short story

That Killer First Page – Lancaster May 7th

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PaulMcVeigh short story‘That Killer First Page’ – my class on that crucial short story opening, goes to Lancaster on May 7th. You’ll find out what competition judges and journal editors look for in a short story and how to avoid the rejection pile.
 
This class has sold out in Bath, Belfast, Brighton, Cork, London and Melbourne. You can book your tickets here.
Here’s the copy…

That Killer First Page 

You’ll find out what competition judges and journal editors look for in a short story and how to avoid the rejection pile. You’ll write a short piece and get feedback on that crucial story opening. In a form where every word counts, get tips on staying focused on your story and where to start the action. You’ll also look at submission opportunities; how to find them and where you should be sending your stories.

About Paul

Paul McVeigh’s debut novel ‘The Good Son’ is currently Brighton’s City Reads and was shortlisted for The Guardian’s ‘Not the Booker Prize’. His short fiction has been published in journals and anthologies and been commissioned by BBC Radio 4. He has read his work for BBC Radio 5, the International Conference on the Short Story in Vienna, Belfast Book Festival, Wroclaw Short Story Festival and Cork International Short Story Festival the last 2 years. He has represented short stories in the UK for The British Council in Mexico and Turkey.

Paul’s short story blog shares writing opportunities and advice has had over 1 million hits. He’s interviewed short story masters like Kevin Barry, Elizabeth McCrackin and George Saunders. Paul is co-founder of London Short Story Festival and Associate Director at Word Factory, the UK’s leading short story literary salon. He is also been a reader and judge for national and international short story competitions. Completely Novel says that Paul is one of the 8 resources that will help you write a prize-winning short story.

Reviews for his writing:

“Heartbreaking..gripping” The Guardian

“A work of genius.” Pulizter Prize-winning short story writer Robert Olen Butler.

“Absolutely loved it.” Jackie Kay

“Beautiful and very moving.” Booker shortlisted Alison Moore
“Its such a clever story, gentle, poignant, emotionally straight as a dart.” Vanessa Gebbie
“(one of) Ireland’s most exciting and talented writers.  Incredibly moving; poignant but utterly real, funny and beautifully observant.” BBC Radio 4
“Paul McVeigh’s story stands out. Funny, moving, poignant. Brilliant.” Metro Newspaper

Comments for this class:

“Practical, insightful application of knowledge to writing.”
“Fantastic! Practical, targeted advice like this is wonderful!”
“This was my fav course yet! Informative, entertaining, and engaging. Hard to beat!”

Places are limited to 20. For unwaged discount please email paulmcveighwriter@live.co.uk

Trip to Turkey with The British Council

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I’ve been invited to Turkey in February to represent the UK in the field of short stories. Last year I was lucky enough to travel to Mexico thanks to the British Council. I read at events, went on TV and radio and met Mexican authors like Monica Lavin (we did an interview for The Irish Times).

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Monica Lavin

 

I also wrote an article for The British Council’s Voices blog “Is it better to be a short story writer or a novelist?”.

I’m a big lover of the short story and set up a blog a few years ago sharing articles, interviews and submission opportunities. I joined the wonderful Word Factory which has become the UK’s leading short story salon and am now the Associate Director. I went on to be the co-founder of the London Short Story Festival with Spread the Word in 2014.

Me, Deb Levy, SJ Naude, Marina Warner, Cathy Galvin

Me, Deborah Levy, SJ Naude, Marina Warner and Cathy Galvin at London Short Story Festival

 

I love meeting other writers and working with authors from different countries. I’ve always wanted to go the Istanbul too – I hope I get to visit there on my trip. A great piece of news to start the year. Hope yours is starting well too!

George Saunders on Story & My Interview

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George Saunders Explains How to Tell a Good Story. Click to hear the short story master sharing his unique insights into creating a great story for The Atlantic. It’s fantastic. And if you’ve never read his work I urge to you give it a go.

