Happy New Year everyone and here’s to getting 2024 off to a great start!
Flash Fiction Armagh is thrilled to announce the readers for the next event – Flash Fiction Saturday Night at the Museum on the 10th of February 2024 at the Armagh County Museum, The Mall, Armagh in conjunction with the exhibition focusing on Armagh writer, John O’Connor, and taking the theme from the title of his book Come Day, Go Day. These words are a line from the song The Ballad of Old Seth Davy, also known as Whiskey on a Sunday, about a street entertainer in Liverpool in the 1890s who entertained people with his puppet show which the song claims was “A Far Better Show Than You Ever Will See!” Of course, that would put you in mind of Flash Fiction Saturday Night at the Museum, wouldn’t it?
So without further ado, and in no particular order, we present our Flash Fiction Armagh readers for the evening:
Laura McLoughlin The Man
Kerry Clarke The Snug
Malachi Kelly God send Sundays
Derek Dubrey Escape
Dave Thompson The Last Conversation
Noreen Donnelly Come Day Go Day
Marie-Louise Mcguinness Burst Balloons and Sugared Milk
Ellen McKenna The Future Beckons
Doreen Mc Bride Dracula’s Mate
Mark Brownlee Paranoia Come, Paranoia Go [from Mark Brownlee’s debut novel: Manic]
Tickets are already selling fast – £10.00 each which includes a beverage on the night.
Submissions are now open for Flash Fiction at the AE Festival taking place in Aonach Macha, Armagh on the 5th of April 2024 at 8 pm. Deadline for submissions 3rd of March 2024 – Theme: Sacred Mountain
Please email your 200 – 700 word submission to [email protected] with “Flash Fiction Armagh Submission” in the subject line and your story in the main body of the email. (No attachments, please.)
It is always a great honour to read everyone’s stories and it’s hard to have to keep the selection to only 10 readers. While rejection is part and parcel of every writer’s life, I hate sending out those emails. I got a rejection myself this week for something I submitted in July (I know 6 months ago!) and I know how it feels.
However, my experience with Flash Fiction Armagh has taught me that good writing and great stories are often not accepted because there just isn’t enough room or they are the wrong fit. It has helped me put the rejections I receive, of which there are many, in perspective. Writing is a hard and often thankless task but I think it’s important to write for the enjoyment of creating. Present your words regardless of who will read them. Always remember, if even one person reads your work and enjoys it, finds comfort in it, smiles or cries because you moved them, then you have achieved something amazing.
I’m sure Seth Daly never imagined that his show would be sung about more than a hundred years after his death. He just kept on making children smile with a far better show than they ever did see!
Just Keep Writing!
Byddi Lee
