Rebecca F. John

Ahead of the publication of my first novel, The Haunting of Henry Twist, next week - next week! - a short story prequel of mine has been published on the very handsome Somesuch Stories website. It's called Poker, and you can read it here, if you'd like to. You can also find another of my shorts, The Cotard Delusion, on the Somesuch Stories website. They're two very different stories, I think, though they each hold their own darkness. I really enjoyed writing them both. I d

Being the lucky little writer that I am, I have recently seen another of my short stories published, this time over on the Somesuch Stories website. Here's a link to The Cotard Delusion, should you like to have a read. It is accompanied by some beautiful artwork, and I was very pleased to see the story presented in such a striking way. Thank you, Somesuch Stories! #shortstory #SomesuchStories

There is a story included in my collection, Clown's Shoes, which has long been a favourite of mine. It's a story that really sticks with me. It's a story I'm proud of. It's called 'Salting Home', and this weekend the lovely people over at For Books' Sake have published it as their Weekend Read. You can read it here, if you'd like to. I'm so thrilled this story in particular might find a new audience... Now, I must get back to Book Three. I'm deep in the dark of 1914 at

Short stories have scattered me all around the globe this year. Canada, Mexico, Italy, Germany… wild, wet Cardigan. Throw in a few holidays and I’ve flitted across seven countries in just ten months. For a poor traveller, I’ve done quite well. Peculiarly, finally being able to do what I’ve always wanted to do – to write – has taken me far from my desk. And yet, somehow, it hasn’t taken me far from my writing. I’ve thought a lot this year about whether I’m still writing

Wales Arts Review have been running a brilliant series called 'Story Retold' of late. It's been a really interesting read and I'm excited to have been included in it. My story is called 'The Tip' - a retelling of Rhys Davies' short 'On The Tip' - and it marks a bit of a departure from my usual style, which I thoroughly enjoyed! Here is the link, if you'd like to read it: The Tip. #shortstory #WalesArtsReview #storytelling

I was very excited to be asked to contribute to the wonderful Wales Arts Review's Flash Fiction Month this month. Here is my story, Dreamland, nestled in amongst many excellent others. Have a read. I'm enjoying a quick delve into a tiny story each day. #WalesArtsReview #shortstory #storytelling

I think it was about eight years ago now that I saw my first short story published. It was included in an anthology of new writers under thirty, called Nu, and after publication we all trooped off to Hay to talk about the book. I was beyond excitement. Naturally, I didn’t show it, but… to be at Hay… as a writer! I was on my way, surely. I was being taken seriously. Being handed the white rose after our event was a massive thrill. I decided it would be my good luck char

2015 was perhaps the year in which my life experienced the most change. It was a year which brought me new successes, which showed me unknown pockets of the world, which was more exhausting than any other year to date, which turned the odd strand of my hair silver (no, no – not grey), which was exciting and wonderful and scary and chaotic. So chaotic, in fact, that it has spilled over into 2016 – and spilled so thoroughly that it’s taken me most of January to get around to

These are a little late in being posted, but here are some snaps from the launch of my collection Clown's Shoes, held at the Dylan Thomas Centre in November. I was so pleased to have an audience filled with friends old and new, who supported me through my very first book launch beautifully. A very happy day! #clownsshoes #shortstory #booklaunch

Last week, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4Extra were kind enough to broadcast five stories of mine, all produced by the wonderful team at Sweet Talk Productions. I've just managed to catch up with them and I'm thrilled. The first, on Radio 4, was part of the excellent Nights of the Hunter series, and can be listened to on BBC iplayer, here, for a few more days yet. It's called Crow Road and it's quite a personal story - one of my favourites. This was followed by four stories fr

It's Halloween! Two pumpkins and a jar of sweets are already sitting outside my front door, awaiting visitors. Though I'll admit to being a bit of a scaredy-cat (I can't watch a horror film), I do enjoy Halloween: flickering candles, a misty-cold night, that spooky feel in the air. It has an atmosphere writers should take advantage of... So I was pleased to be asked to contribute to Wales Arts Review's Halloween Special this year. My short story, 'Tick', can be read in th

A Swansea to Quebec round trip isn’t easily undertaken in three days. It’s a long slog. And when you throw in a transfer at New York’s JFK – an airport so extensive that full-length trains clatter through its middle, separated from the chattering, marching, panicking passengers only by panes of glass – it becomes slightly stressful. So, I’ll admit to feeling a little apprehensive about the journey, especially having never ventured half way so far before. But I’d been invi

A review of my collection Clown's Shoes, written by Zoe Ranson, can now be found here on Wales Arts Review. #clownsshoes #shortstory #reviews #WalesArtsReview

So, my poor blog is a bit behind the times, but busy times they have been. Between my work commitments, getting Clown’s Shoes ready for publication in October, and making my little house habitable, I haven’t stopped. (As far as the house goes, I’ve been here a month now, and it’s just starting to transform into the cosy reading/writing den I had envisaged.) Amongst all this, though, some more great news … I made the shortlist of the PEN International New Voices Award! It’s

I am so pleased to be able to tell you all that I have been longlisted for the PEN International New Voices Award. I'm very excited, and hope that I will be able to impress the judges enough to represent Wales PEN Cymru on the shortlist of three. My congratulations go to my five fellow longlistees. Let's all keep our fingers crossed! #PENInternational #shortstory

So, this is it ... My very first book is now ON SALE. Well, pre-order. But now is the time to get it! Enter the code SHOES at the checkout on the Parthian website and you'll receive a signed copy for a reduced price of £6. Orders are already coming in, so to those of you who have committed your hard earned pounds to my words, thank you. I'm thrilled, truly. And I can't wait to get signing! #shortstory #clownsshoes

So, I made the shortlist! And what wonderful company I have there - Yiyun Li, Elizabeth McCracken, Paula Morris, Scott O'Connor, Madeleine Thien ... I really am honoured to be included amongst such names, and I can't wait to head to London in April and hear all our stories being read. Until then, though, all the shortlisted stories can be read here, on the Sunday Times website. Please do take a look! #sundaytimesefgshortstoryaward #shortstory

The Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award! Every year, I read the names of the longlisted entrants. Every year, I watch that longlist being slashed to a shortlist. Every year, I read the shortlisted stories, and contemplate how each of those stories was stitched together, and await the announcement of the winner. And this year, this year, my name is on the longlist! It was announced on February 1st. I had been informed by a lovely lady from Booktrust that my name would appe

I was thrilled to learn recently that one of my short stories had been highly commended in the 2014 Manchester Fiction Prize. My lovely and clever friend Jane Fraser (http://janefraserwriter.com) also appears on the list of commended entries. What an honour for us both! You can view the list of commended entries, as well as the short-listed six stories here. #manchesterfictionprize #shortstory

In June 2013, my short story ‘The Dog Track’ was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as part of The Time Being, series 6. It was produced by the very lovely Jeremy Osborne at Sweet Talk Productions and read beautifully by Rakie Ayola. On the 5th October this year, it was repeated and is now available on BBC iplayer for a limited time. You can listen to it, and the other stories in the series, here. It was a new experience to hear my writing read by an actor, and an exciting one. Rak