The Stories

Links to published and performed work

‘Sunflowers are Her Mother’s Favourite‘; London Independent Story Prize, Short Story Semi-Finalist, 2nd Quarter (June 2020)
‘The Squirrel House is Not Full of Nuts‘; FlashFlood, National Flash Fiction Day (June 2020)
‘The Hugging Place’; appears in the charity anthology You Are Not Alone in aid of people affected by homelessness, Storgy Books (June 2020)
‘Foodie Tips Courtesy of Yuri Gagarin‘; (an earlier version of the story was published with Scottish Book Trust) Bandit Fiction (May 20)
‘Hard Hugs’; forthcoming in Humans in the Wild: Reactions to a Gun Loving Country, Swallow Publishing; (end of the year)
‘Never Going Green‘; 3rd place, Cranked Anvil January 20 competition (Mar 20)
‘Treating the Stains and Strains of Marriage‘; Winner, Retreat West Flash Fiction Prize 2019 (Feb 20) Anthology ‘How to Hold An Umbrella’ available from Amazon UK and Amazon US. Also YouTube video of me reading story (10-minute mark).
‘The Trouble with Talking’; 2nd place, Barren Flash Fiction Prize 2019 (Feb 20)
BBC Writers Room: Scottish Voices 2020; Selected by the BBC to spend a year on their development course (Jan 20)

‘The Uncertainty of Numbers‘; 2nd place, River Styx literary journal micro-fiction competition (June 19, Journal available Feb 20)
‘Little Distractions‘; X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine (Dec 19)
‘Window Seat‘; Flash Fiction Festival Three, Ad Hoc Fiction (Nov 19)
‘The Loss Not Found‘ (full version); Anti-Heroine Chic, Grief Issue (Nov 19)
‘Ernie and the Carrot Seeds‘; Winner, Exeter Flash Competition (Oct 19)
‘The Squirrel House is Not Full of Nuts’; 2nd place, Grindstone International Flash Fiction Prize (Sep 19) 2019 Grindstone Literary Anthology available to purchase.
‘The Evening Before Driving Back from a Camping Holiday, Mid-August 1977‘; 2nd place, Retreat West 100-word competition (Aug 19)
‘Great Chicken MexiMelt Expect-taste-tions‘; Taco Bell Quarterly Literary Magazine, V1, p151 (Aug 19)
‘Sticky Blue Rice’; Winner Grindstone Literary ‘Dirty Dozen’ micro competition (Aug 19)
‘Flashpoint‘; Longlisted Edinburgh International Flash Fiction Award, Scottish Arts Trust (Aug 19). Anthology available in 2020.
‘My Angela Merkel Fashion Moment’; .Cent magazine (June 19)
‘The Trouble with Trios‘; Reflex Fiction, (April 19)
‘A Hands-Off Approach’; The Sirens Call, Issue 43, p137 (Feb 19)
‘Sticking Point’; 3rd place, 2018 Retreat West Flash Fiction Prize (Feb 19). Anthology ‘Future Shock’ available from Amazon UK & Amazon US. (Sept. 19)
‘The Barber’; Identity Issue, Popshots literary magazine (Feb 19)

