2014

september

I have had a poem accepted for Poems in Which's new issue - coming soon!

august


My short story, War Games, is published in the summer issue of the Wales Arts Review. Two very short poems were published on Nutshells and Nuggests and two poems have been longlisted for Canterbury Poet of the Year 2014 and will be published in the prize-winners anthology. My poetry pamphlet was shortlisted for the Cinnamon Press Poetry Pamphlet competition.

july

I have had two poems longlisted and one shortlisted for the Wirral Festival of Firsts Poetry Competition and my pamphlet was longlisted for the Flarestack Poetry Pamphlet competition. My short short story, The Perfect Egg, which was published in Nature Futures in Jan 2011, will be included in Nature's second e-anthology, available later this summer.

june
My short story, God Glows has been longlisted for the Short Fiction journal short story comp. Shortlist announced in July. My brand new short story, War Games, will be published in the Wales Arts Review's Summer Fiction issue.

may

I'm delighted to be chairing a panel on wierd and wonderful short stories with the excellent Adam Marek, Rob Shearman and Dan Powell at the London Short Story Festival, Waterstones Picadilly at 11am on June 21st. More information and book tickets here >>

april

I'm delighted that my prose poem, If Kissed By A Dragonfish, has won third prize in the National Flash Fiction Day microfiction contest! You can read it, and all the winning stories, here.

march

The course on short story writing that I am co-tutoring with the excellent Rob Shearman at Arvon's beautiful Lumb Bank centre in August is now full, but there is a waiting list. All levels welcome. More details here >>

My short story, The Party, will be published in Room Magazine's Geek Girls issue.

My poem, Til We Tumble, has been published on Visual Verse, written, as per their instructions, in less than an hour, to an image prompt. 

My prose poem, Missing my Liar, will be published in Issue #2 of Bare Fiction.


february

Delighted that my poem, Delville Wood, The Somme, has been commended in the Magma poetry contest and will be published in Magma.

2013

december

Bonnie ZoBell has reviewed My Mother Was An Upright Piano on her website : "These are more on the short story than the prose poem end of flash fiction. Even though they’re short even for flash fiction, Hershman manages to tell full tales, uncanny for their insight into the human condition."

I am overjoyed that my flash story, Heavy Bones, first published in my collection The White Road And Other Stories, will be included in the anthology Flash Fiction International, to be published in Spring 2015, edited by Robert Shapard and James Thomas. Shapard and Thomas edited anthologies of short short stories such as Sudden Fiction, Sudden Fiction(cont/d) and Flash Fiction Forward that were such inspiration to me when I first began writing 15 years ago and continue to inspire.

My 100-word short story, Biography is published in the gorgeous new issue of Synaesthesia magazine (page 72-73)!

And Muriel Maufroy has given My Mother Was An Upright Piano a delightful review over on the Gladstone's Library blog: "As a whole, one could say that a wind of freedom sweeps through those pages in which science and poetry stumble into each other and tantalizing shifts of perception expose our secret thoughts and feelings, some we did not even know we had."


november


My new online short story venture, ShortStops, has just gone live! Go take a look, and see why we're getting excited about short stories -in print, online and live - here in the UK & Ireland!

My story, Biography (ongoing) has been accepted for publication in Synaesthesia magazine. My story, Tunneling, is published by Timber magazine.


october
The Big Bang salon that was scheduled for Oct 5th at JW3 has been postponed, stay tuned for the new date sometime next year!

My story, Tunneling, will be published by Timber magazine.

september
My poem, Meat Market, Smithfield, is published in Amaryllis. Two of my short short stories have been longlisted for the Lightship Publishing Flash Fiction prize, results due October.

august
Three poems have been published in The White Whale Review.


july
My flash story The Bow, The Bow has been published on Cease, Cows.

june
My flash story There Was No Boat has just been published in Tin House as part of their Flash Fridays!

I am honoured to be one of the judges of both the Literature Works First Page Writing Competition and the Spread the Word Writing Prize.

My flash story, Also Tends, is published in The View From Here.


may


Three poems have just been accepted by the White Whale Review.

My flash story, There Was No Boat, will be published in Tin House's online as part of their Flash Fiction Fridays on Friday June 14th, and my short short fiction, Also Tends, has been accepted for publication in The View From Here. My short story, Her Dirt, is reprinted in the excellent Swansea Review.

april

Kerri Shadid says of My Mother Was An Upright Piano in her review in the May 2013 issue of World Literature Today: "Her presentation of the tragedy and the oddity of our human lives is the typed equivalent of a performance artist at MOMA: strange, unfamiliar, captivating..." Read the full review here>>

Martin Macaulay reviews My Mother Was An Upright Piano at Sabotage Reviews, where my book is shortlisted for their Saboteur awards. He says: " It’s a solid, unbreakable and inspiring collection. Hershman creates worlds with depth and heart." Read the full review >>

I am interviewed in the excellent new journal of author interviews, the Delphi Quarterly, whose editor, Ramola D, asked wonderful questions I'd never been asked before. A taster:
"Q: Your range sweeps as much across art, artists, ordinary people caught at credibly strange moments in their lives and relationships as across science, scientists, and science fiction—how do you choose your subjects, or does subject choose you?

