Aaron has been writing since age ten. A career in children’s book publishing kept her out of trouble from 9-5 while she has worked on numerous historic home restoration projects. Aaron currently resides with a very opinionated Cornish Rex cat who insists upon channeling the airs of Maggie Smith.
Stories:
The Reed’s Lament, He Knocked so Softly
Alison is a short story writer, cat mother, insomniac, worrier. She has been previously published in random places.
Stories:
Jumper
Allen Ashley is an award-winning editor and prize-winning poet. His most recent book is an updated, revised version of his novel “The Planet Suite” (Eibonvale Press, 2016). He works as a creative writing tutor with six groups running across north London.
Stories:
Tender Arrows
Alyson lives in West Yorkshire with her family, including 4 rescue animals. She teaches creative writing classes and works part time as an editor/proof reader. She is one of the writers in ‘Women in Horror Annual 2’, (2017) and 2018's 'DeadCades' and 'Trembling with Fear' (2018). Her flash fiction can be read widely online at TubeFlash, zeroflash, Horror Tree, Horror Scribes, Coffin Bell journal, Ellipsis 2 and in several Siren's Calls ezines. Her debut collection of flash, 'Badlands' is available to buy on amazon. She loves noir films. Alyson Tweets @AlysonFaye2 Alyson has an Amazon Page
Stories:
Timeslip, Carol Practice, Dominoes, The Pool Man, Doll Man, Chestnuts for my Sweet
Amy is an English major currently attending East Carolina University, in her senior year. This is her first attempt at writing flash fiction.
Stories:
Ending and Beginning
Anna won the InkTears Flash Fiction prize in 2017 and the TSS competition in 2016. Her fable Big Blue Eyes is one of ten winners of Word Factory’s Fables Competition. She was also published by the National Flash Fiction anthologies, Spelk Fiction, Café Aphra, Reflex Fiction, Spontaneity and Firefly magazines.
Stories:
The Hunger Dance, A Single Shining Dot, The Bubble
Annie’s first novel ‘York Ferry’ won the 2016 Rubery Award in Fiction. Her other books are ‘Lily in the Desert: Stories’ and ‘And Darkness was under his feet: stories of a family’, a winner of the Litchfield Review Award in Short Fiction. Her story, ‘Sex and the Piano’, won the Knuthouse Award in Music in 2016 and in 2018, Annie won second prize in the London Independent Story Prize.
Stories:
Something Like Pleasure, Not Exactly in Hiding 1944: Bucharest
Claire has been published in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and India. She was nominated for the 2016 Pushcart Prize. Her flash fiction work has been performed on BBC radio and she has won a number story prizes. Claire lives in British Columbia, Canada.
Stories:
Somewhere, Over the Bridge
Clare has written extensively for TV, but has now embarked on a novel, and particularly enjoys exploring different genres through short stories and flash fiction. She also writes poetry and is interested in the overlap with prose and breaking down the boundaries between the two. Enhancing words with music is another key interest and Clare has toured with performance poet John Hegley, accompanying him on keyboards
Stories:
Under the Tree
Damyanti is a freelance writer of fiction and non-fiction, she has been published in the UK, USA, India, Singapore and Malaysia.
Stories:
An Old Man’s Teeth
David is a nurse originally from Ireland and now lives in Sydney, Australia. He has published short stories across several genres, his inspiration comes from everyday experiences through to the words he reads.
Stories:
To the Point
avid Malone has a postgraduate degree from Liverpool. His previous short stories have appeared in The Momaya Annual Review, Crannog Literary Magazine, Liars' League, and Milk Money Magazine. His short story Hearing Aid was placed third in Bridport 2014.
Stories:
Burp of God
David teaches Communication at New College Lanarkshire. He has published over 100 short stories. He enjoys hillwalking, visiting historic sites, reading, watching telly and supporting his local football team, Kirkintilloch Rob Roy FC.
