Author Archives: Jude

Flash Fiction Festival Micro Contest, winner and runners up!

photograph by Royston Hunt www.earthnotes.co.uk

Thank you to everyone from around the world who entered our Festival Micro competition. The challenge was to write a 150 word micro fiction prompted by the photograph above, ‘Prickly Chairs’ taken by photographer Royston Hunt.

We received 111 entries. Our judges, Festival Directors Diane Simmons and Jude Higgins, found out a lot of new information about cacti and there were so many inventive stories. We really enjoyed reading them this week, eventually whittling down our choices to the following brilliant micros:

Winner:

  • ‘Eye, Aye, I’, by Kathryn Clark.
    Kathryn wins ‘The Arizona Collection’ a set of 12 notelets of gardens in Arizona, including two cards of the prompt photograph, generously donated by Royston Hunt and her micro is now published on his website alongside the photograph. She also wins a copy of one of the three Flash Fiction Festival Anthologies.
Runners up, in alphabetical order:

  • ‘Green Gardens’, by Amy Barnes.
  • ‘A Brief History of My Family’s Recent Encounters with Cacti/Cactuses’, by Francis McCrickard.
  • ‘Survival Skills’, by Lucy Zhang.

    • All runners up win a copy of one of the three Flash Fiction Festival Anthologies.

    Congratulations to all! And thank you to everyone who entered.

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    Festival Micro Contest Open Now!

    At each of the Flash Fiction Festivals (2017, 2018 and 2019) we’ve run a festival-long micro contest. This year, because the Festival was cancelled, it’s online and free for all flash enthusiasts whether you have been to the festival or not. Open for entries now and closing on Thursday 18th June at midnight BST. .

    Your challenge Write a micro 150 words maximum prompted by the images in the photograph of the cacti garden in Arizona below.

    The Rules: A previously unpublished piece pasted into the body of an email (no attachments) sent to
    jude at flashfictionfestival dot com Up to 150 words. Subject line ‘Festival Micro’. No communication with the judge about the story. No author names on the stories, no stories accepted after the deadline of midnight BST, 18th June.

    Your judge: Jude Higgins, Festival Director, pictured above holding the three festival anthologies.

    The Prizes:
    The first prize winner will receive ‘The Arizona Garden Collection’ a box of 12 beautiful notelets (including a card of the image reproduced here) generously donated by photographer Royston Hunt and the winning micro published on his blog to accompany the picture.(Check out his website to see this collection and all the cards he has for sale). In addition s the winner will receive one copy of any of the three flash fiction festival anthologies published by Ad Hoc Fiction

    Two runners up will receive one copy of any of the three festival anthologies.

    Results announced on Saturday morning, 20th June.
    (Other festival events you might be interested in include Summer Solstice Stories, a workshop with Jude 20th June.
    Flash Fiction Festival Friday, 19th June. Readings from festival presenters
    Novella-in-Flash readings with authors from Ad Hoc Fiction, V, Press and Truth Serum Press, Sunday 21st June).

    photograph by Royston Hunt www.earthnotes.co.uk

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    Summer Solstice Stories with Jude Higgins

    photograph by Royston Hunt www.earthnotes.co.uk

    Last minute opportunity! Join an extended version of the workshop I was going to offer at our cancelled festival, on Zoom on the day of the Summer Solstice, Saturday 20th June 3.30 pm – 6.00 pm BST. I like writing flash fictions inspired by myths, dreams and fairy tales and have had several published. Most recently my micro ‘Persephone Holds a Q & A on Zoom’ on NFFD 2020 Flash Flood. I’d love to enthuse you all to tap into this rich vein and write fiction on the longest day of the year, when myth abounds.
    Booking for this workshop now closed. Contact Jude (jude at judehiggins dot com) if you want information about other workshops she might run

    During the time we’ll take a brief look at summer solstice stories and the ways mythological stories are structured and I’ll give you four exercises and ideas to create your own contemporary summer solstice flash fiction myths.

    You’ll have writing time in the main group, followed by time in small break-out groups after each writing exercise to meet other flash fiction writers from around the world to chat and share or discuss your drafts. You’ll come away with four new drafts and also, within the price of the ticket, you’ll have an opportunity to get feedback from me on one draft after the workshop if you send me your piece.

