Top 10 Things I Learnt at the London Short Story Festival

The London Short Story Festival returned from 18-21 June, bigger and better than ever!

I had an incredible time at the inaugural LSSF in 2014, so I was quick on my keyboard when the team did a call out looking for volunteers for this year’s event. Organised by Spread the Word and hosted by Waterstones Piccadilly, I couldn’t wait to get a glimpse behind the scenes, meet some of the world-class authors, and (major perk alert!) see some of the cracking sessions on the programme for free.

LSSF volunteers – photo credit Sira Pocovi

Here’s the list of my ten top insights during this literary-fuelled weekend:

1) Award-winning writer Toby Litt’s top three tips for a strong short story are; tie no bows, open gaps, and make it more wrong if the story isn’t right. (What are you waiting for, give it a go!)

2) One of Laura Van Den Berg’s greatest inspirations is Murakami’s short story collection After the Quake, and she recommended everyone should read it. *Buys copy*

3) Waterstones Piccadilly is so vast it actually has its own gravitational pull like a planet, it’s practically big enough to become a country and declare independence from London, and it has miles of shelves full of amazing books. Ok, at least the last bit’s true…

4) The festival line-up boasted 65 leading writers and speakers across 4 days and 27 events.

5) During the Short Story Gate Keepers session, the panel’s most important advice included; read what magazines publish before you submit to them, don’t just write what you think publications want to read to tick them off your hit list, and remember it’s the voice that grabs.

6) I discovered some fascinating cuisine-based facts at the Cooked Up: Food Fiction event. Did you know that Ben Okri’s favourite dish is Nigerian peppered soup? Plus, Elaine Chiew makes the BEST cheese straws ever.

Wine and nibbles at Food Fiction event

7) The fiction scene in Wales is going from strength to strength, as demonstrated by readings from a selection of fantastic authors at Wales Arts Review’s showcase.

8) I learnt it’s very confusing having your identical twin sister attend the festival you’re volunteering at! Inevitably many people mistook her for me, and asked “where are the book signings/ are there any tickets left for the next event/ which floor are the ladies toilets on/ insert random enquiry here.”

9) Irish writer Kevin Barry is hilarious, and he cracked the entire room up with his reading during the festival finale, a Sunday times EFG Short Story Award themed-session.

10) Only at the London Short Story Festival could a 12 hour volunteer shift go by in flash, and leave you wishing there was a another event still to come afterwards. Fingers crossed LSSF will be back next year!