Stories:
Digging a Hole for Douglas, The Highland Line
David is a member of Clockhouse London Writers and the author of the children's fantasy novel 'The Tale of Euan Redcap'. His short fiction had appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, as well as being performed live at events such as Liar’s League and Solstice shorts.
Stories:
Lost Boys
David has had various bits and pieces published, most recently by Sein und Werden magazine, Hic Dragones, The Pre-Raphaelite Society Review and Kind of a Hurricane Press. One of his stories was shortlisted in the Fiction Desk Ghost Story Competition 2016. He enjoys writing ghost stories, dislikes writing short biographies and is sure things will be very different when he's in charge.
Stories:
Visiting Time
Dawn writes, tap dances, cycles and makes change happen. She’s motivated by social justice, believes in public service, is fascinated by power and anything weird and wonderful under the surface. Her first novel 'Hard Change' - a political thriller, was published in 2013.
Stories:
Three Portraits & Three Tales, Trust’s Lodger
Deirdre was a finalist in the Chawton House Jane Austen Short Story Award competition, her story appears in their 2015 anthology. She won the ABCtales online prose competition in February 2012 under the pen name Judy Gee. Deirdre lives in London and is happiest when immersed in a writing project.http://deirdre-amonkeyonhisback.blogspot.com
Stories:
Margery Breaks Free
Donna lives in Cheshire, England. She writes short stories and flash fiction, and is currently working on a novel. She won the Winchester Writers’ Festival Short Story Prize in 2018.
Stories:
A Second-Hand Coat
Douglas describes his writing as throwing words together, sometimes they make sense and sometimes they even make stories. He has won The Neil Gunn Memorial prize 2015 and the William Soutar Prize in 2014. He has been published by Aesthetica, Fiction Attic Press and Brittle Star Magazine, as well as in Flash Magazine, The Irish Literary Review and Northwords Now. Douglas won The Casket of Fictional Delights 2017 Flash Fiction competition.
Stories:
The Fourth Wise Man, Tell Me When it Kick In, Mam and She Worries
Ellen lives in the Rhondda, South Wales. She has a BA in English Literature from Cardiff University and is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing. Primarily a poet, her debut pamphlet Accent was published by Cinnamon Press in May 2015.
Stories:
Time Lies
Franklin has appeared in Yellow Mama, Heavy Hands Ink, Three Line Poetry, WEIRDYEAR, Phantom Kangaroo, Thirteen Myna Birds, PrimalZine, and various other publications. Recently, he’s been coauthoring the serial epic BEARD THE IMMORTAL.
Stories:
Come Along
Fanni is a writer in her mid-twenties. She writes in Hungarian and English; poems, flash fiction and countless unfinished novels. She tries to find the magical in the everyday and likes to spy on the secret life of cities and their inhabitants.
Stories:
Night Wait, Fires of Autumn, The Girl with Pearls in her Eyes, Rain of Thought, Summer’s End, Darkest before Dawn
Felicity is a mature student who is experimenting with a variety of writing forms, she loves poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, plays, screenplays ... and wants to write them all!
Stories:
I Remember
Fiona is a British born writer who has lived in the US for over 25 years. Her stories have been appeared in, among others, The Washington Review, Harpers & Queen UK, Metropolitain and District Lines II and she has been longlisted for Plymouth University’s 2015 Short Fiction Prize.
Stories:
The More Things Change
Gina was a runner-up in The Casket of Fictional Delights 2017 Flash Fiction Competition, Gina’s story 'The Ties that Bind' was recorded as a podcast and published on a number of audio platforms. Her writing has also appeared in fiction and non-fiction magazines, most recently in Longleaf Review and National Flash Fiction Day’s Flash Flood. Gina lives in Scotland and tweets @gmdfreelance.
Stories:
1-2-5
Helen is a writer, researcher and counsellor living and working in London. Her thing is bangles rather than brooches.