    It will be a fast, fun and friendly session.50 places maximum. Beginners and experienced writers welcome. All proceeds go to funds for next year’s festival which we plan to organise for June 2021. £30.

    Find out more about the three other things happening during the festival weekend. Flash Fiction Festival Friday Readings with presenters who would have run workshops at the cancelled festival. June 19th.
    Novella in Flash readings, Sunday June 21st
    Free micro contest with lovely prizes. Open now. Closed June 18th. Announced June 20th.
    Find out more about me and my other workshops at judehiggins.com

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    Novella-in-flash Readings! Sunday 21st June

    We’d planned several sessions on the popular Novella-in-Flash form at the 2020 Flash Fiction Festival which we had to cancel earlier in this year. But now we’re very excited to offer a free evening of readings on Zoom on Sunday 21st June 7.00 pm – 9.30 pm BST hosted by Festival Director, Jude Higgins,to celebrate novella-in-flash authors published or soon to be published by Ad Hoc Fiction and V.Press in the UK and Truth Serum Press in Australia. The authors are pictured in the gallery below with their names and titles of their novellas. To get a Zoom invite email Jude at flashfictionfestival dot com
    We think this might be the first reading event of its kind totally dedicated to the novella-in-flash! Each writer will read one short piece to give a flavour of their novellas and we will have break-out groups in between each group of four readers so guests can chat with flash fiction friends from around the world. We’d love to see you at the event.

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    Readers from novellas-in-flash published by Ad Hoc Fiction in 2019 include:
    Johanna Robinson, shortlisted in the Saboteur Awards 2020 and runner up in the 2019 Bath Flash NIF Award and Dan Crawley, Debra A Daniel and Francine Witte, highly commended in the 2019 Bath Flash NIF Award. All these novellas are available from the online Ad Hoc Fiction Bookshop.

    We also have readings by Mary-Jane Holmes winner of the 2020 Bath Flash NIF Award and the two runners up, Erica Plouffe Lazure and Tracey Slaughter, plus highly commended authors, Alison Woodhouse, Louise Watts, Karen Jones and Nicholas Cook. Their novellas will be published by Ad Hoc Fiction later this year.
    It’s a pleasure too that Michelle Elvy, is reading from her ‘small novel in small forms’ published by Ad Hoc Fiction in June 2019.

      Representing novellas-in-flash from V.Press, we have readings from:
      Diane Simmons shortlisted in the 2020 Saboteur Awards Novella category, Damhnait Monaghan who won the 2020 Saboteur Award Novella category and Michael Loveday who was shortlisted in the 2019 Saboteur Award for his novella in flash and who has also judged the Bath Flash NIF Awards in 2019 and 2020.

    Representing novellas-in-flash from Truth Serum Press
    We’re delighted to welcome Nod Ghosh.

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    Flash Fiction Festival Friday. On Zoom!

    We had to cancel the face-to-face festival Flash Fiction Festival 19th-21st June but you can still come to our free Last Minute Zoom evening of readings hosted by Festival Director, Jude Higgins and taking place Friday June 19th 7.00 pm – 9.30 pm. This would have been the first evening of the Flash Fiction Festival 2020 where traditionally we have many readings and party time in the bar afterwards. To create some of that atmosphere we have many of the flash fiction writers and teachers from around the world who were going to present workshops at the festival reading. They’re pictured in the gallery below. To get a Zoom invite email jude at flashfictionfestival dot com.

    All the presenters reading have said they can come in 2021 to run the same fabulous workshops. We’re hoping to hold it in June, again at Trinity College, Bristol. Fingers crossed.
    And check out our other online weekend events
    Summer Solstice stories workshop with Jude, Novella in Flash Readings on Sunday 21st June. Free micro contest. Open now.

    At the event,the writers will be reading one micro fiction each. And after three or four readings, we will have a break so you can chat in small groups with flash fiction friends and enthusiasts from around the world. All the readings will finish by 9.30 pm but the event will stay open for longer for a late virtual bar and more socialising plus some quiz questions about the festivals with book giveaways for winners!

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