TH: A bit of both. I studied Math and Physics at undergraduate level but knew fairly quickly I was not cut out for a life in science, so became a science journalist, but my first love was always fiction..."
Read the rest of the interview here >>

I have two poems in the new issue of Obsessed with Pipework, and a prose poem has just been accepted for Issue 2 of Butcher's Dog, to be published in September.

A nice start to the month - My Mother Was An Upright Piano is shortlisted for  Sabotage's Saboteur awards for Best Indie Lit (Story Collection category.)! It's decided by public vote, more information here.

march


More good news: my flash story, At Didcot Parkway, is 3rd prize winner in the New Writer's microfiction award and will be published by them.

I'm thrilled that my flash story, A Call to Arms, is the winner of the Fiction Desk's inaugural flash fiction contest and will be published in their forthcoming anthology. And my flash story, A Song for Falling, has won 3rd prize in the 2013 Salt Flash Fiction Competition and will be published in the prize anthology.

february

My short story, The House of Meat, is a finalist in the 2012 Words With Jam short story competition, and will be published in their prize anthology.

I am honoured to be the final judge of the Writers & Artists Yearbook short story competition - deadline Feb 15th. More here >>


january

I have two poems ("1" and "2") in the new issue of UK poetry journal Tears in the Fence (print). And I am interviewed over at Booktrust all about short stories, writing etc..

 Booking is also now open for the Science & Writing Arvon Foundation course I am co-tutoring (together with the fabulous Simon Ings, with guest Heidi Williamson) in Devon in August. More information here >>>

I'm delighted to have a poem, Me and Elvis Presley on Dartmoor, longlisted for the 2013 Gregory O'Donoghue poetry contest! Congratulations to all the winners!

Booking is now open for 2 events I am involved in in London over the next few months:

 - I am in conversation with renowned American short story writer Edith Pearlman at Jewish Book Week, King's Place, London, feb 27th. Book tickets here>> And as a lead up to the event, Deborah Brooks reviews Edith's amazing book of new and collected stories, Binocular Vision ("Early into the reading of the book it is clear that all of the stories are of the highest quality.") and My Mother Was An Upright Piano ("These too are stories that will stand rereading as obvious thought has gone into each word and thus every sentence deserves to be savoured.") in the new issue of Jewish Renaissance magazine.

- I am running a one-day short story masterclass entitled "Breathing from Containment" for Spread the Word in London, Sunday April 7th. Come join us! Book a place here>>

A nice way to start the year: I am delighted that my collection is reviewed in the latest issue of Flash: The International Short Story Story magazine, in the excellent company of Nick Parker's The Exploding Boy, the Flash Fiction Day anthology Jawbreakers (in which my story Stopwatching gets a kind mention) and collections by Etgar Keret and Jon McGregor's. In her review of My Mother Was An Upright Piano Louisa Yates says:  "A worthy successor to her 2008 debut... MMWAUP is at its strongest when dealing with matter, whether it takes the form of Google hits, neutrinos or moth's wings... As an assemblage of particles and people, Hershman's latest collection is a refreshing take on the brief meetings, one-off connections and partial viewpoints that are so often the subject of very short fictions."


december

I'm interviewed today in Litro, answering questions like "Describe the first time you realised the world may not be as it seems". Very intriguing Q&A! Read the interview here and share your thoughts. And my new science-inspired short story, Empty But For Darwin, has been accepted for publication in the May 2013 issue of World Literature Today.

I have special Holiday Offer over on my blog, involving my new book, a fountain pen and some stamps >>>

In her review of My Mother Was An Upright Piano in Necessary Fiction Michelle Bailat-Jones  says:  "The diversity of subject on offer in the collection is brilliant, but what really impresses is how Hershman succeeds in establishing longer, more complicated narratives within each short piece. These aren’t incomplete excerpts; the reader doesn’t want or need any of these fictions to go on longer or somehow become another form entirely. But again and again, out of a very short piece, a fuller story blooms." Read her full review here.

november
My story In Triplicate, first published in Metazen, has won the Microfiction category of the 2012 Hawthorne Citation short story awards.