Stories:
Every Day
| Isobel lives on South Tyneside. She does casual work in libraries and has had stories on SpaceSquid, Devilfish Review, The Drabble, and Blink-Ink. |
Stories:
What the Cat Dragged In, Housework
James lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest. Since retirement from teaching, he is able to spend more time with his characters as they work their way through their conflicts.
Stories:
Escape
Janine is the writer and editor of Punk Fiction, a book of short stories inspired by punk. She has written for various music magazines including Mojo, Loud & Quiet and Record Collector and has published numerous short stories with a variety of literary magazines.
Stories:
The Neon Exit
Jason's writing has been widely-published. In 2018 he has won the Writers Bureau competition, came second in the Exeter Short Story competition, was runner-up in the Frome Short Story competition and short-listed at the Leicester Writes competition. In 2017 he was nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
Jason Tweets @jj_fiction
Stories:
Bombs, Lilies
Jay is the author of two short story collections published by Salt. Her story ‘As Birds Fly’ won the Salt Short Story prize and is included in the ‘Salt Anthology of New Writing, 2013’. She is Writer in Residence at Women in Publishing.
Stories:
Green Room Yellow Room
Jenna is studying for her PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham. Primarily a poet, her work has been published by Ink, Sweat & Tears, BareFiction, The Cadaverine, Two Words For and Miso Magazine.
Stories:
Catgut
Jenny lives in East London. She has had short fiction published by Cinnamon Press, Stand Magazine, and in the National Flash Fiction Day anthology, ‘Scraps’. She is currently working on a novel.
Stories:
The Sentence
Joanna writes short stories and flash fiction, has had her work published in a number of magazines and anthologies. She lives in London with her ever growing collection of Brooches.
Stories:
Lunchtime at St Vedast’s, New Message, Paper Cuts, Lady Elfleda, Home Time, Left Behind, Dolores, Ladies’ Day, The Key, Christmas Letters, Miss Ellie-Louise at the Diner, Three Portraits & Three Tales, Time Line, Toothpaste Tubes, Gardeners’ Delight, The Daily Commute, The Female of the Species – Part 3, The Last Straw, The Female of the Species – Part 2, The Female of the Species – Part 1, Lipstick in his Handbag, Big Fish Little Fish, The Blue Box, He took his Zimmer frame for a walk, Friday, THE Carol Service, Collateral Damage, Face2Face, The White Bathroom, Blue for a Boy Pink for a Girl, Ministering, A Twitcher’s Lament, Museum Piece, Colours That Suit, Charles Marmaduke, My Father’s Head, The Thief
John was born in Birmingham. He studied film making at the London School of Film Technique. On leaving he turned his hand to writing for the stage and the radio where his work has been produced. He also wrote and published short stories. John taught creative writing at universities, schools, prisons, day centres. He taught a novel and short story course at the City Lit in London and a more general course at CRISIS’s day centre in Spitalfields, London. John died in 2014.
Stories:
Unreliable
Josie lives in Hertfordshire and works in London. She has had fiction and poetry published in The North, Magma, The Frogmore Papers and Mslexia. In 2013 she was placed third in Mslexia's annual short story competition and first in the Welsh Poetry competition.
Stories:
A Disappearance, Clinging On
Katie is currently studying at college. She spends the rest of her time searching for a job although she is often distracted by the blank page and all of the ideas in her head clamouring to get out. She lives in Hertfordshire. This is her first published piece.
Stories:
Smoke Screen
Katy studied social anthropology, then did a PhD on Mexican Surrealism. She’s worked in publishing and had fiction published in ezines and magazines, including Bust Down the Doors and Eat All the Chickens, Theguardian.com, Café Irreal, GlassFire, Serendipity and DogVersusSandwich. She won the Tate Modern short story competition.
Stories:
Bubble
Krishan is on the Creative Writing PhD programme at the University of East Anglia. His writing has appeared in Ambit, Aesthetica, Litro and Fractured West. He won the Manchester Fiction Prize in 2011, and in his spare time he runs and edits a literary magazine.
