It’s been a busy few months and there are more busy months ahead! Lots of exciting things are happening, I’m delighted to say. In March I will be judging entries for Retreat West’s themed monthly flash fiction competition. I’ve chosen FOREST as the theme. I’d love to see you let your imagination go with this! You do not need to include the word ‘forest’ in your entry. You might like to keep an eye on my Twitter feed as I’ll be posting some triggers and possible ways to get going in the coming weeks, before the closing date on 27th March. 500 max word count. £8 per entry. First Prize £200. Second Prize £100. Both prize winners are also offered online publication and a professional recording of their winning entry. Retreat West

I’ll also be creating the cover for the annual National Flash Fiction Day Anthology in March. The cover is always great fun to do and I’m looking forward to exploring ways to represent this year’s theme, FREEDOM. The anthology will be launched as part of the NFFD celebrations in June. National Flash Fiction Day

Right now, I’m having a lovely time moving Joanna Campbell’s wonderful novella-in-flash, Sybilla, towards publication. Joanna’s novella, set in West Berlin, in the shadow of the The Wall, won NFFD’s inaugural Novella-in-Flash Award, judged by author, Sophie van Llewyn. You can find out more about Joanna’s entry in Sophie’s report here

I recently judged Reflex Press’ Winter flash fiction competition. It’s a real privilege to be trusted with a writer’s work, thank you again to anyone who entered. If you aren’t already aware, each of the four winners will be published online between Thursday 17 Feb and Sunday 20 Feb. My comments on the winning entries will also be published on Sunday. Reflex Fiction