I'm thrilled and honoured that the Nov 16th edition of the Times Literary Supplement includes a review of my book, by Hal Jensen, who says: "Hershman's quirky observations, often funny, focus on small-scale human oddities, anxieties and misunderstandings... This informal style seems intended to capture - as Shelley said we never could - the moment when the fading coal of the imagination is awakened to transitory brightness." You can see the full review on my blog.

I have a brand new short story, The Special Advisor, in the new issue, 25b, of Five Dials, you can read it online here. And a brand-new flash story in the Winter 2012/13 issue of print magazine Stinging Fly!

In her review of My Mother Was An Upright Piano in The Bookbag, Ani Johnson says: " It's said that the art of short-story writing is totally different from that of novels as the writer only has ten or so pages to accomplish what others do in two to three hundred. Imagine, therefore, telling an entire story in prose conveying depth and meaning in fewer words than this review. It may be difficult but, apparently, not downright impossible as Tania Hershman has nailed it with honours". Read her full five star review here.

I'm delighted to have a new short short story in the Overheard: Stories to Read Aloud anthology, published this week in honour of National Short Story Week 2012, in the extremely venerable company of Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Ian McEwan, Blake Morrison, Louis De Bernières and Vanessa Gebbie!

Nov 9th The episode of The Verb that was recorded last Saturday night - and on which i read two brand new flash stories on the subject of editing - was broadcast tonight on Radio 3 and is now available online on iPlayer for 7 days afterwards.

I will be on BBC Radio 3's the Verb on Saturday November 3rd to read two newly- commissioned flash stories on the subject of editing stories. The program will be streamed live from the BBC's Freethinking Festival and  broadcast on Radio 3 on Friday Nov 9th. Find out more here.

october

My story The Painter and the Physicist, first published in Liars League, is to be included in an anthology published by Arachne Press.

My brand new story, Flight, is included in the new and international edition of New Zealand magazine Flash Frontier.

I'm delighted to have been invited onto BBC Radio 3's the Verb again to read two newly-commissioned flash stories. The program will be recorded on Nov 3rd at the BBC's Freethinking Festival for broadcast at a later date.

My short story, Life Burst Out, has been republished in Necessary Fiction.

I have had two poems accepted for the Spring 2013 issue of the wonderfully-titled journal Obsessed with Pipework and a flash story, Flight, accepted for the international edition of Flash Frontier.

In her review of My Mother Was An Upright Piano in the new issue (No. 80) of the Frogmore Papers, Alexandra Loske says: " It seems that Hershman has achieved two things here: She has perfected the art of the very short short story, making it appear utterly appealing and perhaps one of the most appropriate forms of creative writing of our age. She has also managed to form a bridge between poetry and prose. At times it feels as if one is reading a very well constructed, witty, moving long poem, without the boring bits. Excellent."

My short short story Manoeuvres is published in the new echapbook "Found" anthology of short fiction and poetry from Wordrunner.

september

I'm thrilled with two new reviews of My Mother Was An Upright Piano: On the Thresholds Short Story Forum, Vicki Heath writes: "every word is perfectly placed as she explores the offbeat world we live in." Read the full review here. And Jon Pinnock calls MMWAUP " the work of a grown-up writer who has gained the confidence to let her muse off the leash and to follow it wherever it goes, however unexpected that turns out to be. " Read his review here.

I am one of the writers interview by Emily Cleaver for the Litro Lab podcast on Flash fiction - listen here!

You can listen again to me on the Steve Yabsley show on BBC Radio Bristol until next Friday (Sept 21st), chatting about short stories! I arrive 32 minutes in.

My short story The Special Advisor, has been accepted for publication in Five Dials magazine's special issue (Part II) for the Cork International Short Story Festival.

My flash story Manoeuvres is going to be published in the Wordrunner e-chapbook, to be published in late September.

My poem, Dreams of a Tea Seller, has made the shortlist of the Bridport Prize.

Three of the fictions from My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions are featured on the excellent book review site bookoxygen, which describes the book as "56 short, strange fictions which arrive out of left field, bringing warmth, wit and a deliciously off-beat perspective." Read them here.

Booking is now open for Unputdownable, the fabulous Bristol Festival of Literature, from Oct 13-21st, at which I will, uncharacteristically but  thrillingly, be interviewing novelist James Long about his long-awaited sequel to his novel Ferney, and, more characteristically, be reading some of my fictions and taking part in the final night Unputdownable Speakeasy, alongside excellent writers Nikesh Shukla, Valerie O’Riordan, Sanjida O’Connell, Miles Chambers & Maria McCann.

Two new poems have just been accepted for publication in the winter issue of Tears in the Fence.

The programme for the Plymouth International Book Festival at which I will be reading and chatting about short stories on Monday Sept 17th, is now available here:


august

My flash story, The Perfect Egg, which was first published in Nature Futures, has been chosen for the Take Tea With Turing e-anthology commemorating the life and legacy of Alan Turing. The anthology will be published in late October, more information soon.