Stories:
Blue Whale Hits Town
Lauren lives in Birmingham, loves rainbows and is often drunk on inspiration. Her work has been published by Word Bohemia, Synaesthesia Magazine, Bare Fiction, Inkapture, Visual Verse, Short Story Sunday and Storgy Magazine where she is a contributing writer.
Stories:
Life Line, Minnie, Current Girl
Leonie lives in Islington, London and writes short stories and flash fiction. She is half way through writing her first novel, 'Turncoats Daughter,' an historical tale set in Italy in 1755 and London in 1764. This is Leonie's first collection of short stories exploring the female and death.
Stories:
The Registrar’s Daughter (3/3), Manufactory of Smells (2/3), Statue (1/3)
Liam was abandoned in a library at the tender age of 3, only to emerge blinking into the sunlight many years later, with a head full of words and an aversion to loud noises. He lives in London and dreams in Dewey Decimals.
Stories:
Fishing for Keys
Louise is a compulsive writer and drinker of prosecco. Louise was a runner up in The Casket of Fictional Delights 2017 Flash Fiction Competition. She lives on a Swiss Alp with her Kiwi husband and two sons.
Stories:
En Garde
Louise works in a museum and does women's history guided walks. Her stories have been published in anthologies by Tonto, Black Lace, Sentinel and Unbound and historical articles published in French Literary Review, Herstoria and Jane Austen's Regency World. She has had a play performed at Crawley's Hawth Theatre.
Stories:
In the Caldera
Lucy is a writer, photographer and lecturer, currently based at Plymouth University. Her stories and poetry have appeared in The Manchester Review, Short Fiction and Poetry Ireland Review. She has just published her first solo collection of short stories ‘Wild Gestures’ published by MidnightSun available to buy from her website.
Stories:
Wild Gestures
Maeve lives in London and as well as writing flash fiction writes poetry and is working on a novel taking her varied and interesting life as inspiration.
Stories:
Sanctuary
Margaret is an ex-Research Chemist turned Science Teacher, who has morphed into writer and artist. She loves baking, despite, or maybe because of the challenge of food allergies. She also loves playing hockey, tennis, the piano, her family and friends – but not necessarily in that order.
Stories:
Three Hundred Words
Marion is currently working on a novel set in Feltham Young Offenders Institution. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Surrey.
Stories:
Transience
Mark was raised in Africa, a childhood spent running wild and barefoot in sunny scrubland, during which he survived two dog maulings, a swarm of killer bees and being run over by a horse. He lives in Swindon UK and is currently helping a tree dragon write her autobiography.
Mark Tweets @mumbletoes
Michelle has a degree in Creative Writing/Journalism. She has written for The Guardian and the Kingston Writing School’s ‘Ripple’. She has submitted her first novel and is working on her second.
Stories:
See
Mick was born, raised and lived in Dublin. He was active in many areas. His short stories and poetry were published in magazines and various collections. His story ‘The Fiddle Lesson’ was nominated for the prestigious Hennessey Award. He also released four solo CDs of his own songs. Mick died in 2016.
Stories:
Old Money, The Twentieth
Moira's first career was as a film editor, creating factual and fiction stories. She is now working on a novel.
Stories:
The Pear
Morgan is a short story and poetry writer, an island man, he finds mainland roads no less circular. He is a friend of the neighbourhood cats and likes to smile at strangers.
Stories:
Hoping
Morgan has a PhD in geophysics, three grown up children and a lot of books. Probably too many book!
Stories:
Water Sweet as Death
MP Kenny has lived in Dublin all her life. She works with children with special needs in a primary school. Her short stories and flash fiction have appeared in journals in Ireland, the UK and Mexico. She was longlisted for the WoW award 2016. She is currently in the throes of editing her second novel.
Stories:
Bitterness, Unbreakable Bonds, Alone, naturally
Neema is currently writing her first novel. She won The Literary Consultancy Pen Factor Live 2017 and was runner up in the Best Opening Chapter competition at the York Festival of Writing 2017. She lives in London and works in marketing.