 

George Saunders

George Saunders (c) Paul McVeigh

 

 

I was lucky enough to interview George, in London, on the day he won The Folio Prize. You can read that interview here – he is rather fantastic.

A little snippet…

 

P: You described your job in Sumatra as – you drilled deep down then put in dynamite and exploded it. Isn’t that a little like the writing process?
G: Well it is actually! I never thought… You’re kind of looking to see where the energy goes, that’s the same thing – you put some energy in and see how it sorts itself out.

That Killer First Page Sold Out – Special Guest Lucy Caldwell

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‘That Killer First page’ continues its sold out run as the last place went yesterday for this Saturday at Waterstones Piccadilly. My special guest is Lucy Caldwell​ winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize whose debut collection comes out with Faber next year. Lucy has also won… hold on to your seats… The George Devine Award, Susan Smith Blackburn Award, Irish Playwrights’ and Screenwriters’ Guild Award, Richard Imison Award, Rooney Prize for Irish Literature & Dylan Thomas Prize. You are in for a treat.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p033yt4m/player

Watch Lucy talk about short stories at The Small Wonder Festival this year.

My Q&A with bestselling Mexican author Monica Lavin in The Irish Times

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I met Monica Lavin on a trip to Mexico recently with The British Council. A huge star over there she is also a beautiful person. It was a pleasure to do this Q&A with her.

Q&A with bestselling Mexican author Monica Lavin about turtle dung, short stories versus novels, memory and migration

(Here’s just a little snippet…. head over to The Irish Times to read more.)

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Why the love for short story writing?

Because I read wonderful stories as a teenager: Chekhov, Bradbury, Hemingway, Cortazar, Borges, Rulfo. Latin American writers’ books were fresh, the writers were alive. That gave another dimension to what I had read before. When I was a child I thought all writers were dead people. Maybe that is one of the reasons I could not picture myself as one, even though I had been writing stories since I was 13 years old. I did not how to become a writer.

Does your writing have anything to do with your scientific background?

I think science and writing have to do with the desire to know. Science deals with objective truth, literature with relative truth. El Quijote taught us that. The short story aesthetic has more to do with mathematical equations – they have to be balanced: nothing extra, nothing missing. I love the silence of the short story.

Why did you started writing novels?

I always felt there was a question behind each short story – what if…? Now I know it is more than that, and what I thought would be a short story commanded several questions. I was dealing with multidimensional characters, several situations. I was in the grounds of the novel, and I plunged in. Now I write both. Short story writing is a way of thinking, so I always write them. I love the risk of both.

Don’t forget to check out the rest…. here.

Short Story or Novel? Which will you write?

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Recently, I travelled to Mexico with The British Council to read my short stories and talk about the state of the short story in the UK.  I was asked to do a blog post for their ‘Voices Magazine’ based on questions the editor sent me.

A brief snip…

‘You could perhaps draw the following analogy to compare the two: a short story would be like producing a photograph, while a novel would be more like making a film. A photographer will be thinking about every tiny detail in the frame and how it conveys meaning. It can be a character portrait or a moment captured in time. The novel, like a film, can take us on a journey, capture many lives, cover lifetimes/generations, discuss a society or the history of a culture. For example, when I wanted to capture what it was like for a whole generation of children to grow up in Northern Ireland knowing nothing else but The Troubles, I knew that this had to be done in a novel. To describe the day-to-day life and the cumulative effect of living in fear, on one boy, his family and the community at large, the reader needed to spend time with that boy, in that community.’

Read more here.  Find out about my short story class in London on Novemeber 7th here.

PaulMcVeigh short story

Get writing! Get submitting! Get Published!

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I’m Associate Director at the wonderful Word Factory. If you love short stories you should come along to the monthly event to hear the best short story writers in the world read their work and discuss the form.

Each month Word Factory produces a list of short story submission opportunities for writers and there’s also links to interesting resources. These are taken from my blog for writers which you find and have a look here.

Get writing! Get submitting! Get published!

PaulMcVeigh short story