I'm interviewed over at Negative Press about my new short story, Switchgirls, forthcoming in the Negative Press anthology, STILL, of short stories inspired by the wonderful photographs of Roelof Bakker.

My story Under The Tree has just been published in Electric Velocipede.

Two new reviews of My Mother Was An Upright Piano on Goodreads: 

Berit Ellingsen says: "there is no doubt that Hershman is an expert of the very short story. The themes in the collection are nicely cohesive and the voice and narrative structure well varied. I’ve had the pleasure of reading many of these stories in their individual publication, but reading them all together for a full impression of the author’s warm voice and deft descriptions, was even better."
Read the full review.

And
Roxane Gay says  "The stories that were great ... were truly great. I particularly liked how she was able to warp reality and time in different ways. Hershman is not lacking in imagination and this is definitely a book worth reading." Read the full review.

I am interviewed by Dan Powell as part of his My Life In Short Fiction series, where I tried to answer some of the hardest short-story-related questions I've been asked!

In Bookmunch, Ebba Brooks calls My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions: "experimental yet accessible...strong and assured writing, which demands your attention. No skimming or scanning here: but even the most time starved potential reader can and should be able to spare three minutes to give undivided attention to one of these." Read the full review.

Booking is now open for the flash fiction workshop I am giving for Writing Events Bath on October 11th, 6.30pm-8.30pm, at the delicious Mr B's Emporiom bookshop. Places are limited! Find out more >>>

I'm interviewed over at Cyprus Well as their August feature - and giving away a copy of My Mother Was An Upright Piano to a lucky reader in the south-west of England!


july

I'm interviewed over at Nuala Ni Chonchuir's excellent blog, Women Rule Writer - where I'm answering the Short Review author questionnaire I've subjected authors to for almost 5 years but never answered myself!

The speech I gave at the Bristol Short Story Prize awards ceremony about why I love short stories (and mentioned physics) is now on their website.

I'm going to be a guest this Friday, the July 13th, on the excellent BBC Radio 3 show The Verb, reading a specially-commissioned, Higgs-boson-inspired short short story! PS You can listen to the show  online here til July 20th.

Tune in to BCFM 93.2FM's Love & Science show on Monday July 9th at 5pm to hear me chat with Malcolm Love about science, fiction, and being writer-in-residence in the Science Faculty. It is now available as a podcast.


june

In honour of International Short Story Day, I'm delighted to announce that My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions is now available as an ebook in addition to the paperback. Find out how to download it here >>

And you can hear me read a short story I love and chat to Steve Wasserman about it on Read Me Something You Love.

Booking is now open for the Plymouth International Book Festival, find out details about my event on Sept 17th here.

I am interviewed over on the blog of the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences, where I just spent 2 weeks on retreat.

Watch me in my writing shed reading one of the fictions from my new collection as the first Tales From My Shed video!


may

I'm taking part in a panel discussion entitled "Short Story Big Picture" at the Free Word centre on May 29th organised by Spread the Word, together with Di Speirs of the BBC, Ted Hodginkson of Granta and Helen Garnon-Williams of Blomsbury, moderated by Aasiyah Lodhi.

I am over at Flash Fiction Chronicles talking about... yes, flash fiction! And I am reading tonight (May 27th) at Stroud Stories.

The "Reality Check" set of three science-inspired flash stories I wrote and read on Radio 4 in April are now available as a downloadable audiobook on Audigo (US) for the discounted price of $1.49 and Audigo (UK) for £1.24! And in more audio news, I am interviewed in the latest LabLit podcast.

May16th: It's National Flash Fiction Day! Check out what it's all about on my blog. And come along to the Albion Beatnik Bookstore in Oxford tonight for the flash fiction slam!

My new book has received its first official mention, in Steve Wasserman's excellent article exploring flash fiction on the Thresholds short story forum.

May 3rd
: It's publication day! My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions is offically published! Find out more about the book here - and watch the book trailer.
Also, there are still some of the 30 signed and number limited editions with an extra handwritten story avilable!

Two new interviews with me have just been published, on The View From Here magazine, where I talk about short stories, and Christopher Allen's I Must Be Off blog about ex-pats, where I talk about being an ex-ex-pat...

Tickets are now on sale for the West Meon Festival of Books from 6th-8th Julyat which
I am taking part in an event on writing short stories, on Sunday 8th July at 10.30am (yes, in the morning!). It'll be worth getting up for.

april

Booking is now open for the workshops at the  Cork International Short Story Festival in Cork in September, including the set of 4 flash fiction workshops I am running.  Places limited. Download the brochure.

