A TWIST IN THE EYE by Charles Wilkinson is now available to pre-order from the Egaeus Press website.   In the words of Mark Samuels who provides the introduction:

“ A Twist in the Eye is the most exciting collection of weird fiction (or strange fiction, if you will) that I have read for many years. Moreover, I am confident that after the reader has gone through the tales he or she will be as amazed as I am that Charles Wilkinson is not far better known and appreciated in the field…”

Throughout the sixteen stories collected in this remarkable book Charles Wilkinson explores themes of place, ritual, identity, death and transmutation with a rare, if not utterly unique, confidence. They are enigmatic but never vague, dreamlike but never illogical, horrifying but only occasionally visceral. Few writers can write ‘weird’ with so convincing a voice.

The book is a lithographically printed, 256 page sewn hardback with printed endpapers (by a follower of Bosch), limited to 260 copies. ISBN 978-0-993527821.

It can be pre-ordered now for £32.00 inclusive of postage.                                                                         

Stories accepted: Alan Beard has a story ‘November’ forthcoming in Spelk – in November. Sooner than that, Charles Wilkinson has a story coming out in the next issue of Black Static:

Other news: Good night at Waterstones, Birmingham for four TSFG writers, who discussed and read from their work with a lively audience:

l-r: Mick Scully, Alan Beard, Anthony Ferner and Gaynor Arnold.

Another reading was held recently as part of ‘City Voices’ in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire. Natalie White read her story from ‘The Sea in Birmingham’. She said  it went well and people loved the story and the book.

Advance notices – Garrie Fletcher has a book of stories coming out from Mantle Lane Press. here’s a link to his blog post about it:

https://fletchski.com/2016/07/04/night-swimming-2/

More information nearer the date of launch.

Marg Roberts has a novel ‘A Time for Peace’ coming out in October from  Cinnamon Press. More info including launch details will be released nearer the time. Here’s the cover:

Her website has more information on the book, plus a blog, some poetry and short stories: www.margroberts.co.uk

Following events in London and Leamington, Kit’s wonderfully reviewed book gets a Birmingham launch at Waterstones, 5th July 2016 at 7pm. 2016.

more details:

https://www.waterstones.com/events/an-evening-with-kit-de-waal/birmingham

Sibyl Ruth will be reading poems  @ 11am on Sunday 29th May . She says:

I’m reading three of my own poems and two poems which I have translated.  Here’s a few lines from my version of Nikolai Gumilev’s  (Russian) poem Giraffe.

Let me tell you about grasses, the myriad

palm trees, about the lush scent of greenery.

Don’t cry. Listen… Far away, by Lake Chad

there’s a beautiful giraffe roaming free.

Alan Beard’s story ‘Cheer Up Lucky Lips Forever’ will be broadcast on Tuesday 31st May 10:30 p.m., and repeated the following Sunday 5th June at noon. http://brumradio.com/

The story opens:

When I was young the sky was mine. I was always getting close to it – up trees, on roofs, the iron bridge. I loved hilltops, exhausted from the climb lying looking up into the blue. I’d been on a plane once, to Spain – and back – saw cirrus drift above tiny mountains running on for miles. I was sure I could fly; just jump in a certain way and off I’d float, skim houses and see faces I knew looking up at me.

Kit’s first novel ‘My Name is Leon’ is published this summer. She talks to Dawn Foster about it and the scholarship she has helped set up to enable the disadvantaged get on to a writing course. here’s the link to the article:

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/03/kit-de-waal-working-class-stories-need-to-be-told

Mick Scully and Fiona Joseph will be appearing alongside Luke Kennard and Catherine O’Flynn on February 23rd @6:30-8pm. More details here:

http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Events/Detail.aspx?eventId=2748

Joel died almost two years ago, and it’s strange – but wonderful – to say there’s new work from him. We all miss him so much in the group.

More information here.

Following his recent appearance in ‘Best British Short Stories 2015’, Charles has another story in the Year’s Best Weird Fiction Vol. 2. Well done, again, Charlie.

 Associate TSFG member Julia is a Senior Lecturer at Birkbeck    College, London where she teaches on the Creative Writing MA and is Project Director of the Writers Hub website. Her third novel has just been published by Macmillan. Here’s the cover:

The story concerns ‘ a girl growing up in a sinister cult on a remote island [who] falls in love with a girl who is there to be saved’ – based on a true story.

Julia’s previous novels are Massive, recently re-published by Macmillan, and Dirty Work. She also edited the highly recommended Creative Writers’ Coursebook.

TSFG member Charlie has a story ‘Fresh Water’ in the prestigious anthology, alongside such luminaries as Hilary Mantel and Helen Simpson.

The story originally appeared in Unthology 5, along with another TSFG member’s story, Garrie Fletcher’s ‘Kowalski’.

Out of the five ‘Best British Short Stories’ anthologies so far, TSFG members have appeared in four of them.