‘The Loss Not Found’; 2nd Weird Christmas Flash Prize (Dec 18)
‘A Good Recipe‘, Three Drops from a Cauldron, Samhain issue, p65-66 (Oct 18)
‘There’s an Elephant Downstairs’, Flash Fiction Festival Two, Ad Hoc Fiction (Oct 18)
‘Burst‘, The Siren’s Call, Issue 41, p163 (Oct 18)
‘Miracles, Mercies and Mary…on Toast’, To Hull and Back Humorous Short Story Competition. Anthology available to purchase Amazon UK or Amazon US (Oct 18) Check out me reading the story at Bristol’s Talking Tales event in Dec 18.
‘Frog Love‘, Northwords Now, Issue 36, p15. (Oct 18)
‘Miss Bordeleux Goes to the Cinema‘, Winner, Haunted Waters Press Flash Fiction competition, (Oct 2018) Author interview; Author profile
‘Snow Love‘, The Bangor Literary Journal, Issue Four (Aug 2018)
‘An Ode to Those Who Believe in Luck (And all that lovey-dovey stuff)’, Winner, Segora Short Story Competition, (Aug 2018)
‘Miracles, Mercies and Mary…on Toast’, 2nd, Flash500 Short Story Competition, (April 2018)
‘The Angela Merkel Challenge’, Scottish Book Trust (March 2018)
‘Reckoning Day’, The Bangor Literary Journal FORTY WORDS Winner (Feb 2018)
‘Balloons‘ (Flash), Winner, The Writers Bureau 2017 Flash Fiction (Jan 2018)
‘The Tenth Day of Christmas‘, Horror Scribes (Jan 2018)
‘Balloons‘ (Short Story), The Nottingham Review (Jan 2018)

‘Granda’s Plan’, performed at Solstice Shorts Dusk festival Dec 2017; eBook and print with Arachne Press, (Dec 2017)
‘Foodie Tips Courtesy of Yuri Gagarin‘, Scottish Book Trust free eBook ‘Nourish‘ (also available as a free audiobook)
‘Perfectly Prime’, shortlisted 2017 Hysteria Short Story competition Hysteria 6 Anthology (Nov 2017)
‘Coffee and Kafka‘, Reflex (September 2017)
‘The Puzzle‘, (b)OINK (August 2017)
‘Dolly and the Zombie Apocalypse‘, Twisted Sister Lit Magazine (July 2017)
‘Wishing Well‘, FlashFlood Journal (June 2017)
‘Shoes Made for Walking‘, 2nd place, Vernal Equinox Flash competition, Federation of Writers (Scotland) (June 2017)
‘As Liquid is Poured‘, 3rd place, 2017 National Flash-Fiction Day Anthology, Sleep is a Beautiful Colour; available via Amazon UK and Amazon US (June 2017)
‘Green Tights’, winner, Book a Break Anthology 2017; With Our Eyes Open available via Amazon UK and Amazon US (March 2017)
‘Leo’s Song’, Bath Flash Fiction Vol 1 anthology To Carry Her Home (March 2017)
‘Modern Day Superhero’, Performed as part of the One Festival (January 2017) Read the 4* review.
‘In Dreams‘, Molotov Cocktail (Jan 2017)

‘How to Handle Space‘, Bedford International Writing Competition Anthology ; (2016)
‘Christmas Star‘, Liars’ League London, YouTube, podcast (December 2016)
‘A Novi-Sibersk Fairy Tale‘, .Cent magazine (December 2016) Read commentary on the piece.
‘Friday’s Child‘ Horror Scribes (Oct 2016)
‘Our Holiday Saga‘, winner, Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium (Sept 2016)
‘Coming Clean‘, Liars’ League London, YouTube, podcast (Feb 2016)

‘A Hands-Off Approach‘, Molotov Cocktail (Oct 2015), available in The Molotov Cocktail: Prize Winners Anthology Vol 2 in the UK and US; also performed at ArtsAdmin event (Dec 2015)
‘The Barber‘, Gemini magazine (Nov 2014)
‘Soul Mates’: A Small Key Opens Big Doors (Nov 2013)

‘The Cosmos, Cosmo-style’, VS Pritchett Short Story competition (Oct 2018)
‘The Luck of the Larkers’, HISSAC Short Story competition (October 2017)
‘Globophobia’, Ink Tears (October 2017)
‘A Spin Doctor Speaks’ Fish Flash Fiction Prize (2016)
‘Lucky’, Words Magazine (2015)
‘Balloons’, Opening Lines BBC R4 (2014)
‘Bird Calls’, Segora International Writing competition (2017), Curry Mallet (2015); Opening Lines BBC R4 (2013)