You can listen to the BBC Radio 4 Afternoon reading programme of me reading 3 new science-inspired flash fictions at the recent More Than Words Festival in Bristol, online til Friday 20th April.

My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions, my new short story collection, is now available for pre-order direct from Tangent Books... as well as a special limited edition of 30 numbered copies, each with a brand new short short fiction handwritten by me inside! Order the limited edition here.

Friday April 13th's BBC Radio 4 Afternoon reading programme  - at 3.45pm UK time - is a recording of me reading 3 new science-inspired flash fictions at the recent More Than Words Festival in Bristol. It will be available through Listen Again for 7 days afterwards.

I am currently a Bright Ideas fellow at the Genomics Forum, Edinburgh.

Booking is now open for:

New Writing South's Art and Science Flash Story Gym in Brighton on April 21st, taught by Vanessa Gebbie, on which I am the special guest.  Places are limited! More information here.

and for the
May 29th
panel discussion on short stories organised by Spread the Word, London, on which I'll be appearing along with Helen Garnons-Williams (Editorial Director for Fiction, Bloomsbury Publishing)  Ted Hodgkinson (Online Editor, Granta) Aasiya Lodhi (Producer, BBC Radio) and Di Speirs (Editor, Readings, BBC Radio 4) .

march
I'm delighted that my forthcoming collection, My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions, has been longlisted for the 2012 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award!

March 17th
I am performing three commissioned stories at the Radio 4 More Than Words Festival, St Georges, Bristol and the recording will
be broadcast on the Afternoon Reading on Radio 4 on Friday April 13th, 3.45pm

Booking is now open for: New Writing South's Art and Science Flash Story Gym in Brighton on April 21st, taught by Vanessa Gebbie, on which I am the special guest.  Places are limited! More information here.

I'm delighted to have been invited to run four flash fiction workshops at the always-excellent Cork International Short Story Festival in Cork, Ireland, from Sept 19th-22nd, and also reading from my new collection.

A short story of mine has been shortlisted for the Canadian Whispered Words contest. Winner announced March 17th.


March 6th: I'm running seminar on science-inspired fiction, Northern Arts and Science Network, Leeds

february
I've interviewed myself over at r.k.vr.y magazine's blog. The results are quite odd.

My tiny story, 48 Dogs, is published in Metazen.

Booking is now open for:
1. Subtext: Black Market Tale Traders Purim event, "Purim as you've never experienced it before"!, on March 8th in London, for which I've written a special Purim-inspired short story.
2. Radio 4's More Than Words Festival, St Georges, Bristol, over the weekend of March 17th, at which I will be
performing three commissioned stories-with-sound.
3. New Writing South's Art and Science Flash Story Gym in Brighton on April 21st, taught by Vanessa Gebbie, on which I am the special guest.  Places are limited.

My very short short, The Tragedy of Tragic Men, which was a finalist in the 2011 PANK 1001 Awesome Words contest, has just been published in the February issue of PANK. Read it here.

I'm delighted that my short short story, The Beam Line,  is the winner of Diamond Light Reading's synchrotron-inspired flash fiction competition, and will be published in the winners' anthology! You can read the story here.

M
y story Into The Waiting Arms of God has been shortlisted for the Unbound Press/Spilling Ink Flash Fiction contest.

january
I'm thrilled to announce that my second collection, My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions, will be published in Spring 2012 by Tangent Books!

I'm delighted that my poem, Dreams of a Tea Seller, has been commended in the Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Competition.

I am interviewed at Winning Words which has chosen The White Road and Other Stories as its first book club pick.


2011

december
My short short, Dissolving, is published in r.kv.r.y's Winter issue.

Metazen has nominated my flash fiction, The Watch My Father Wanted,  for the Micro award, alongside Marcus Speh's excellent Swingers. More information here.

My science-inspired story, Experimentation, is published in the December 24th issue of New Scientist, available worldwide. It is also published on the New Scientist blog.

I am currently doing a mini-writing-residency running a creative writing workshop for asylum seekers at Bristol Refugee Rights, as part of English PEN's Big Writing for a Small World project.

I am delighted to have been invited to participate in the Poets versus Proseurs event at the Not The Oxford Literary festival in March 2012. More details soon.

My flash story, The beam line, is one of those in the running for the Diamond Light Reading flash fiction competition. Read the entries and vote for your favourite here.

My flash story, Burrowing Blind, is published on Metazen.

I have been chosen as one of the Edinburgh-based Genomics Forum's Bright Ideas Fellows for 2012 and will be writer-in-residence there in April.

My short short story, Dissolving, has been accepted for publication in r.kv.r.y magazine in January.


november
I'm delighted that my short short, The Tragedy of Tragic Men, has been shortlisted for PANK magazine's 1001 Awesome Words contest, (my third shortlisting in this contest in three years) and will be published in Feb 2012.

