CloudNine

According to Bloomsbury, 2012 is the 'Year of the Short Story'. I hope so - as a story of mine is included in this new short story anthology out in April. This year's Best British Short Stories is published by Salt and edited by the brilliant Nicholas Royle. I can't tell you what a blast it is to be listed beside Will Self in the contents list. In fact there are many wonderful writers included here so I am feeling incredibly privileged to have had a story selected for this year's anthology. Contents: Emma Unsworth H.P. Tinker Michael Marshall Smith ... Dan Powell Julian Gough Stuart Evers Stella Duffy Socrates Adams-Florou Jonathan Trigell Will Self Jaki McCarrick Robert Shearman Alison MacLeod Jo Lloyd Neil Campbell Joel Lane Ramsey Campbell Jeanette Winterson Jon McGregor A.K. Benedict

Very good news for Belfast Girls . The play has been shortlisted for the 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. This award goes to the very best plays (in the world) written by women: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118049594 I am so happy for the play. Not bad at all for a work that wasn't commissioned and had a non-existent budget. Nonetheless, London's Kings Head Theatre nominated it and it is now a finalist for this prestigious award. It's a real triumph for a small theatre like the Kings Head as well as for the play. The director Svetlana Dimcovic and I have just completed a three-week attachment at the National Theatre where we developed Belfast Girls. We had a remarkable reading of the play at the NT Studio last week. Some some press about the play's shortlisting for this award: http://theaterofoneworld.org/2012/02/01/worlds-most-prestigious-prize-given-to-the-best-english-language-play-written-by-a-woman-goes-to/ http://theandygram.com/Broadway-Press-R...