Two TSFGers feature in this clip from the Birmingham Literary Festival. Michael Toolan reads his story ‘Isosceles’ at the start, and later ex member Garrie Fletcher reads from ‘Weekenders’.

It’s wonderful to see Elizabeth, our newest member, win such a prestigious prize. Here’s the story . Here’s what the judges said:

Sidura was a member of TSFG in the early 90s before returning to live in Canada. ‘You Are Not What We Expected’ follows her earlier novel ‘Holding My Breath’ published by Tindal Street Press in the UK. It has had an excellent critical reception, including endorsements from Jami Attenberg, author of All This Could Be Yours:

Yasmin Ali, Garrie Fletcher, Rob Ganley, Alan Mahar and Natalie White all appear  in ‘Birmingham’, edited by C.D. Rose, part of the Dostoyevsky Wannabe Cities series, alongside ten other writers. A real treat for Brummies and Brumophiles, featuring  memoir, non fiction and stories set in the second city.

Luke, who was a TSFG member throughout the 00s and early 10s, has a second novel ‘Theft’ out soon. There is a launch in London on Feb 6th, and in Birmingham Waterstones on Friday 21st Feb., at 7pm. Further details: Luke Brown launch

‘Theft is a novel about the divisions in contemporary Britain, about north and south, rich and poor, men and women…

… Theft is an exhilarating howl of a novel. With heart, bite and humour, Brown takes the reader beyond easy, partisan perspectives with this timely story of a divided society.’

Luke Brown grew up in a former fishing town on the coast of Lancashire. Luke moved to Birmingham in 1997 to do an English degree, and lived in Balsall Heath until 2013, during which time he spent a decade working as an editor for Tindal Street Press. He now works as a book editor, and a lecturer at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester. He has written two novels, My Biggest Lie and Theft, and his fiction has appeared in The White Review and Mal.

Although TSFG is a fiction group, some of our members also write poetry, Charlie is a fine poet and has had previous collections out. See back cover below for details:

Following ‘Tall White Chickens’ (see below) Rebecca has had a second story ‘The Dogs’ published on the Fairlight Books site. You can read it here. More about Rebecca here.

The forthcoming ‘Songs for the Elephant Man’ from Mantle Lane Press has four stories from TSFG members Liz Kershaw, Garrie Fletcher, Natalie White and Rob Ganley. Further information will be added as the book is released for sale. The beautiful cover looks like this:

The writers look like this:

  Liz Kershaw

  Rob Ganley

Garrie Fletcher

Natalie White

Together with Carolyn Kirby, Gaynor and Annie will be discussing ‘their latest novels, as well as the idea of inventing the past, writing historical fiction, and their different connections to the local area.’ The event takes place at Waterstones, Birmingham on Thursday 25th July at 6:30pm.More details can be found here.

  Annie Murray       Gaynor Arnold

Anthony’s novel ‘Life in Translation’ is his third, and his second to be published by Holland Park Press. Link here.

From the press release: Life in Translation vividly describes the ups and downs of life as a jobbing translator who dreams of literary fame…. The story is told through a mosaic of interlinked episodes that together create a picture of the narrator’s bumpy road to maturity. Finally, he realises, painfully, that he, a translator, is prone to ‘misreadings’: of his own strengths and weaknesses, of the women in his life, of the viability of his translation career, of the options open to him.