Birmingham’s long-standing writers’ group – Tindal Street Fiction Group – celebrated an unbroken forty years of fortnightly story reading and critiquing in Birmingham in 2023 with the publication of its anthology Thursday Nights.

What’s the group like? The current group stands at fifteen and includes several published novelists and story collection authors (list of publications here) – Gaynor Arnold (Girl in a Blue Dress longlisted for Man Booker Prize 2008, also Lying Together, After Such Kindness), Alan Beard (story collections Taking Doreen Out of the Sky, You Don’t Have to Say), Anthony Ferner (four short novels Inside the Bone Box, Winegarden, Life in Translation. Small Wars in Madrid), Alan Mahar (Flight Patterns, After the Man Before), Marg Roberts (A Time for Peace), Mick Scully (Little Moscow, The Norway Room) – and variously and widely published writers Yasmin Ali, Liz Kershaw, Rachel Sambrooks, Natalie White, Polly Wright, Steve Bishop, Rob Ganley, Ashok Patel, Michael Toolan. Former members of TSFG who have enjoyed distinguished careers elsewhere include: Annie Murray, Joel Lane, Kit de Waal, Amanda Smyth, Luke Brown and Julia Bell.

Publishing history? Tindal Street Fiction Group was founded by Alan Mahar in 1983. We used to meet in a school meeting room in Tindal Street in Balsall Heath; we now meet in Moseley Exchange behind the post office in Moseley. Between 1997 and 2012 the independent prizewinning fiction publisher Tindal Street Press grew out of the fiction group and was established independently, separate from the group, and among its 65 fiction publications recorded three Booker Prize listings, two Costa Prize winners and several Commonwealth Writer Prize listees. Several of its numerous publication successes originated in Tindal Street Fiction Group meetings.

More on ‘Thursday Nights’

‘Thursday Nights’ was launched at Voce Books, Digbeth on December 5th 2023 at 7pm. See pictures from the event here.

The press release:

The exciting new anthology Thursday Nights celebrates 40 years of Tindal Street Fiction Group, with a collection of short fiction from members of the group today. It’s not just any writing group, though – it’s truly extraordinary. Begun in 1983, it gave birth to regional publishing powerhouse Tindal Street Press in the 1990s, and is made up of accomplished writers.

The Group’s members include Booker and Orange prize listed authors, best-sellers, winners of several awards including the Tom-Gallon award, the Shirley Jackson award and the Prix du Premier Roman Etranger, and their work appears in several Best British Short Stories anthologies.

The Group meets fortnightly in Birmingham on Thursday evening, inspiring the book’s title, and the 14 stories and novel extracts in this collection are the work of current members, all local writers with eyes on the world. The stories in the collection travel from Birmingham to India, via San Francisco and Italy,stretching from the 19th century to the modern day.

Alan Mahar, Tindal Street Fiction Group founder and former Publishing Director of Tindal Street Press, said: “I was there at the beginning, I started it off… Some went on to make a dent in the world of publishing: Julia Bell, Joel Lane, Kit de Waal, Annie Murray, Amanda Smyth, Luke Brown… Gaynor Arnold still reads and writes for us, Alan Beard and Mick Scully too. There are 14 strong stories in this anthology… they shine.”

Praise for Thursday Nights
‘A wonderful collection… told with warmth and verve from some of the best Birmingham writers. I loved it.’ Kit de Waal, author of My Name is Leon and Without Warning and Only Sometimes.

‘This collection is gold. Pure gold.’ Amanda Smyth, author of Black Rock, A Kind of Eden and Fortune.

‘Full of heart and voice and the concerns of the contemporary moment.’ Julia Bell, author of Dirty Work

‘A really excellent anthology.’ Annie Murray, author of Chocolate Girls, Birmingham Friends and more.

Where to buy ‘Thursday Nights’ – From December 5th available at book sellers instore and online:
Voce Books, 54-57 Allison Street, Digbeth, Birmingham.
Waterstones | Blackwell’s  | Amazon