Ten weeks to go until our 2023 Award ends on April 24th. We welcome stories of up to 2200 words on all subjects and themes by writers from around the world.

Our Judge, Farhana Shaikh, says this in our interview with her:

“Write what you love, and write with abandon for yourself first. Put it away in a drawer for some time so you can get some distance between you and the words. Then and only once you’ve done this, seek out people who can help you to refine what you’ve written, offer critical feedback so you can polish the work before sending it in. It’s amazing what happens when you re-work a piece with fresh eyes. Good luck!”

Today, Valentine’s day, is the time to give some love to your creative self and we like the idea of writing with abandon. If you follow Farhana’s advice and concentrate on the shape, layers, sub text and sub plots of your story after you have let it rest for a while, join a workshop with writer, editor and writing teacher, Alison Woodhouse, one of our BSSA team who is running a one-off 3 hour workshop from 10 am- 1.00 pm on 28th February on Beginnings Middles and Ends, Creating Coherence in Short Stories. . It costs the bargain price of £20 and to book, contact Alison at alison.woodhouse (at) gmail (dot) com. Alison is an inspiring teacher and we highly recommend.

BSSA team member, Jude Higgins, February 2023