Welcome to The Propelling Pencil, a quarterly online journal for short fiction
This is the new home of the Propelling Pencil Flash Fiction Competition and SubClub23, a regular coached online group to support writers in getting organised and confident to send their work out into the world
Editor in Chief: Audrey Niven
Audrey is a Scottish writer, coach and teacher based in London. She has been writing for page and stage since the 1980s. Her flash fiction is widely anthologised and nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She has won prizes in longer fiction and her performance poetry and drama have been seen on stage in Glasgow and Edinburgh. She particularly enjoys short fiction that is beautifully crafted, pushes the boundaries of form, and questions the status quo. She has established The Propelling Pencil with the goal of giving writers of this kind of work another potential home for their stories at a time when so many journals and competitions have been closing down.
Fiction Editor: Rachel O’Cleary
Rachel O’Cleary is an American writer who is currently living in Ireland with her partner and three children. She writes mostly very short fiction. She loves the experimentation and impact of flash fiction, but still aspires to one day sit down for more than fifteen minutes at a time to write a novel…or a novella…or even just compile her stories.
Fiction Editor: Kathy Hoyle
Kathy is a UK writer based in Warwickshire where she lives with her partner, two daughters and beloved Labradoodle, Eddie.
She loves the brevity of short fiction and is passionate about the form. She seeks stories with heart and leans toward those with powerful emotional truths or surprising humour – a combination of both would be just perfect!
Her own work has appeared in a variety of literary magazines and anthologies and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best Small fictions and Best Micro fictions. She was the winner of the 22nd Bath Flash Fiction Award and has placed and listed in several other competitions. Kathy is also a host at Writer’s HQ’s weekly Flash Face Off community event.