Submissions

At Fresh Fiction, we love supporting new writers, providing a platform where you can share your stories in our short story show. If your story is chosen you will be invited to read your story aloud. The event takes place in prestigious The David Hall, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5AA. Please ensure you can make the event if you are subbing. 

At the event the audience are encouraged to give you feedback for your story. It’s a warm  inclusive event where writers meet an audience who love to listen and appreciate short stories.  

We are looking for new writing based on the theme of the evening. Our preference is for short stories that will entertain and delight our audiences. We are not keen on over-sentimental stories or stories we have heard before. We like skillful writing with a clear narrative. 

Stories are anonymised and chosen by a reading panel

Provide a word count

Do not submit a story if you are not able to attend on the evening, or you cannot read the story yourself. 

How to submit

Preparing your story:

• Short stories should be under 1500 excluding the title. 
• Remove your name from your document
• Choose a document type we can open, ie word documents, not Mac specific files such as .odt
• Please label the file with the title of your story.
• Pay attention to your title. We are often sent stories where the story is named after our event.( ie memories or crime)  It doesn’t do your story any favours as it shows a lack of imagination and we have to remember which story is which.  Also, it is a missed opportunity for you.

• Email submit@novelnights.co.uk (not grace@novelnights.co.uk)
• In the subject header of the email write Fresh Fiction  and the title of your work Please do not write Fresh Fiction Memories! 
• Include your story as an attachment.
• Provide a word count for us. We will not look at stories over 1500 words.  

What happens next? 

• A team of readers from South Petherton library, The David Hall and Fresh Fiction will read your work and make a decision. They choose eight stories from those submitted. Our focus is on stories that an audience will enjoy. Stories that are strongly voiced and that have a clear narrative often do well.  
• We will inform everyone of our decisions the week following the closing date