The video interview I did is now up at Ink Tears. I'm talking about short stories, reading, writing, the perfect short story etc...

I'm thrilled to announce that my science-inspired story, Experimentation, will be published in the December 24th issue of New Scientist!

My flash story
Move Quickly Now has just been published in Beat The Dust. 

I am this month's Cyprus Well South West writer in profile, read the interview here.

october
Tickets are now available for the "Joy of Short Stories" event I am doing with the wonderful Mike Manson at Emersons Green library on Nov 9th in celebration of National Short Story Week! Booking is also open for the two flash fiction workshops I am running together with Vanessa Gebbie, Bridport Open Book Festival on Fri 25th Nov and Sat 26th Nov. Click on the dates for more information - and come along to either, or both!

I am chatting about my thoughts on short stories and flash fiction over at Ink Tears.

My prose poem, Like Owls, is included in the new issue of Specs Journal, which is available in print only. But you can see a video of me reading the poem here

I am by Tim at the LitRefs blog about fiction, science, science fiction etc...


My very short story All Activity is Silent has just been published in kill author. 

september
My flash story, The Watch My Father Wanted, has just been published in Metazen, Timeless is in the latest issue of .Cent magazine (page 13) and Waving on the Moon is in the Fall issue of A capella Zoo. My short poem, Moss, is in the current issue of Alba.

Ramola D, a fantastic short story writer, interviewed me, Robin Black and Liam Callahan about the notion of authors building a "literary platform" over at the Los Angeles Review, an interesting topic.


I'm the September guest editor over at National Short Story Week, talking about some recent collections I love and what's coming up this month for short stories.


I'm delighted to be reading as part of the launch of 2012 Bristol Short Story prize at Foyles Bristol, October 18th 6.15pm-7.30pm. More details here.


august
I'm talking about Noticing in a guest blog post over at Flash Fiction Chronicles.

My story, All Activity is Silent, has been accepted for Issue 15 of Kill Author, to be published in October.

My story, Colours Shift and Fade, which was first published several years ago in the Vestal Review, will be included in the Frogmore Press' "Languages of Colour" anthology.

I'm delighted that my flash story, Her Dirt, which was inspired by the  'Dirt' exhibition (on til Aug 31st) at the Wellcome Collection - a fantastic institution "exploring the connections between medicine, life and art" -
is published on the Wellcome Collection blog, the first time the blog has featured flash fiction!


july
BREAKING NEWS: The BBC, which calls itself "the world's leading broadcaster of short stories and a staunch and long-time supporter of the form" is cutting the Afternoon reading programme, their premier showcase for short stories, to once a week.  Read more here and have your say.

ShortStoryVille, the Bristol Short Story Prize's  one day extravaganza is happening on July 16th at the Arnolfini, Bristol! Check it out. I am chairing a discussion on reading short stories, you can book tickets here.


june
My Story, We Watched Him On Our Screens, inspired by a photograph, has been turned into a typograph and is part of the Photo Stories exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London. Typographs are also for sale. More information here.

Litmus, Comma Press' "Short Stories from Modern Science" anthology, which includes my specially-comissioned story, We Are All Made of Protein But Some of Us Glow More Than Others, is now available. Click here for more information.

My story In Memoriam, has received an Honorable Mention in The Binnacle's Eighth Ultra-Short Story Competition and will be published in the Ultra-Short issue.  My story, Disease Relics, is published in Issue 1 of Australian magazine Inky Squib. I am interviewed by Jen Campbell over on her excellent blog.


may
I am quoted in a wonderful article in London's Evening Standard on flash fiction, "Twitter inspires a flash of genius".

The  line-up has just been announced for
ShortStoryVille, the Bristol Short Story Prize's  one day extravaganza on July 16th at the Arnolfini, Bristol! Check it out. I am chairing a discussion on reading short stories, you can book tickets here.

16-21 May 2011
I am a tutor, Arvon Foundation short story course, together with Sarah Salway.

Litmus, Comma Press' "Short Stories from Modern Science" anthology, which includes my specially-comissioned story, We Are All Made of Protein But Some of Us Glow More Than Others, will be published on June 2nd. Click here for more information.

I am interviewed by the excellent Shortfire Press about short stories and writing. My flash story, Vegetable Mineral, has been included in Wigleaf's
2011 longlist of Top 50 Very Short Fictions .

My story Waving on the Moon has been accepted for publication in A capella Zoo's next issue.

april
15th: 2 new stories published today! In Triplicate, in Metazen, and Tiny Unborn Fish in Litro's Science issue

Unfortunately, due to illness, I have had to cancel my participation in the short story event at the Cambridge Wordfest. It will be great, please do go if you are in the area!

