeth Sandys. PART 3 contains practical advice - from shaping plots and exploring your characters to beating writers' block, rewriting and publishing your stories.