Category: To Hull & Back

To Hull and Back - Volume 5 - Out Now!

31/10/2018

It's "It's Hulloween", so that must mean only one thing...

(OK, two things, but for the purposes of this entry, one.)

It's the publication of Chris Fielden's annual "To Hull and Back" anthology!

Now in its fifth year, "To Hull and Back" remains one of the only opportunities to reward, and specifically publish, comedy short fiction - certainly in the UK, if not the world. Once again, I was fortunate to be on the judging panel, where the standard (to coin a cliché), really does seem to increase year on year.

Special front-cover congratulations this year goes to the overall winner, John Holland, with his poignantly funny story "Lips". The other nineteen shortlisted stories are well worth a read too...

Take a look at Chris's page for the various links on Amazon, to buy as a paperbook book, Kindle file, or PDF.

"To Hull & Back" - volume 3 - out now!

31/10/2017

Chris Fielden's gloriously bonkers, not to mention highly irreverent, competition for humorous short stories has now revved its way into its 4th year. Since on the whole there is little opportunity to see comic writing acknowledged and rewarded in this way, it's great to see this competition going from strength to strength.

I was fortunate enough to win the inaugural To Hull and Back competition in 2014, with my story "How Not To Undertake an Effective Time-and-Motion Study". Part of my prize was to be immortalised on The Hog (i.e. Chris's motorbike), on the front cover of the resulting anthology. (I've been jumping through that ring of fire for four years now. I must be getting bow-legged... as well as a trifle warm...)

This year I was privileged to be asked to join the judging panel. To say it was a tough call was an understatement - the shortlist consists of twenty very good (and funny) stories. Congratulations to Crystal Jeans, the overall winner - enjoy joining a very select club of Hog-Riders!

The anthology for the 2017 competition is out now. It also features a story from each of the judges, including my quirky romantic offering "The Arrow of Cupid (Goes Twang)", which was published by Storgy earlier this year. Take a look at Chris's competition page for the various links on Amazon, to buy as a paperbook book, Kindle file, or PDF.

"To Hull & Back" - Volume 2 - out now!

31/10/2015

This time last year I was privileged to win Chris Fielden's inaugural "To Hull and Back" competition for humorous short fiction. Part of my prize was to be immortalised on the front cover of the anthology, riding a motorbike through a ring of fire, brandishing a flaming quill... (basically, just a normal night out for me in Mitcham).

Well now, it's back! And this year, I am honoured to feature again, not as a contestant, but as a member of the judging team. This was a completely new experience, and allowed me to see for myself just how difficult, demanding, yet incredibly rewarding it can be to assess so many great (and very funny) works of fiction. You can see the results, plus my not-entirely sensible comments about being a judge, on the 2015 To Hull & Back page.

Congratulations, therefore, to Radovana Jágriková, who replaces me on The Hog (see picture for the awesome sleeve, designed by Lukas Migel). Massive congrats also to all the other winners and shortlistees who made it into the book, out of an impressive 216 entries.

The anthology is available now from Amazon - check out Chris Fielden's site for the numerous Amazon sites where you can buy it in paperback, or for your Kindle. As well as each of the 20 shortlisted stories, it also includes a story from each of the judges, including my story of office politics run amok, "Away Day".

A Tweet, a blog, and a video...

18/5/2015

This month, I've been online, via a variety of media...

Firstly, here's the resulting video of Chris Fielden's "To Hull and Back" competition, which I won last year. Can a literary award get any cooler than this?

Then came a Tweet-length story I sent to Shirley Golden (@shirl1001), which I was pleased to see she marked as one of her favourites. The remit was to place Thor, the Norse god of thunder, in an unusual setting. (This was part of the intriguing "Nine Realms", a Viking-themed collaborative project combining art, poetry, and stories, which is well worth a look.)

My tweet is below, but you can read all the very entertaining efforts at the Artipeeps website.

Finally, I wrote an article entitled "What Makes a Good Short Story?" for the online literary magazine The Red Line. I'm not entirely sure I succeeded in addressing the question, but I did manage to shoehorn in references to pies, Ferraris and ninjas. So that's OK.

"To Hull and Back" humorous short story anthology out now

31/10/2014

I'm on the Highway to Hull... sort of!

Out now is the first ever "To Hull and Back" anthology, run by author Chris Fielden. Not only did I have the privilege of winning his inaugural humorous short story competition, but, look... I appear to be on the front cover.

I never knew I was such a daredevil.

For those who live in or around Bristol, or are prepared to make the journey, there will be a launch party at the Bristol branch of Foyles at 6pm on Friday 28th November 2014, where I'll be reading from my winning story.

In the meantime, you can buy a copy of the anthology (containing a bargain 27 stories) for your Kindle or in paperback via Amazon. It's also available on Createspace.

"How Not to Undertake an Effective Time-and-Motion Study" wins the "To Hull and Back" humorous short story competition

1/10/2014

My flabber is gasted and I'm chuffed to lots of little bits to have won my first writing contest.

"To Hull and Back", run by author Chris Fielden, is a brand new competition for humorous short stories. Since opportunities specifically for any kind of funny literature are few and far between, I knew this was a contest I wanted to support. I genuinely didn't expect to win.

The prize is something to behold. Not only will my face be emblazoned on the front cover (see photo as an example, with Chris's picture), but I will also - if I wish - have the opportunity to travel, indeed, to Hull, as a pillion passenger on Chris's very impressive motorcycle (which he names "The Hog").

You don't get this with any other contest!

The anthology, with my story, the nineteen others from the shortlist, plus a story from each of the judges, will be available on 31st October ("Hulloween"). In the meantime, stay tuned for more news.