My new science-inspired short story, Tiny Unborn Fish, is published in the Science-themed issue of Litro.

I have added a new Inspired By... page to my website, with some fabulous videos are inspired by my short stories. Do have a look...

I was recently interviewed for a UK government careers website, Creative Choices, for "careers in the creative and cultural industries". The article is here.

march
I am the guest reader for an Arvon Foundation schools course for pupils from my old school, South Hampstead High, taught by the wonderful Naomi Alderman and Frances Leviston.

My flash story Retreating I Retreated is published in Metazen.

My story That Small Small Inch, which was a runner-up in PANK Magazine's 1,001 Awesome Words contest, is published in their March issue.

My story Maneouvres is a semifinalist in the Vestal Review Ten Years in Flash Fiction contest, judged by Steve Almond. Winner announced March 31st.

March 16th I'm reading at the Wise Words Festival, 6.30pm, Spitalfields, London, along with Jay Merill, Sarah Salway, Elizabeth Baines, Catherine Smith and Susannah Rickards.

My short story, Graveside, has been published on Necessary Fiction, my second "Mary Margaret" story. And two flash stories, Retreating I Retreated and In Triplicate, have been accepted by Metazen, and a prose poem, Like Owls, by Specs.
 

A little advance notice: I am chairing a Salt Publishing session on short stories with wonderful Salt authors Vanessa Gebbie and Andre Mangeot at Cambridge WordFest. Book tickets here.

I am thrilled that The White Road and Other Stories is included on a list of "10 collections to celebrate the strength of British short story writers" compiled by Booktrust!

My lab-inspired flash story, Tiny Unborn Fish, has been accepted for the science-themed issue of the excellent London literary magazine, Litro
.

february
I am running a flash fiction workshop at Jewish Book Week on the 28th. Click here for more details.

I did a live Q&A tonight (Feb 17th) on the excellent Thresholds Short Story Forum, pop in between 7.30pm-9pm, UK time, and you can read all the excellent questions and my answers here.

My short story Graveside has been accepted for the March Irish-themed issue of Necessary Fiction. It's a first for me: the first time I've had a story published which features a character I have written about before, in this instance Mary Margaret, who was the main character in my story Drinking Vodka in the Afternoon, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007 and 3rd prize winner in the 2008 Momaya Press short story competition.

january
I have had a poem accepted for the next issue of Alba, A Journal of Short Poetry.

I have been asked to take part in an event at the Wise Words festival in London on March 16th at 6.30pm, reading with such fabulous writers as Jay Merill, Elizabeth Baines, Sarah Salway, Susannah Rickards and Catherine Smith. More details here.

My short story, the Perfect Egg, is published in the 13 Jan issue of Nature. Read it here or download the PDF.


My first publication of the new year - a short story inspired by the discovery of Green Fluorescent Protein, We Are All Made of Protein But Some of Us Glow More Than Others, written as part of Comma Press' Eureka project. And, carrying on in the science-related vein, I have reviewed a collection of "laboratory fairy tales" for LabLit.

Also, booking is now open for Jewish Book Week and I will be running a flash fiction workshop there on Feb 28th, more details here.


2010
december

I have created a new section on my short stories page for my science-inspired fiction that's available online. Do check it out.

The British Society for Cell Biology's Science Writing Competition which I am honoured to be judging this year has extended the deadline to  31st january, so still time to get your entries in!

november

The White Road and Other Stories has received a very nice review in Flash magazine (print only).

Come celebrate the short story! I'm hosting an event in Bristol on Wed 24th, a celebration of the short story with readings by 12 local authors in honour of National Short Story Week! It will be in Blackwell's book shop, see here for more details. And then I will be taking part in the
Future of Science event at the Dana Centre, London, the next day, Thursday 25th.

I have been awarded a fellowship to the Hawthornden Castle writers' retreat for next summer.

I took part in the launch of the ShedFest anthology, raising money for the Pakistan Flood Appeal. Buy one here.

My story That Small Small Inch
has been shortlisted for PANK Magazine's 2011 1,001 Awesome Words contest and will be published in March 2011.

october
My story, The Family is published in Metazen.

You can hear me reading my story, Vegetable Mineral, in the new issue of the excellent audio magazine 4'33". My prose poem, A Scar Sits Above My Heart, is published by the Prose Poem Project


september
My flash story, The Family, has been accepted for publication by Metazen, and my prose poem, A Scar Sits Above My Heart, for the Winter issue of the Prose Poem Project.

I had a wonderful time at the Frank O'Connor Short Story Festival in Cork, ireland! I did a reading of several new flash stories and my "Irish" story, Drinking Vodka in the Afternoon, read flash fiction in support of Irish support of the arts, appeared on a panel discussing the Short Story and New Media (and saw a Kindle for the first time) and presented the Sean O'Faolain short story award to the winner. See my blog for the full results.

