Here’s fun …

a former colleague is involved in this and send me the details – it seems like a very good idea, and – as far as this writer can see – doesn’t harm your chances of subsequent publication elsewhere.

LIARS’ LEAGUE

CALL FOR SHORT STORY SUBMISSIONS
(DEADLINES APR 20, MAY 25, JUN 22)

Love short stories? Write short stories? Love writing them but too shy to read them aloud? Great at reading aloud but would like to have a drink and watch someone else do it instead?
Good.

Liars’ League is seeking fresh, high-quality, unpublished short fiction that is between 800 and 2500 words long for our coming events. (LENGTH NOTE: our ideal upper limit is 2000 words, but if you absolutely can’t cut it and it’s brilliant, we will accept up to 2500).

Liars’ League is a new London-based short story night with a difference. We are a coalition of literary and theatrical professionals, published fiction writers and creative writing academics, all with a passion for top quality new fiction and a bit of spare time. The premise of the Liars’ League nights is that, while some writers are superb readers of their own work, some others don’t have the confidence – but that shouldn’t stop them having a voice. So we’re reviving the ancient tradition of oral storytelling by having trained, experienced actors read these stories aloud. (Don’t worry, we don’t want money … just your submissions).

If your work makes it past our eagle-eyed selection committee, you will be invited to come along on the night to hear your story read in front of an enthusiastic, literature-loving audience (you are also welcome to attend the pre-event rehearsal if you’ve got any pointers for the actor reading your work). If your story is chosen as the best of the night, we’ll ask you back – we’re also inviting literary agents, radio producers and the odd celebrity guest author along to these nights, so watch this space. All Liars’ League nights are open to anyone and everyone who wants to attend, whether they are interested in writing, acting or just listening to great stories.Each event is themed and takes place on the second Tuesday of each month, starting in April in the upstairs bar at the Lamb pub, 94 Lamb’s Conduit Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3LZ – five minutes from Russell Square tube. All are welcome to come along and entry is free to featured authors and readers.

The inaugural event is on Tuesday April 10 and the theme is Boys & Girls. Submissions close at midnight UK time on Friday March 23. Subsequent events are:
May 8, theme Mad & Bad (submissions close Friday April 20)
June 12, theme Past & Future (submissions close Friday May 25)
July 10, theme Sex & Death (submissions close Friday June 22)
There will be further events but the themes have not yet been finalised.

Rules
1. Submissions by email only to liarsleague@yahoo.co.uk. Please put the month you are submitting for, the month’s theme and the title of your story in the subject line of the email
2. Submissions to be either in the body of your email, or (preferably) as an attached document in MS Word format, in a legible font, double-spaced and page-numbered, with the title and your name on each page
3. Submissions close a couple of weeks before the event for which the stories are to be considered, to give us time to read them all – i.e. April’s submissions close on 23 March.

FAQs

I’ve got a novel extract – can I submit? As long as it works as a stand-alone, piece, YES
Will I get any feedback on our work? YES – those whose work is selected to be read and those whose work we thought was nearly there and would like to see more of will be given feedback – otherwise, no.

Can I submit non-fiction, poetry or a script?
Sorry, NO. Liars’ League is a fiction night (hence the name).

My story’s a bit over 2500 words – can I submit it anyway?
NO – but cut it and we’ll be happy to take a look. We want short, well-written, fascinating fiction, which lends itself to being read aloud. As a guideline, consider whether your story would be suitable for reading on radio (maximum length usually 2200 words). Read it out to yourself. If it’s over 15 minutes it’s probably too long.

Can I submit more than one story per month?
Due to time constraints on our readers, NO

I submitted something for April but it didn’t get in. Can I resubmit it for the May event?
Not unless we think it will be more suitable and specifically ask you to, NO. Again, due to time constraints, we can’t reconsider submissions that didn’t make it first time, however much they are rewritten.

My story’s already been published/read on the radio – can I submit?
Sorry, NO. We’re looking for new work that has not been heard or read elsewhere.