Sarah Dobbs's Blog, page 14
October 18, 2012
On the day the cold broke…
I picked up a box of books from my neighbour. Not just any old box of books, but my box of books. 5 years might not be the longest writerly gestation, but it is quite a feeling looking at all that work in such a tactile, tangible form. And knowing that it’s knocking about; it’s being read now. People are having their own responses – you can see some of those here. The questions I wanted to ask are finding answers in other people’s imaginations. I hope.
I don’t know what’s next, really. I just want to explore and be bold. And write. 
September 21, 2012
Unthology #3 (and other stories of other stories)
Unthology #3 by Unthank Books - pre-order here
Eighteen stories describe sticky predicaments, testing choices and reluctant confessions: a publisher surveys the changing literary scene as an age-old mob war he’s losing; a man finds himself trapped by his own perfectionism in a forbidding meat-processing factory; a strange black monolith appears in a back garden somewhere in the north of England. Lit-up tales for dark times:
David Rose, Sandra Jensen, Sarah Dobbs, Mischa Hiller, Gordon Collins, Ian Chung, Sharon Zink, Ashley Stokes, Angela Readman, CD Rose, AJ Ashworth, John Nicholson, Philip Langeskov, Debz Hobbs-Wyatt, Charlie Wilkinson, Sarah Evans, Tim Mitchell.
Cover by Jenny Swindells
Who knew September would be such an exciting story month? I’ve just seen the cover for Unthology #3, which my story Hachiko is in. There’s some pretty brilliant writers between those covers too.
Drifting, Softening, Gone, a piece of micro-fiction was published by StepAway Magazine on 21st.
Look was accepted by Six Minute Magazine and will be in their fall issue.
Goggle published The God Bones.
After a summer of story drought, the rain has finally brought some writing out. Or it might be the jogging. Either way, it’s just jolly well nice to get your work out there.
September 13, 2012
Remember we had that little fight (vote) about which cove...
Remember we had that little fight (vote) about which cover to go with for The God Bones? We went with white. 
It’s been published today by Goggle and is available for your Kindle thing / phone / laptop for about £1.
Blurb:
Susan’s father is dying. Always a storyteller, her father captured her imagination as a child with his stories of the “God Bones”. Now he’s dying, she begins to see his stories were more than just ways to pass a summer’s day.
You can see me reading an extract below:
August 14, 2012
How to… win a short story competition: from a judge and a winner
In case you don’t know, I thought I would introduce people to Thresholds, a fantastic site devoted to the short story.
Competitions are big. Have a look at the Thresholds market listings in case if you need convincing. It’s a regularly updated, chronologically organised, market news page.
However, it’s not just the amount of competition that seem to be increasing, they’re also a great way of increasing your chances of getting your name out there and having your work noticed. This is a link to a post I wrote for Thresholds on how to win such a thing. I speak to the Bristol Prize’s judge, Joe Melia, and Sarah Hilary, winner of the Sense Magazine competition.
Costa have introduced a new prize for the short story this year, with a £3,500 pot for the winning story and £750 for 2 runners up. The deadline is 4pm, Friday 7th September.
Click the link below to go to the article and get some tips before you enter – and good luck!
How to… win a short story competition: from a judge and a winner.
