Here are some details about some my workshops and talks, upcoming and past, in reverse chronological order.
You can find a full list of upcoming readings, events, and shenanigans here, the long-term literary projects I’m involved with here, and the competitions I’m judging here.
Flash Fiction Festival
Bristol, 12-14 July 2023
Flash Fission: When Science Meets Storytelling
CP Snow once claimed there was a gulf of mutual incomprehension between literary intellectuals and scientists. In this friendly, playful session, we’ll challenge this notion of ‘two cultures’ by looking at ways we can bridge this science/art divide when we write flash. Through discussion and writing exercises, we’ll investigate questions like:
* What are some ways we can weave scientific themes into our flash (regardless of technical background)?
* How can thinking like a scientist help us hone our prose?
* How have science and technology opened up new modes of storytelling, and how can we take advantage of this as flash writers?
I’ll also share some editing and idea generating tricks that I picked up when studying physics, information theory, and machine learning — techniques anyone can apply to their own writing.
No specialist knowledge or background is required or assumed, and you don’t even need an interest in science to join in the fun. Scientists and non-scientists alike are warmly welcome!
Find out more and book a place: https://www.flashfictionfestival.com/
Flash Fiction Festival
Bristol, 12-14 July 2023
AIR, EARTH, WATER AND FIRE: A Celebration of the 2024 National Flash Fiction Day Anthology
A Chat with NFFD Anthology Editors & Readings from our 2024 anthology Grab a drink and join us in the bar for a celebration of our latest anthology. NFFD’s own Diane Simmons will host a brief chat with NFFD anthology editor Karen Jones and previous anthology editor and Co-Director Ingrid Jendrzejewski. We’ll also hear some of this year’s authors read their anthology flashes and micros, and Ingrid will also be on hand to run a mini-competition for those who want a shot at some mildly fabulous prizes…
Find out more and book a place: https://www.flashfictionfestival.com/
National Flash Fiction Day
Birmingham, 15 June 2024
Elemental Matters: The Nature of Flash
Writing great flash might feel as hard as walking on water, but don’t let that take the wind out of your sails: NFFD is here to help! In this fun, friendly workshop, Ingrid invokes the elements of this year’s anthology theme as a framework for introducing some writing exercises designed to fire up your imagination as well as some tricks and techniques that will help you move the earth with your flash. Writers of all backgrounds and levels of experience are warmly welcome.
Details TBA
National Flash Fiction Day
Birmingham, 15 June 2024
Behind the Scenes at NFFD: A Chat with NFFD Anthology Editors Past and Present
Panel Discussion hosted by Diane Simmons
NFFD’s own Diane Simmons chats with NFFD’s 2024 Anthology Editors Karen Jones and Sara Hills as well as past anthology editor Ingrid Jendrzejewski about this year’s anthology, writing to themes, the process of putting together the NFFD anthology, and much much more.
Details TBA
National Flash Fiction Day
Birmingham, 15 June 2024
2024 National Flash Fiction Day Anthology Launch
Readings from the 2024 National Flash Fiction Day Anthology
Celebrate the launch of the newest National Flash Fiction Day Anthology with us as we hear selections from the anthology read by some of this year’s authors and Microfiction Competition winners.
Details TBA
The Scottish Association of Writers
55th Annual Conference
Glasgow, 22-24 March 2024
I’m thrilled to be joining SAW this year for their annual conference. I’ll be announcing the results of the 2024 Margaret McConnell Trophy Humorous Short Story Competition, participating in a panel with some of the other 2024 competition adjudicators, and delivering the following workshop….
Laughing Matters: Writing Humorous Short Stories
There’s nothing more delightful to read than a perfectly-pitched humorous short story. Why, then, can it sometimes feel like comedy is such a rare beast in the literary landscape? How does one write something short and funny that feels like a fully-realised narrative rather than a simple joke, anecdote, or shaggy dog story? And how does one navigate the awkward fact that readers — and editors! — all seem to have different senses of humour and no one tends to agree on what’s funny in the first place?
In this workshop, we’ll take a whistle-stop tour of some of the ways we might approach humour in our short stories – everything from pure, laugh-a-minute comedy to premise-driven humour pieces to stories that approach more serious subject matter using humour. We’ll look at different styles of comedy and what approaches tend to work well on the page. We’ll also talk about some of the challenges and issues specific to writing and publishing humorous short stories, including some of the common mistakes I see in the submission queues.
Don’t forget to bring paper and pen! Throughout this workshop, we’ll try our hands at several short, no-stress writing exercises designed to leave you with some seeds and sketches for some funny, short-form stories of your own — as well as a smile on your face.
Online Workshop: Saturday, 18 November 2023, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. BST
Lions and Titles and Bears, Oh My!
Crafting the Perfect Title
Crafting a perfect title is an art unto itself. As an editor and judge, Ingrid often sees writers short-change a really great piece of writing by not taking enough care over what they call it. With flash especially, this can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection.
In this workshop, we interrogate what makes a good title and discuss common mistakes writers make when naming their pieces. We’ll work through multiple strategies for generating titles, and also look at how a good title can be your secret weapon in the editing process.
