Upcoming Workshops
Go Weird or Go Home Northern Writers Studio (online) 8th December 2021 7pm SOLD OUT
Go Weird or Go Home Northern Writers Studio (online) 9th December 2021 7pm EXTRA DATE ADDED
Upcoming Events
Check back in 2022!
Testimonials
I wrote a short story during the workshop that was in direct response to Gaynor’s prompts. It was accepted by a magazine I love the first time I submitted it
Gaynor is one of the most supportive writers in the writing community
A natural workshop host
Practical advice and heartfelt encouragement
It was a warm, nurturing environment and I felt I could share my writing and get good honest feedback
I got loads of usable material from the workshop and some great advice
A really professional, supportive instructor
A perfect theme that really delivered. The writing prompts were inspiring and we packed so much into 2 hours.
Gaynor shared tips for creating unique work that were new to me, plus original and effective ideas to make a story stand out
Gaynor’s Go Weird or Go Home workshop was brilliant – a great theme and excellent content. Her presentation was warm, witty and encouraging
An all round worthwhile experience for writers at any level
Hugely inspiring, funny and supportive
Thank you for helping me see what I couldn’t see
News
October 2021:
My radio story, Clara, received a special mention in the 3 Minutes Scare contest at North Manchester FM, judged by horror legend Ramsey Campbell
Another CBNC listing in the fiercely competitive Molotov Cocktail Flash Monster contest
September 2021:
I contributed a spoken word piece to the Lone Women Wood at Sanctuary 2021
May 2021:
Among These Animals shortlisted in the Best Novella category at the 2021 Saboteur Awards
My story The Witch Who Walked the Shore won first prize in the Janus Literary ‘dark, wild sea’ competition
March 2021:
Among These Animals, my debut novella-in-flash published by Ellipsis
My story Me And Joe and the Rainbow is to be published in the forthcoming National Flash Fiction Day Anthology
November 2020:
My story Something Like Drowning was shortlisted for the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award and is now included in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual 2021
October 2020:
I was placed second in the Bridport Prize flash fiction category with my story Tamed
September 2020:
For the second year running I am featured in the Best British and Irish Flash Fiction (known as the BIFFY 50). The editors chose my Reflex fiction second prize winner, So Far Over the Rainbow the Rainbow is a Fucking Dot
June 2020:
I received a Northern Writer’s Award from New Writing North in the Northern Debut category, for my short story collection Girls Who Get Taken & Other Stories
March 2020:
My story So Far Over the Rainbow the Rainbow is a Fucking Dot was awarded second place in the Reflex Flash Fiction Competition
I had a micro shortlisted in the National Flash Fiction Day competition, for the third year running
February 2020:
My story Some Things in and Out of the Garden at the Smith Family Barbecue was longlisted in the Mslexia flash fiction competition (it went on to be published in the National Flash Fiction Day Flash Flood in June)
January 2020:
Another nomination for Cleft, this time my Bath flash winning story has been nominated for Best Small Fictions
I was the first quarter judge for the Retreat West Flash Fiction competition.
My Personal Anthology (12 of my favourite short stories) was published on www.apersonalanthology.com – a brilliant resource for short fiction lovers
November 2019:
A bumper month for nominations, thank you so much to the editors.
Pushcart Prize nominations from Liminal Residency for There’s a Merman Under the Log Flume at Alton Towers, from Ellipsis Zine for Before the Nose, from Bath Flash Fiction for Cleft and from Virtual Zine for The Life She Gave Me
Best Microfictions nomination for Great Sorrows are Mute from National Flash Fiction Day
October 2019:
I attended the Liminal Residency Alton Towers book launch and read my piece There’s a Merman Under the Log Flume at Alton Towers
September 2019:
I had two stories selected for the BIFFY 50 – a list of the best British and Irish flash fiction of the year. The editors chose The Pelt Collector from MoonPark Review and Al fine / To The End from Train Lit Mag
Two of my stories were nominated for Best of the Net – The Hardest Thing In This World Is To Live In It from Barrelhouse and To My Three Year Old, Naked in the Bath from Ellipsis.
August 2019:
I performed at the Edinburgh Fringe as part of That’s What She Said – an incredible experience.
Another Close But No Cigar shoutout in the Molotov wild flash contest.
My story, Something Like Drowning, won third prize in the Anton Chekov Award for Very Short Fiction, run by National Flash Fiction Review. Judge Angela Readman had this to say:
“What struck me about Something Like Drowning was how incredibly well structured it is. It’s wonderfully vivid and startling at the beginning, daring the reader to come on this journey. It almost felt dangerous to follow these characters, so much seemed st stake, yet it was impossible to look away. I had no idea what would happen, yet the writing is so strong I knew I was in safe hands. The story delivered.”
June 2019:
My story Cleft won first prize in the 12th Bath Flash Fiction Award, judged by Christopher Allen.
The Thing Between Your Legs longlisted for the Wigleaf Top 50. Read the final selections here: http://wigleaf.com/
My story, What 20p Will Get You in the Year of Our Lord, 1996 was highly commended in the Federation Writers Scotland competition
May 2019:
Close But No Cigar shout out in the Molotov Cocktail Flash Legends competition.
April 2019:
I attended the Liminal Residency at Alton Towers, read my on-site interview here.
My self-published flash fiction pamphlet, Business As Usual received a special mention at the Saboteur Awards.
March 2019:
A busy month for competitions! Shortlisted for both the Flash 500 and TSS Flash Fiction competitions. Highly commended in the National Flash Fiction Day micro competition.
Also in March, I performed a feature set at That’s What She Said Manchester and was a guest performer with the Real Story at the Not Quite Light Festival.
February 2019:
I won joint first prize in the Funny Pearls micro competition.
January 2019:
My second Close But No Cigar in a Molotov Cocktail flash competition.
I headlined at Verbose spoken word night alongside Rosie Garland and Michael Conley.
I launched my limited edition print flash fiction pamphlet, Business As Usual, which sold out within 6 weeks!
You can read a review from Storgy here.
Past Workshops
The Art of Flash Fiction, Caffi Isa Big Word Weekend, Mold
The Art of the Micro, Retreat West Online Flash Festival (online)
Go Weird or Go Home, Didsbury Arts Festival
Fast Fiction, Burnley Literary Festival
Go Weird or Go Home, Manchester
Past Events
Successfully Using the Strange in Your Stories, Retreat West Community, online
Featured performer, For Books Sake, Edinburgh Fringe
Headliner, Verbose Manchester
Featured performer, For Books Sake, Manchester
Bhajis and Badgers, spoken word commission, Not Quite Light Festival, Manchester
To All the People I Kissed in Liverpool in the 1990s (And the One I Didn’t), spoken word commission, Words & Music Festival, Manchester
Originally posted 2019-11-17 14:55:21.