KJ ORR, winner of the 2016 BBC National Short Story Award, speaks to us about her love of the short story form: ‘Short stories ask the reader to pay attention: I love that. Put another way, they value the reader, the reader’s imagination, engagement and attention. I find this both moving and important – profoundly connective…’
VICTORIA HEATH revels in the human truths of KJ Orr’s LIGHT BOX collection: ‘‘Disappearances’ has one such every day premise: a retired, yet highly regarded, plastic surgeon in Buenos Aires finds solace in a local café. But behind that unassuming front is an entrancing narrative that makes a connection with the reader on a very human level from the start…’
In this essay, shortlisted for the 2016 Feature Writing Competition, SUSMITA BHATTACHARYA recommends Janice Pariat’s collection Boats on Land: ‘…an amalgamation of folklore, magic-realism and a celebration of the natural beauty of north-eastern India, which has not had much exposure to the rest of the country or the world…’
In this essay, shortlisted for the 2016 Feature Writing Competition, JONATHAN PINNOCK and his ‘mentor’ discuss the short stories of Jorge Luis Borges: ‘In all my years of reading critiques of Borges’s work, I have yet to come across a single piece of straight prose. Without exception, every single writer has, for better or worse, succumbed to the siren call of pastiche…’
MARY O’DONNELL, runner-up in the 2016 Feature Writing Competition, experiences a change of heart after reading Alice Munro’s ‘Family Furnishings’: ‘At times, I have struggled with what I regarded as tonally monotonous accounts of life in southwestern Ontario, where the author grew up … But, finally, ‘Family Furnishings’ has embedded itself after several readings like a ring shank masonry nail in a particularly unyielding piece of wood (me)…’
FIRST PLACE: ‘The Iron Which Pierces the Heart’ by ALEX COULTON – the winning essay in the 2016 THRESHOLDS International Short Fiction Feature Writing Competition…
PODCAST: In the final instalment of this series of Short Story Masterclass podcasts, JAC CATTANEO talks with award-winning author Marina Warner about the domestic in fairy tales, rewriting and re-imagining myths, and balancing research with imagination…
The THRESHOLDS International Feature Writing Competition is now in its fifth year – celebrating all that the short story form has to offer and awarding one deserving essayist the top prize of £500…
Over the past weeks, the team of THRESHOLDS judges has been busy reading and re-reading the entries, debating and deliberating. Now, we bring you.… The 2016 THRESHOLDS Features Award longlist.
