Free short story discussion group for Substack subscribers
Join us for a live Zoom session once a month to talk about a published short story
From April, Zoe Gilbert will be hosting a 1-hour online session (via Zoom) once a month to talk about, and pick apart, a published short story. Subscribers will be sent the story to read ahead of the session, and a joining link.
Come along to share your response and find out what others thought of it! Everything and anything from first impressions to critical analysis will be welcome, and disagreement is encouraged – there’s no right or wrong way to respond to a short story, and we can learn a lot from comparing our thoughts.
You don’t need to have any prior experience of close reading, or be writing short stories. You just need an interest in talking about how stories and fiction work. This is a great way to get inspiration for your own writing, from themes to writing techniques, and to become more confident in taking apart a piece of prose to see how all the parts fit together. Reading like a writer makes you a better writer!
Our first story will be ‘A Dill Pickle’ by Katherine Mansfield, first published in 1917. This is a dialogue-driven story with a delicious undertow of clashing memories and changing desire. Katherine Mansfield is considered one of the greatest short story authors of the 20th century, and with good reason; she was also a musician, and her sensitivity to sound and rhythm show through in her writing.
The first short story discussion group will take place on Tuesday 9th April, 6-7pm, and we’ll run future monthly discussions on the second Tuesday of the month. These sessions are currently open to all our Substack subscribers - as are our Accountability Club writing sessions with Ennis. We’d love to see you at any or all of these!
Starting on 10th April is Ruby Cowling’s online course, Short Story Gold Rush: Write your Way to the Treasure! Ruby is an award-winning author of short stories, and has spent many years both selecting stories for competitions and editing for the Short Fiction journal. Her course is designed to get you drafting new work freely, while working through assignments to help you identify and develop the most exciting themes and ideas that emerge from this work. Ruby will also give detailed feedback on work produced during the course.
London Lit Lab courses coming up:
Short Story Gold Rush: Write your Way to the Treasure! | 10th April – 28th May | £245
Write Your Self: Intermediate Course | 6-8:15pm Wednesdays | 4 sessions | 10th April – 22nd May | £249
Having our Voice Heard: Writing our Health and Care Stories| 2-4pm Saturdays | 3 individually bookable sessions | 27th April – 25th May | £75
Managing the Inner Critic | 2.5hrs | Saturday 18th May | 3pm-5:30pm UK Time, UTC+1 | £40
Looking forward to this - great idea
Love this idea! I was in a study group a while back but it fizzled. Could you please clarify the time zone? I hope to join. Thanks!