Moments before he slammed the door behind him, Charles could hear the sound of his wife’s loud laughter rolling in his head. She’d describe it as having her giggle-mug on, but she had a tendency towards vulgarity and many times he’d admonished her about this. She’d once infuriated him by retorting ‘I’ll use my sauce-box … Continue reading HIGH HOPES ON THE HIGHWAY by Caroline Drew (3rd place Jan21)
Author: Cranked Anvil
Happy World Book Day 2021
It's the first Thursday of March, and that can mean only one thing - WORLD BOOK DAY. As all the pictures streamed by on facebook, instagram, and twitter, of kids dressed in costumes as their favourite characters from literature - costumes that parents had probably spent a lot of time, money, and effort putting together … Continue reading Happy World Book Day 2021
Author Profile – SHARON BOYLE
Sharon's short story Moth Woman was placed first in our competition in July last year. It appeared in our first print anthology. You can also read it on our website here. Sharon has short stories and flash pieces published online and in magazines, including Writers’ Forum, The Moth and Sentinel Literary. As well as with … Continue reading Author Profile – SHARON BOYLE
January 2021 – Long List
Once again, a mountain of short stories has kept the judges very busy at Cranked Anvil HQ, and as always we've loved reading all the eligible entries. We had quite a few comments from writers at the close of our last competition, telling us that our '4 entries for 3' offer had been a very … Continue reading January 2021 – Long List
Author Profile – CAROLE GARRETT
Carole's short story New Baby made our shortlist in April 2020 and was included in our first short story print anthology. She describes herself as "a 49 year old want-to-be writer. Married to a long-suffering husband for far longer than she thought she would be." In this first of our author profiles she tells us … Continue reading Author Profile – CAROLE GARRETT
On The Shelf – CATH BARTON
Cath Barton is a prolific writer and has appeared on our short- and long-lists numerous times. Her July 2020 shortlisted story Radio Times was included in our first short story anthology. She describes herself as a "writer, hill walker, photographer and (still, occasionally) singer", and says she is "always on the lookout for the quirky … Continue reading On The Shelf – CATH BARTON
How To Write A Short Story – 6 things our judges look for
There are countless writing guides out there, in print and on the web. Many contradict each other. Many more cite the usual 'rules' ("show don't tell" for example). Since our writing competitions started nearly two years ago we've received many hundreds of stories, of differing lengths, styles, genres, and levels of drama or humour. We've … Continue reading How To Write A Short Story – 6 things our judges look for
Writers – get involved with us in 2021
Hello Writers First of all, Happy New Year. We hope you're keeping safe and well, and looking forward to a busy 2021. We've been quiet over the past month or so, what with Christmas, New Year, and a huge relocation to beautiful rural Northumberland. (The view from our office window now is loads … Continue reading Writers – get involved with us in 2021
Cranked Anvil 