Read my story, 'The Whirlwind' on the Save Our Short Story Campaign website here

The online anthology in support of the Arts Council's Save Our Short Story campaign is about to go live. Called Endangered Species, it will be launched at the Edinburgh Book Festival on Saturday evening (August 16th) at 8.30pm. Jenny Attala from the Scottish Arts Council will introduce the event and outline the campaign and the role of the anthology within the wider campaign. Denise Mina, Laura Hird and Val McDermid will read extracts from several of the stories.

The links to the first stories will go out to subscribers on Friday 15th August. They will be directed to the new, dedicated website where they can read the opening stories online or download them to read at their leisure.

BBC Radio4's Front Row will feature an item about the anthology on Wednesday 13th August at 7.15pm.

If you would like more information about the wider campaign, please contact Kate Griffin.

BACKGROUND TO THE CAMPAIGN

An 'emergency summit' on the survival of the short story in the UK was held on 3 October 2002. Led by Jackie Kay , the current Northern Arts Literary Fellow, the summit brought together nationally recognised short story writers, editors, publishers, academics and literature specialists to launch a campaign to combat discrimination against the art form, aiming for recognition of the importance and high quality of short stories produced in the UK today. The following statement came out of the summit.

A Short Statement on the State of the Short Story

The short story is a small picture that can reveal a larger one, a slice that suggests much more. The state of the short story does likewise - it reflects the strengths and weakness of literary publishing in the UK, with severe difficulties for smaller independents and magazines but a steady flow of new titles and writers from some publishers. There is, however, an undoubted pressure on writers to not specialise in the short story, from agents, publishers and booksellers. This coincides with a lack of catalytic figures in the form and a lack of visibility and prestige for the form. This is in sharp contrast to some other countries such as the US and Russia, where the short story has been described as the national sport.

But reports of the death of the short story are greatly exaggerated. We are unclear if the form is in a cyclical dip, or ailing, but we feel it needs some help. This is for the sake of the vibrancy of an art form, for the health and diversity of literary culture, for individual writers and their ability to sustain careers built on short fiction, and for the sake of readers. In the era of the time poor and the diminishing attention span, the short story could flourish and become once more truly popular.

The aim of the campaign is to:

* Increase the number and visibility of high quality outlets for short fiction
* Give the short story form more prestige and a higher profile
* Enable writers to specialise in the short story form
* Encourage and promote exciting short fiction.

The campaign has had many messages of support from across the country. Here are a few:

Chaz Brenchley, writer:

'Writers love the short story, the way photographers love black & white: for its power, and for its precision. It's the distilled spirit of narrative, the pure thing, undiluted; art stripped naked, undefended, on show and on its own. As such, it's got to be worth fighting for.'

Helen Dunmore, writer:

'I strongly support this movement to give more prominence to the short story, to cherish short-story writing as a rich and brilliant genre, and to make it possible for more short stories to reach the readers who would enjoy them.'

AL Kennedy, writer:

'The short story is a unique, intense and economical form in literature, it has delighted readers for centuries. For writers it remains one of the most challenging forms, combining the discipline of verse with the narrative insight demanded by the novel and the novella. Without immediate, intelligent action in both the public and private sectors the short story in the UK will become even more terminally marginalised than it is today and may effectively disappear. This would represent an incalculable loss, a cultural diminishment which no other European country has allowed.'

Toby Litt, writer:

'In many ways, as a form, the short story is far better adapted than the novel to dealing with the contemporary world. But it is hardly surprising that so few writers feel able to dedicate time to short stories, when the outlets for them are almost non-existent. If only a few of the suggestions of the Summit were acted upon, it would make a big difference.'

Val McDermid, writer:

'Short stories -- the perfect snack between meals. They satisfy that craving for words when there's no time for the banquet of a novel. If we don't have access to good short stories, we all go hungry.'

Nick McDowell, Head of Literature, London Arts 'If we allow the short story to wither and die in this country we face a future in which many of our most talented writers will be unable to express themselves in their chosen genre (and that's about half of the Granta Twenty Novelists under...2003 list) and thus may never find their voices at all or turn to other media (the screen, journalism) for outlets. Goodbye next year's Angela Carter, next week's Jackie Kay and tomorrow's Hanif Kureishi.'

Ali Smith, writer:

'The short story is neglected by publishers, who think they can't sell it because readers don't want it, so put less money into the commissioning and selling of short story collections - but loved by readers, who have no idea how or where to find it when they go into a bookshop. It doesn't take that much maths to see how the unevenness of this equation could be sorted.'

If you would like to comment on any of the issues raised by the short story campaign, share your ideas, receive further information, or be put on the mailing list, please contact:

Kate Griffin
Literature Officer
Direct line: 0191 255 8533
[email protected]
Arts Council, North East, Central Square, Forth Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3PJ.
www.artscouncil.org