Stories:
Kala Pani
Nicola now claims Madrid as her home and her first novel was published in 2014. She also writes study materials for the EFL market.
Stories:
Reclaiming Istanbul
Parineeta is a writer and a poet who was encouraged to put words on paper by her mother. She has previously been published in the Vintage Script Magazine and the International Journal of Arts and Sciences. She enjoys travelling and blackcurrant ice cream.
Stories:
My Aunt Edna
Pauline writes speculative fiction, is easily led astray by comedy and seeks stories from the soul. Her fiction can be found with publications including Metaphorosis, Abyss and Apex, Beta Noire, Story City Creatives and Every Day Fiction. She lives in Australia.
Pauline Tweets @midnightmuser1
When The Tide Turns by Pauline Yates was first published on Elena Hartwell’s Blog
When The Tide Turns is also available as podcast via LA Rivers
Stories:
When The Tide Turns
Pauline writes speculative fiction, is easily led astray by comedy, and seeks stories from the soul. Her fiction can be found with publications including Metaphorosis, Abyss and Apex, Beta Noire, Story City Creatives and Every Day Fiction. She lives in Australia.
Pauline Tweets @midnightmuser1
Stories:
Cooked, Steps, Missing Anna, The Sweetest Thing, Toil and Trouble
Rachel grew up in Doncaster and now lives in London. She has contributed to Pygmy Giant, Streetcake magazine, A Cuppa And An Armchair book, The Guardian travel section, the Utopia Arts Festival, Are You Sitting Comfortably podcast, the Tate Modern website and the forthcoming book, Night Bus To Camden.
Stories:
Summer in the City
Rebecca is a Mental Health Support Worker living, writing and enjoying life in London. She hopes to begin a PhD in Creative Writing. When not working or writing she loves to run, a lot.
Stories:
Easy Habits
Rebecca is an actor and writer. She has performed her first play, Sometimes I Laugh Like My Sister, over 100 times touring the UK, Switzerland and South Africa. She is currently working on two new shows with collaborator Martin M Bartelt. She is published by Oberon Books.
Stories:
The Unbiddable Hand, The Glimpse
Richard likes writing short stories and it stops him staring at other passengers on the train.
Stories:
Last Breakfast
Rosie is a novelist, poet and sings with post-punk band The March Violets. With a passion for language nurtured by public libraries, her work has appeared in Under the Radar, The North, New Welsh Review, Rialto & elsewhere. Her latest novel 'The Night Brother' was reviewed in The Times as “playful and exuberant... with shades of Angela Carter.”
Stories:
The Third Favourite Wife of The Emperor, Speaking in Tongues
Ross lives in Stirling, Scotland with his wife, three children (two boomerangs) and a cat. He loves to discover and write stories about people mostly. He writes for pleasure but would love to be discovered and feted as a new Alexander McCall Smith.
Stories:
Helicopter, A Christmas Tale
Ruth is a former children’s rights advocate who lives in Wales. Ruth is working on her first novel about the ‘surplus women’ of the 1930s which is loosely based on the lives of her great aunts. She has recently contributed to the anthology ‘Behind Many Doors’ Accent Press.
Stories:
The Garden
Sandra is short, dark, bespectacled and is relatively new to the addictive world of flash fiction. Prior to her success at The Casket of Fictional Delights she was Highly Commended in the Borderlines Book Festival 2015 for her first ever flash fiction attempt. She is, in her words ‘well chuffed!’
Stories:
Serendipity
Shauna lives in Northumberland and her fiction is published at animalliterarymagazine.com, Tallow Eider Quarterly and The Cossack Review. She is the short story category winner of the Hysteria competition 2015.
Stories:
Her, Next Door
Sherri has had numerous short stories published in magazines and has won prizes for both poetry and short stories in competitions including the Bristol Prize, the Wells Literary Festival and the Bridport Prize. Her work has also appeared in several short story anthologies.