I judged, along with Sue Guiney and Brian Clegg, a wonderful science-inspired fiction and poetry open mic night at the British Science Festival. Thanks to all who came, congratulations to winner Heather Wastie!

My flash story, Vegetable Mineral, which was a finalist in PANK's first 1001 Awesome Words competition, is published in the September issue.

I
have a guest blog post up at Tomlit about how a writer needs to trust her reader, and I tell the "story" of How I Got Published on How Publishing Really Works, to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of The White Road and Other Stories.

11th
I read my shed story, Drizzling, and two new flash stories at the first ever ShedFest in Bristol!

1st I read at Word of Mouth, at the Thunderbolt pub, Bristol.

august
I have just turned my (non-complete) list of UK & Ireland lit mags that publish short stories - 115 so far! - into a PDF file. Download the list.

My flash story, Vegetable Mineral, has just been accepted by a new audio short story magazine, 4'33, and will be published in the next few months, read by me.


14th: I did a book signing at Blackwell bookshop, Bristol, Park Street.

The fruits of my first gig as Fiction Editor are now published in Southword Issue 18. Enjoy!

I have just incorporated TheWhiteRoadandOtherStories.com into this website instead of its own site. Visit the www.taniahershman.com/thewhiteroad section of the site to find out more about my short story collection - including excerpts and reviews - about flash fiction and about science-inspired fiction.

july


Arts
                                              Council Logo I have just received a grant from Arts Council England to write a collection of biology-inspired short stories inspired both by a 100-year-old biology book and by spending time in the labs as writer- in-residence in Bristol University's Science Faculty. I am now blogging on the brand new Science Faculty blog. Stop by to read my latest tales from the lab.

My story The Perfect Egg has been accepted for publication by Nature magazine for the Futures section, and my flash story, Einstein Plays Guitar, has been accepted for publication by A capella Zoo.

I am taking part in the Oxfam 24-hour Readathon at Oxfam Books, 91 Marylebone Hight Street, on July 5th. 

I am going to be on the Radio 4 program Off the Page on July 8th talking about science and about being writer in residence.

june

A week of my flash stories is being broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Reading, on Tues June 29th, Wed June 30th and Thurs July 1st, 3.30-3.45 pm UK time, and then available for 7 days afterwards online. One story is featured on Radio 4's Pick of the Week.

may
Two short short stories inspired by Elizabeth Bishop's poetry have just been published in Issue 4 of the Horizon Review.
A new review of The White Road and Other Stories,  is published in the Huffington Post as part of Short Story month.

The wonderful fundraising 100 Stories for Haiti is now available as an audiobook, with audio versions of 20 of the stories, including my story, Mugs. Available on Audible.com and iTunes. Get it now!


march
Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition, which I am judging, has just opened for entries (deadline July 31st). Click on the link for more about how to submit, and read my recent blog post for hints about the stories I love to read.

My Flickering Self
is published in Contrary Magazine's Spring Issue.

Mugs is included in the wonderful 100 Stories for Haiti anthology, whose proceeds are donated to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. Please buy a copy now and support the cause.

Think of Icebergs and London Park are published in Litro's March "Climate" issue.

february
Two flash stories I wrote inspired by the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop, She Herself Was Gone and Of Fish and Bread and Tea, have been accepted for the next issue of the Horizon Review.

Think of Icebergs and London Park have been accepted for Litro's March "Climate" issue.

Plaits has been accepted for Short Fuse's March 10th hair-themed reading event!

Exchange Rates, a play I adapted from my short story, won the Total Beast 6-minute play competition and was performed in London on 31st January 2010.



jan
I have recently posted a (non-complete) 2010 list of UK & Ireland lit mags that publish short stories on my blog. which may be of interest to short story writers.

I am the current Fiction Editor of Southword magazine, one of the judges for both the Bristol Short Story Prize and the Brit Writers' Awards. Click on the links for more about how to submit.

My Article on the joys of short stories, "Stopping to Smell the Miniature Roses" is published in Bellatrista.

Exchange Rates, a play I adapted from my short story, is a finalist in the Total Beast 6-minute play competition and will be performed, together with the other shortlisted entries, in London on 31st January 2010. For more details, click here.
Upcoming Events


Oct 2014
Running workshop and presenting flash fiction prize at Bridport Prize Awards Ceremony, Bridport.

Nov 15 2014
Taking part in the Festival of Ideas' World War I symposium as part of Bristol 2014.

Dec 2014
Publication of Writers & Artists' Book of Short Story Writing, co-written by me and Courttia Newland, Bloomsbury.

Jan 14, 2015 Reading at Loose Muse, London