My summer of short stories

My summers tend to be themed, often through food ... so a year ago it was melon summer, the year before that samphire summer. This summer is more cultural, the summer of short stories.

The City of Derby Writing Competitions are gathering pace. Jane Draycott is judging the poetry section, while I am judging the short stories. It's quite pleasant to curl up on the sofa and read through a fresh batch. Every one I have read so far has been an honest work with some real merit and occasional sustained excellence. Some are transferred to a pile for a final end of summer read-off, when the final winners will emerge. I'm pleased to see the class of entries the competition is attracting.

Anonymity really is guaranteed. I find I sometimes make guesses at the gender of the writer, but expect I am often wrong. I have set that gender-spotting task to writing classes, and found that when the class reaches a consensus they are actually often wrong.

The competition has a modest 3 pound entry fee (no-one's getting rich out of this) and strikes me as genuinely out to promote literary talent. I'm not on commission, in fact the fewer the entries the easier my job, but since this is my summer of stories after all why not send a good one of your own my way? Who knows, we could be meeting up in Derby on October 17th, the awards day that's part of their Writing Festival. I grew up on the outskirts of Derbyshire, so look forward to returning.