Joey Ramone- In A Little While

and here's the U2 studio recording posted as "A tribute to Joey, set to the song, 'In A Little While' by U2- the last song Joey listened to."

U2 (In A Little While)

possibly their best

Willesden competition trivia

Out of about 2,000 short stories submitted since we started the Willesden competition in 2005, there have (as of November 2009) been 30 shortlisted, 22 published in New Short Stories, 6 nominated for Pushcart prizes, 2 published by the Guardian online & 9 of the authors have subsequently had books published by Canongate, Salt, Sphere, Solidus, Future Fiction, Little Brown, Melville House and Luath Press, inter alia.

When postal entries were allowed the following postmarks were noted: Finland, Japan, Pakistan, India, France, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Ireland, UK, Singapore, Spain, Malta, Germany, Indonesia, Canada, Belgium, China, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Malaysia, South Africa, Poland, Philippines, Botswana, Ivory Coast, Romania & Jamaica, again inter alia.

A story that was shortlisted in our competition went on to be second in the gargantuan Fish Publishing competition and became the title story of a collection published by Salt (Words from a Glass Bubble by Vanessa Gebbie).

Jo Lloyd, who had her first success in a competition with her win here earlier this year, has gone on to win this year's lucrative (£1,000) Asham Award.

Local author and old friend of the competition, Zadie Smith, has among many grander honours just had her first novel listed in the top ten of the Telegraph's 100 books that defined the noughties: "Zadie, Nigella, Steig and, of course, the boy wizard. The decade has seen publishing phenomenons like no other, but which books, for better or worse, have summed up the noughties?"

Rules

The proverbial

Calm before the storm, not a breath of wind, but there is a weather warning for 75 mph gusts predicted later today.

All foreign wars I do proclaim -

Mrs McGrath - Bruce Springsteen

- live on blood and a mother's pain / I'd rather have my son as he used to be / than the king of Amurikey and his whole navy

Try this

Enter zoom world

Press F11 to select full screen view in Internet Explorer.

Competition health bulletin - as well as can be expected

The number of entries to date: 85
Possibles for shortlist: 3 is stretching it

There is still all to play for. Closing date is December 18th, but it helps to have the entries more evenly distributed rather than all at the last minute.

Hundreds, getting on for thousands enter but only tens of copies of the anthologies are bought. Please consider buying some of these books to read the winning short stories from previous years:

New Short Stories 3 - featuring "Work" by Jo Lloyd
New Short Stories 1 - featuring "Kid in a Well" by Willie Davis
Fish Drink Like Us - featuring "Secure" by Mikey Delgado

Steve Moran

Café Hopeless, across the street from Trees Lounge

"Infamous author Aden Bell attempts to seduce a Dover edition of Gertrude Stein's famous book, Tender Buttons"

Isn't that the young Gene Wilder?

Benihana onion volcano

Craig

Moonscape

Of late

Advert by Gombeen™
Pushcart Prize, Pretend Genius, Write This

Newsletter #7 announcing Pushcart prize nominees, Halloween issue and new book by Dean Strom

Pushcart prize nominations 2009

Pushcart nominations for Willesden finalists

Small presses based in the US can nominate up to six items for the Pushcart and that is what our publishers have done, nominating six out of New Short Stories 3. The nominated stories in order of appearance in the book are by Jo Lloyd, Carys Davies, Morowa Yejidé, Nick Holdstock, Jill Widner and Ben Cheetham. Congratulations and good luck to all - any could win!

There is a good possibility that some of next year's short list could also be nominated, so get your hats on and saddle up or mosey down or whatever it is writers do to get into town.

Ossian

Despair

Judy Collins - The Desperate Ones/Sons Of (medley)- Brel

Congratulations to Jo Lloyd on another win

Asham Award winner announced

Jo Lloyd is the winner of the 2009 Asham Award. "...her gentle evocative story Because it is Running By won the £1,000 top prize announced on September 26 by chair of judges Di Speirs, executive producer for BBC Radio 4. The prize giving was held at Charleston, East Sussex, during the annual short story festival Small Wonder. The judges, who included David Constantine and Erica Wagner, were unanimous in their praise for Jo Lloyd's story. Among the tributes paid was one from novelist and short story writer Alison MacLeod. “This was one of the best stories I have read this year,” Alison commented. “Subtle, understated and poignant……a balance of eagle-eyed realism and really fresh lyricism …… with perfectly pitched rhythm of prose.” ... Jo Lloyd was brought up in Wales and now lives in Oxford. Her stories have been long listed for the Bridport Prize and she has won this year’s Willesden Herald Short Story Prize for her story Work."

Naturally everyone at your very own Willesden Herald is pleased for Jo Lloyd and not a little proud of recognising her talent earlier this year.

Ossian

On day release

Can you bear to wait

...to see what the park looks like tonight?

Infidelity

 

This recycling bin migrates up and down the street. I have returned it to St Mary Magdelene's once or twice and it's back again. Heh.

Ossian

Clouds this evening

National Express jobsworth makes pensioners leave food

I hope National Express are very happy that the driver of their coach from Newquay to Victoria, which departed at 3 p.m. on Sunday October 5th, forced three lady pensioners to leave seven Cornish pasties behind at the coach station in Newquay because of a rule about not allowing hot food on the coach. One lady lost £12 worth and with another two as well, about £15 worth of good food was wasted - or did somebody else get it?

Zoz

Car in the wall

Down Park Royal way

Big spider outside the door

Big spider outside the door
Originally uploaded by Willesden Herald

Another large insect spotted this week in NW10

Roundwood Park today

South East Asia crisis appeal

Save the Children UK : Donate: "Children are in desperate need after three deadly disasters in four days hit South-East Asia. We're saving children’s lives by providing food, water and other vital aid in all locations. Please help us reach more."

Osaka by night

Craig

Story for childers

The Pidey Pipeload of Hamling - Professor Stanley Unwin

Childers, see if you can list without smiley, who can stay seriose longmost. Deep joy.