Last week saw our first retreat since lockdown began. Our writers arrived to lovely welcome packs in our new, reusable cotton tote bags with another new addition, mini whiteboards, marker and eraser for quick notes and exploring creative ideas. They went down very well! Food was home-cooked across three meals a day, with our additional…Continue reading September Retreat

Day 1 The door closes behind me. Silence. A hallway leads into the room. I push open a door on my right – shower room. I consider having a shower. It has been a long journey A shower, then bed? The curtains in the room are drawn, a lamp burning beside the bed. The TV…Continue reading 14 Days by Helen Cormack – Joint 3rd Place Lockdown Short Story

APRIL 15th 2020 1030-1100 Hi everyone! Hi Geoff, nice book case! Thanks. Hi everyone, are we all OK? Guys, Dave’s texted me – he hasn’t got a mike on his laptop so he’ll just be listening in. Yeah, OK, I guess we can type in the chat box if we need to. Hi, Sally here!…Continue reading The Task and Finish Group by Dan Harwood – Joint 3rd Place Lockdown Short Story

Lisa couldn’t climax during intercourse because the Watcher would remind her how fat she looked lying down. “Turn of the lights,” he would hiss at her before Phil and her got down to business. “Someone might see your hideous body through the windows.” If she dropped any food on herself, the Watcher would call her…Continue reading The Watcher by Anna Ellam – 2nd Place Lockdown Short Story

Jean paces around the house, repeating a familiar phrase like the groove in a well-worn path. She waves her arms continually into the darkening air around her. Grubby furniture turns to shadow. When she trips over the stool in the kitchen, she pays no thought to the need for light, merely lying on the sticky…Continue reading Dusty Bottles by Julia Spargo – Winning Story