Short Story of the Month, February 2023

And so at last we come to February, the fifth month of 2023. Ed.

The Willesden Herald Story of the Month

February 2023: The Rings by Marion Urch McNulty

“In the hospital in Sligo Town, the undertaker’s assistant was bathing Bridget Ellen while her children were flying or sailing across the Irish Sea from scattered points throughout England. In trains and cars, others were nearer, Ignatius, the youngest of all of them, even had time for a drink.”

Marion Urch McNulty is an award-winning artist and writer. Her first novel Violent Shadows (Headline Review) was published in the UK in 1996. Her second novel An Invitation to Dance (Brandon 2009). Various short stories have been published in Ireland, England, Canada and the US. Her video works are held in galleries around the world and archived by the University of Dundee.

The Rings is part of a collection of short stories titled Of Love and Other Miracles which playfully subverts the lives of the saints.

New Budgens in North Greenford

Photo: Shiny bottle-green shopfront of new local Budgens supermarket

The brand new Budgens is where the old Barclays Bank branch was. The shop is on the service road beside the main Greenford Road. Parking is on-street only and extremely limited, to say the least. On the same parade there are already Iceland and a Mleczko Polish local supermarkets. Nearest underground Sudbury Hill (two minutes walk), buses 92 and H17 stop outside.

Short Story of the Month, January 2023

We're back with a new series of original short stories online. Don't worry, the reprints are still there somewhere on the menu too. And what better way to start the year than with a tale of young people in a northern town, somewhere near the sea and the eternal question about staying or leaving. Ed.

The Willesden Herald Story of the Month

January 2023: This One-Trick Town by Amanda Huggins

“There was a far-off shimmer to the north, and Da told her it was the glow of Newcastle, luring the unwary with her swagger and shine. Annie knew he’d made it up, that you wouldn’t be able to see the city lights from so far away, but she went along with it unquestioningly, as though she believed every word.”

Amanda Huggins

Amanda Huggins is the author of the novellas Crossing the Lines and All Our Squandered Beauty as well as several collections of short stories and poetry. Her work has also appeared in a wide range of journals and newspapers and on BBC Radio. She has won numerous awards, including three Saboteur Awards, the BGTW New Travel Writer of the Year, and the Colm Tóibín and H E Bates short story prizes. She was also a runner-up in the Costa Short Story Award and the Fish Short Story Prize, and has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and many others.

Call for submissions: Story of the Month

This feature is open for submissions again from 5 January 2023.

Story of the Month is an occasional feature for literary fiction. The word range for new submissions is from 1000 to 3000 words. There is no reading fee. Payment is a copy of one of our past anthologies. Please read the guidelines in full before submitting. We are seeking to publish new stories by writers not previously featured in Story of the Month or not featured for more than a year. Story of the Month is online only, not for print publication.