Sherri tweets @STurner4077
Stories:
Bikini
Stephanie is a Londoner. She was almost born on the roof garden of a West End Department Store, luckily her mother got to St Mary Abbots Hospital just in time. Now she lives in Hackney and is working on her first novel.
Stories:
Camels and Canapes
Stephanie is a clinical psychologist. In 2017 she was nominated for Best of the Net, gained second prize in National Flash Fiction Day micro competition and was shortlisted for the Bristol Prize. She lives in Staffordshire.
Stories:
The End of Escape
Stephanie’s writing has appeared in The Snow Island Review. She is also an editorial assistant for Explorations in Renaissance Culture.
Stories:
Sleep Evasion
Susan is a Brit living in Amsterdam. Susan has been a runner-up in the 2018 and 2017 Casket of Fictional Delights Flash Fiction Competitions, ‘The Plughole Picker’ was published online and 'To See a Star' was recorded as a podcast and published on a number of audio platforms. Her writing has also been published and performed by amongst others; Mslexia, Liars’ League, Reflex Fiction and Writers Abroad. She has a love hate relationship with her adopted hometown and often dreams of living in a thatched cottage, far from the madding crowd.
Stories:
A Gentleman’s Wager, Christmas Still in the Basement, The Plughole Picker
Tina has been a writer for over 25 years. She has written two novels ‘Only a Paper Moon’ and ‘Catch the Magpie’ and two volumes of poetry and a collection of newspaper columns. She is working on her first short story collection, to be published by Fish in 2016.
Stories:
Mastic Lady
Vivien writes short stories, poetry and theatre pieces, many of which have been published or performed. She is one of three editors of 'Southlight' literary magazine for the south of Scotland and beyond. When not writing she is a performing early musician on viols and recorders and other wind instruments.
Stories:
Getting Ready
Warwick has been published in ‘Nocturnal Submissions’, ‘Overland’ , ‘The Lifted Brow’, ‘Meanjin’, ‘Full of Crow’, ‘Gapped Tooth Madness’,‘Going Down Swinging’, ‘Elohi Gadugi’ ‘Street Cake’,‘Gone Lawn’ and on ‘Horror Sleaze Trash’ . He lives in Brisbane, Australia with his partner and 2 blue-heelers.
Stories:
Aunty Mary’s
Zoë is from Christchurch, New Zealand. Her short stories have been published at home and abroad. She was nominated for Best Small Fictions in 2017, and published in To Carry Her Home: Bath Flash Fiction Volume One 2017.
Stories:
The Replacement
Look what is coming up in November on The Casket.
A new Flash Fiction by writer Jay Merill 'Trev at Ivinghoe'.
And the Brooch of the Month has a New York connection.
Don't to forget to let us know what you think of all our stories and our brooches @casketfiction.
Check out other short stories on The Casket of Fictional Delights
The 2018 Flash Fiction Competition - WINNERS ANNOUNCED
This year’s winner is Rosie Garland with her story ‘Speaking in Tongues’ ** CONGRATULATIONS**
2nd Sync by Mark Farley; 3rd Floating by Mark Farley; 4th 1-2-5 by Gina Headden
Bikini by Sherri Turner; The Plughole Picker by Susan Carey; Serendipity by Sandra Purdy; Bombs, Lilies by Jason Jackson
Prefer to listen? - from the beginning The Casket of Fictional Delights has specialised in producing high quality podcasts of short stories and flash fiction compilations. The podcasts are recorded by actors and voiceover artists and produced by a professional studio manager ensuring we maintain a consistent high standard. I’ve chosen three to highlight the variety and quality of work we have to offer - visit our Podcast page for more. I hope you enjoy listening to them.
The Casket of Fictional Delights newsletter delivers the latest story or brooch of the month fresh off the press, and keeps you informed about our competitions and other Casket news periodically.
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