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SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED Celebrate fl ash fi ction in Edinburgh this June
T T O C S S R H C
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HITLIST THE BEST BOOKS, COMICS & EVENTS
D O O W H A R A S
✽ Cross Cultural Reading Ali Smith and Pia Juul fly the Scottish and Danish flags,
respectively, with readings from their latest books. Summerhall, Edinburgh, Thu 13 June.
✽ Borders Book Festival A wide mix of fiction and non-fiction events in a beautiful location. Crime novelists Chris Brookmyre (pictured, right) and Mark Billingham promise ‘cheap laughs and dirty stories’. Harmony Garden, Melrose, Fri 14 June.
✽ Iain Banks: The Quarry The final novel from the much-loved Scottish author,
a deceptively simple story displaying his trademark black humour. See review, page 48. Little, Brown
✽ Carrying the Fire An intimate festival of ideas, poetry, music, and performance, all exploring the connections between the arts and ecology. We’re most excited to see Sara Maitland, author of Gossip From the Forest, a gorgeous examination of forests and fairy tales. Wiston Lodge, South Lanarkshire, Fri 14–Mon 16 Jun.
✽ Terry Deary: Horrible Histories Plenty of gruesome historical facts
guaranteed to delight your child (or the child in you). Christ Church, Edinburgh, Sat 15 June.
✽ National Flash Fiction Day Four of Edinburgh’s finest spoken word events bring you an evening of small but perfectly formed stories. See preview, left. Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, Sat 22 Jun.
B R O A D D A Y L G H T
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Campbell-Jack evening’s performance at the Storytelling Centre will last around two hours, and the amount of readers selected from submissions will depend on the length of the stories, which can be anything from three to 2000 words long. Such brevity isn’t just a gimmick, it’s a virally growing reflection of the times, when people consume more literature from the screen, in public situations and performed by the author. ‘There’s something about people only having short spaces of time in which to consume things,’ says Campbell-Jack. ‘What’s good about flash fiction is it’s easily consumable, but it’s not low quality.’
T o those with a foot in the literary scene, flash fiction isn’t a new concept. In fact it’s become so entrenched that there’s now even a national day when it might be celebrated and performed. Edinburgh’s plentiful array of literary promoters are coming together for just such an event, which includes a flash fiction and zine production workshop at the Bongo Club during the day, and events at the Bongo Club and the Scottish Storytelling Centre in the evening.
For those not versed in the subject, Mairi Campbell-Jack of Inky Fingers and National Flash Fiction Day’s organising committee in Edinburgh gives a précis. ‘The clue is in the flash part! It’s quick fiction,’ she says. ‘Even a short story is maybe five, six thousand words, but this is fiction you could read on a bus or train journey, or in your lunch break. It’s quick to digest but that doesn’t mean it’s not complex. Sometimes the shortness actually gives it much more potency and power.’
Turn the page to try out a specially-written piece of flash fiction from Elizabeth Reeder. (David Pollock) National Flash Fiction Day, Bongo Club and Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, Sat 22 Jun.
✽ The Lowest Heaven A visually beautiful anthology
with each short story inspired by a different object in the solar system. See review, page 48. Jurassic, London
13 Jun–11 Jul 2013 THE LIST 47