Short story master to judge Willesden 2012-13

The Willesden Herald is pleased and excited to announce that David Means, one of the very top short story writers in the world, has kindly agreed to be the judge for our next short story competition. David Means' stories have a diamond-like sharpness and clarity, in which we visit locations, society and climates as vividly as in a waking dream. I couldn't point to Sault Ste Marie on the map but I feel I've been there. I've never hung onto a train but I sort of know what it's like now. I've never lived in an apartment in New York, or slept rough but... you get the picture. Writers, there are still a few months before the competition opens but you have your work cut out for you! (Ed)

Links
Wikipedia: David Means
The Spot by David Means review by James Lasdun in the Guardian
Interview with David Means in the New York Times
Short stories by David Means in The New Yorker
NY podcast: David Means reads Chef's House by Raymond Carver
David Means' author page at Faber and Faber

Trees in Roundwood Park

The wind was bringing blossom down like a blizzard today.

Peter Avenue

4:24 pm

West Africa Children's Appeal | Donate | UNICEF UK

West Africa Children's Appeal | Donate | UNICEF UK

There is a famine in west Africa.

In the UK you can text FOOD to 70007 to donate £5 to Unicef's appeal. Ewan McGregor assures us in his appeal video today that the money will go to feed the children. Here's another Unicef video about the crisis and there is a donate button beside the video on YouTube.

And the result is...

12 April 2012: The results of the international Willesden Herald short story competition 2012 as judged by Roddy Doyle were announced at Willesden Green library centre tonight. First prize went to "Winter Lambing" by Virginia Gilbert. Equal runners up were "Curtains" by Charles Lambert and "Frost Heave" by Geraldine Mills. Thanks to all who helped tonight, more details to follow.



"Liars' League actors read extracts from six stories shortlisted for the international fiction prize, plus the winner and runners-up are revealed." The actors in order of appearance on the night: Susan Moisan, Camila Fiori, Silas Hawkins, Rob Witcomb, Adam Diggle, Will Goodhand. (More)

Links

Announcement: Willesden 2012 short list
Introducing the authors of the short-listed stories 2012
Save the Library Centre/Keep Willesden Green
Facebook event listing and comments

Reports (adding as discovered)

Nick Holdstock (including excerpt from "Half")
Charles Lambert
Mary O'Shea (on Facebook comments: "A mug?")
Mikey Delgado
Willesden Green Writers' Group
The Library Lab
The writing of "In the Service of the Demon"
A mention at Blake Friedmann agency (new)
Geraldine Mills: When Someone Believes in your Writing (new)




Read all the short-listed stories in New Short Stories 6 from:

The Willesden Bookshop, Library Centre, 95 High Street, Willesden, London NW10. Please support our local bookshop. Website

Amazon.co.uk (free delivery UK)
Publisher direct (delivery price varies)
The Book Depository (free delivery worldwide)
Amazon.com (possible free delivery in the US)
Barnes & Noble
Powells

Available worldwide. To order from your preferred supplier, please quote: "Willesden Herald: New Short Stories 6" (Publisher Pretend Genius Press, 2012). ISBN: 978-0-9778526-6-6

Supported by Willesden Green Writers' Group

Want to buy a British passport?

Your immigration issues are over. Get yourself down to Willesden post office, where you can buy a British passport for £3.99.

This Must be the Place trailer

Motorcycle training centre

Motorcycle training at Willesden sports centre, 7 days a week

Kickstarter project update - rewards

We've been going through the list of supporters and rewards and trying to get them all sent out.

If you chose a PDF copy as your reward, please check your email, as those have now been sent.

Most of the books have been dispatched or are in hand with Amazon.

We have sent emails to five more people whose addresses or book choices are still unknown.

Some of the money was used to increase the number of author copies from two to five per author this year. Some is going to providing the rewards. Some is going to the printing costs. When the dust settles I will publish a breakdown of where all the money went.

Thanks to everyone who backed the project on Kickstarter. Any problems or questions, please don't hesitate to contact us via Kickstarter or here.

Steve Moran

Harlesden Road

Thursday, about 8 pm

Brazilian beauty salon & Garnish restaurant

High Road, Willesden

New mobile web version

Instead of trying to show the desktop sized pages, there is now a slimmed down layout that appears on mobile phones. It works rather like other phone apps and includes touch screen workings and all that jazz. It omits all the lists of links from the sides of the original template though.

A street singer

Moments after a set on the island in the middle of the traffic, another impromptu performance of "This Time, Lord You Gave Me A Mountain" beside the old library centre this afternoon. "What name do you want on it, on YouTube?" (I asked several times.) "On YouTube? Paddy. I'm Irish, Patrick, Paddy. I was born here but ..." (His friends called him Eddie)

Invitation

Update: And the result is 

The Willesden Herald

international short story competition 2012

Willesden Green Library Centre
95 Willesden High Road, London NW10
8 pm - 10 pm, Thursday, 12 April

Nearest station: Willesden Green. Buses 52, 302, 98, 260, 266, 460.

Join actors from Liars’ League for an evening to celebrate the short story. Discover who has won the Willesden international short story competition 2012. Introduced by Sam Taradash.

Admission: Free. Refreshments available.

Finalists

"Artist" by Y. J. Zhu
"Clingfilm" by Francis Scappaticci
"Curtains" by Charles Lambert
"Frost Heave" by Geraldine Mills
"Half" by Nick Holdstock
"In The Service of the Demon" by Jo Barker Scott
"Relativity" by Mary O'Shea
"Slimebank Taxonomy" by Eliza Robertson
"The Coastal Shelf" by Dermot Duffy
"Winter Lambing" by Virginia Gilbert

www.liarsleague.com  www.willesdengreenwriters.com
www.willesdenherald.com

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress, taken in 1940 by Russell Lee

Links

Announcement: Willesden 2012 short list

Introducing the authors of the short-listed stories 2012

Willesden Green Library Centre website

Facebook event listing

Rutland Park Mansions

One of about five (?) similar doorways, Rutland Park Mansions, Walm Lane

Geranium Shop for the blind

Walm Lane

Queens Parade

Jardins d'Eden

PopUp Design

The Wise Owl / Punch 'n Juicy

Some of the eight new shopfronts on the site formerly occupied by Metro Textiles

American Nails

High Road, Willesden. Lots of shops like this one in the high street now. It used to be cheap phone places, and before that internet caf's, before that video shops...

Kentish Town waltz

Trying out this new Spotify plugin. Very pleasant song, evocative of bedsit life around north London.

The last of the original Dubliners

From RTE. He's there now, finally made it to Fiddlers Green. r.i.p. Barney McKenna (1939 - 2012)

New window on Willesden Green

www.WillesdenWindows.com

Che Guevara

New pavement art, Harlesden Road today

The Coward's Tale

Vanessa Gebbie direct from Bloomsbury's office, the world HQ of fiction!

Views of the Jewish cemetery

Roundwood Park today

Football training for kids

From 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday morning football for kids aged 5 to 11 in Roundwood Park. If you are looking for the area, it is behind the aviary. The poster is about Football Camp, which is a different all-day thing running from Monday 2nd to Thursday 5th of April. Link