Leonora is Late – For Halloween

That time of year again… 31 October in sight. Here is a Halloween story that was read as part of Lipzinc Theatre’s ‘Howl’ Halloween lockdown production in 2020. A link to the reading is given under ‘News and Publications’ in the side-bar.

Not to be taken too seriously, this story has a wannabe witch and an assortment of characters borrowed from myth and fiction. You’ll find a vampire, Vikings and some nuns enjoying the afterlife party. Nothing and no one is quite what they seem to poor Leonora, the wannabe enchantress, who is herself enchanted. And a cat features in the ‘No-Zone’. This cat has appeared in various stories of mine, and has come to no harm.

How Matter Becomes Light

Here is a shortened version of something I wrote to commemorate the centenary of General relativity. Perhaps, one day, I’ll grow it into a longer form.         How Matter Becomes Light   There now, Lily, some apple juice, you like that… Lily lifts her head to drink from the beaked cup. She […]

Writer’s Cut

Here is a clipped version of story that got shortlisted in a competition almost a decade ago, but it never found a permanent home. In the modern flashion, I have cut it back to just under 1200 words. Not bad for a story covering 25 years!   Keeping Charlie    ‘Charlie is such a dear […]

Arachne Press Celebrates International Women’s Day

Today, 8 March, is International Women’s Day. 2018 is also the year in which (some) British women were granted suffrage. To commemorate this, Arachne Press is producing an anthology of stories – We/She – featuring work selected from Liars’ League live lit events. In this case, stories about women, by women, which have been performed […]

Christmas in the Attic

Christmas is approaching. Many of us will have decorated our houses in family style. Be it blingy tinsel and garish garlands, swags of prickly holly on the stairs, or minimalist silhouettes of trees and reindeer, every family has its own traditions as far as decorating goes. Most of us have a collection of Christmassy mementos […]

What Happens Now

Here is an old story out of my archive. It was published in Dream Catcher magazine in 2004. The Mars globe comes from The Little Planet Factory.               WHAT HAPPENS NOW   Elizabeth Stott     My father does not see me these days. What he sees, I suspect, […]

The Woven Tale Press

  I am delighted to have a story included in Vol. 5 #5 of The Woven Tale Press magazine. Accessed via the  Woven Tales Press website – http://www.thewoventalepress.net – this is a beautiful online and print production, edited by Sandra Tyler and her team, which blends art and writing to explore ways of ‘seeing’ and […]

Two Readings at Liars’ League Events

Here are some direct links to two of my stories read as part of Liars’ League events – more details from my News and Publications page. Liars’ League produces themed live spoken word events, mainly in London, where short stories are read by professional actors.  In the two stories below, ‘my’ actors are Carrie Cohen […]

The Rhododendron Canopy

It is undoubtedly autumn. On the theme of falling leaves and the inevitable descent towards the winter solstice, I post a short story that appeared in my 2002 short story collection – Familiar Possessions. In 2011, it was anthologised in Murmurations – the Two Ravens Press collection of uncanny stories about birds.   The Rhododendron Canopy   […]

What Happens Now

 Here is a short story of mine, published in 2004 in Dream Catcher magazine. My father does not see me these days. What he sees, I suspect, is from another world and another time. When I visit him, I am a man he does not know, and if he thinks of me, it is as […]