Whilst it’s not necessary to have written anything before, you may like to bring at least one short piece of work to this workshop – draft or complete – to think about; we’ll be putting ideas into practice as we go along. Or, if you prefer, you can use this as an idea generating session; sometimes, a great flash is kick-started by a great title….
Tickets are £5 and can be purchased at Retreat West.
Online Workshop: Sunday, 12 November, 1pm NYC / 6pm UK
Peer Review Workshop: November 16-20
The Physics of Flash: Where Science and Mathematics Meet the Art of Fiction
What happens when we imagine like a mathematician? Craft like a chemist? Edit like an engineer? In this session, we’ll take our inspiration from the technical and explore how thinking like a scientist can unlock magic in our fiction. This is a friendly, playful webinar; no specialist knowledge or background is required or assumed.
This workshop is part of SmokeLong Quarterly’s series, Afterglow: The Summer is Not Enough. The webinar with feedback and peer review is $99, the webinar-only experience is $29, and there are discounts if you’re booking for more than one Afterglow event. Details and booking links can be found here:
www.smokelong.com/afterglow-2023-the-summer-is-not-enough/
Online Event: 14 October 2023, 1pm-4pm BST
Submission (Im)Possible!
Join me and Carrie Etter for our second Zoom session dedicated to everything to do with getting your work in the world: sending to magazines; submitting to competitions; writing cover letters, synopses, and proposals; researching new markets, etc. We’ll share information about magazines currently reading, open competitions, etc. in the chat as we go, and if you need to step away to take care of your cat/child/guinea pig/significant other, etc., just turn off your camera and come back when you’re ready. This is an all-inclusive, wholly supportive space open to writers of all backgrounds and orientations. This event is free but you’ll need to reserve a place.
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/submission-impossible-tickets-688356501827
Online Workshop: Saturday, 7 October 2023, 15:15 – 16:15 BST
Writing Humorous Flash Fiction
When reading for a competition or literary journal, a lot of stories that come through the queue are dark or sad or melancholy or grim. Whilst these are all perfectly legitimate and worthy moods for flash fiction, nothing stands out more to a reader than a perfectly crafted flash that also makes one laugh. Why, then, is flash comedy such a rare beast in the literary landscape? How does one write something short and funny that feels like fully-realised flash rather than a simple joke or shaggy dog story? And how does one navigate the awkward fact that readers all seem to have different senses of humour and no one tends to agree on what’s funny in the first place?
In this workshop, we’ll take a whistle-stop tour of some of the ways we might approach humour in flash – everything from pure comedy to employing humour to heighten the impact of a more serious piece – and talk about issues specific to writing and publishing flash comedy. We’ll also try our hands at a few writing exercises designed to leave you with some seeds and sketches for comedic short-form stories of your own.
This one-hour workshop on humour in flash fiction is part of Retreat West’s day-long Online Flash Fest. You can buy tickets and see the full line-up of speakers and activities at Retreat West.
Online Workshop: Sunday, 17 September 2023, 17:00 – 18:00 BST
Prose Poetry for Flash Writers
Are you a flash writer interested in poetry? Do you write both poetry and flash, and wonder how you might combine both forms? Do you sometimes find yourself writing flash that is hard to place or doesn’t feel quite like flash? Are you just interested in prose poetry and want to find out more? Whether you’re a new writer or dab hand, join us for an exploration of prose poetry aimed flash writers interesting in sidling into the poetry landscape.
In this session, we’ll look at some examples of prose poetry and talk about what prose poetry is — and isn’t — and where it fits on the spectrum of shortform writing. We’ll discuss what makes a shortform piece feel complete when we start moving away from narrative and storytelling. We’ll also touch on some of the ingredients that make up a successful prose poem, and discuss some of the tools from the prose poetry toolbox that we flash writers can use, whether we’re writing flash fiction, prose poetry, or something else entirely.
Bring a pen as we’ll try our hand with some simple, short exercises along the way!
Tickets are only £5 and you can buy one at Retreat West.
Online workshop: Saturday, 9 September 2023, 6 – 8pm BST
Flash Fusion: What Flash Fiction Writers Can Learn From Haiku
What do haiku and flash fiction have in common beyond brevity? More than you might think! Find out, and bring a pen…. It’s workshop time!
In this two-hour flash fiction workshop, we’ll look at the haiku form and discuss what we can learn from it that might inform our prose writing.
Bring a pen as we’ll try our hand at some writing exercises along the way….
This workshop is suitable for flash writers interested in haiku, haiku writers interested in flash, and everyone in between. Everyone is welcome, regardless of experience with flash or haiku.
This workshop will take place on Zoom. Details will be sent out prior to the event. Tickets are £11.55 and can be purchased at eventbrite.
Bristol, July 2023
Finessing Fiction: What Prose Writers can Pinch from Poetry
The focus of fiction might be on the story, but if we don’t pay attention to how we’re using language, we’re missing a trick. In this session, we look at what we can beg, borrow and steal from poets to improve the quality of our prose.
We’ll go through a grab bag of tools that poets use and think about how we can use them to craft sentences and paragraphs with more intentionality and finesse. We’ll look at diction, rhythm, syntax, sound, and structure.The focus of this session will be a discussion of techniques with examples from both poetry and prose.