Fiction
Symposium #18
Letter From The Founder
In years past I used to resent having to work on Christmas Eve. But that was real work, of course- serving customers, pouring drink, cooking meals, dispensing medication, that sort of thing.
I feel no such resentment today as I sit here at my desk typing this introductory missive after having read and commented on all of the great work that makes up our annual Fiction Symposium. Because you can’t call this ‘work’. I can honestly say that every contribution here is great- accomplished prose, genuine insight, wit, humour, heart- and I am delight in being able to play a small part as middleman/intermediary/collator of these works, of being the one who forms a bridge between these fantastic writers, and you the wonderful readers who are willing to subscribe and take a chance on us.
We’re told that these are not the times for serious art and depth and complexity, that audiences- especially younger audiences- have no attention spans anymore. Well judging by the work we have put out this year and the way it has been received, I would argue that we have gone some way towards proving this pessimistic, doomsaying sentiment wrong. And we will continue to do so into 2024 and beyond.
We appreciate each and every one of you who have been following along with this project. Great art needs great audiences.
Thank you for being great.
Cheers.
TJB.
Works that stick to the ‘fiction’ remit
[Our contributors being how they are, when they were told that the theme was fiction some wrote stories and other more contrarian types went in a different direction. This is always welcome. Below are the works of those who ‘played it straight’ and wrote a story]
Setbacks by D.B
Mar hesitated before stepping across the swale. It was bricked in from either side and if she stepped on a brick it would fall loose and the gurgling water within would rush her down back into the jungle again. It had taken her many years to return to the glass house and she did not think she could manage another setback.
With just a handful of words (including ‘swale’, which is one I had never come across before) D.B. is able to conjure up an entire world. This is an incredible, poetically written piece, the way that it all breaks down at the end is mesmerising. One of his best to date.
The Eden Chip by Clint
One of two entries this month from notorious double dipper
. Present the man with a loophole to appear more than once in a round-up and he will exploit it to full effect. And honestly, we are all the better for it because his work always delivers as this story aptly demonstrates.Once in a birch grove, I chanced upon a cat by Vanya
blesses us with a story posted on his own personal site (which you absolutely must check out). I would tell you more about it but I would rather use this space to PLUG HIS BOOK, WHICH EVERYONE MUST BUY IMMEDIATELY.The Long Imprisonment of David Robert Jones by Victor D Sandiego
For this story from
I’m going to blatantlyYou are a one-of-a-kind voice, and I'm better for reading you - you always make me remember why i love words so damn much.
Everything is Made Up, Except for Santa by Trilety
As is so often the case
walks away with the ‘Best Title’ award for contributions to this months symposium. By now she’s always going to be an odds on heavy favourite, but still. And the thing about coming up with truly great titles is that they inevitably set up a high bar for the work itself. You have to live up to a title as amazing as ‘Everything is Made up, Except for Santa.’ And somehow, you will not be surprised to here, Trilety has found a way.Phineas Made the Lion Roar by Jeanne
The real Phineas is growing into something of a cult legend over at the STSC. Much like his Grandmother
. Both deserve this status IMO.The Stars Are Dead by GK Gaius
Deceptively simple, this.
quickly and carefully builds to a real gut-punch of an ending. You can tell he’s a poet too.One by Edward
“We suffer from the past, and we spoil our future because we neglect the present.”
―Leo Tolstoy
As always Edward’s (
) concern with, and ability to wonderfully manipulate, time is in full effect here. Takes you places like few others canGetting well by Oleg
Great short stories, in my view at least, are these self-contained little worlds that though they are created from mere suggestions and glimpses (because there finished product is so short in terms of word count) somehow manage to hint at everything.
is able to not only pull this off, but he also makes it look effortless.Hugo Davenport, Detective by Adam Kozak
In a just world
‘s delightfully Wodehousian capers would sell millions of copies in paperback form and make him incredibly wealthy and increasingly eccentric in a virtuous spiral of fun. I’m crossing my fingers that this is how it all plays out for him.Fight fire with fire by Vita
A last minute entry from
- the man who takes the prize for being the person who I most often forget to include in these Symposiums. It’s accidental, I swear. And seeing as he is starting to demonstrate a real ability for writing decent stories I will have to make doubly sure that it doesn’t happen again in future, for purely selfish reasons if nothing else.Works that play with the ‘fiction’ remit
[…and here are the works of those who decided to go off in a different direction. Colouring outside the lines is always welcome at the STSC]
The Thief by William
Not only a great story, but one written in verse. Which is just showing off!
The Legend of Lilinthia Lightbringer by Clint
Likewise
, with a second bite of the cherry here today decided to not only write a story but to do so in verse in the great festive Dr Seuss tradition.The bellow is totally a work of fiction. by FB Fanat
This makes it to the rebel table by being a work in the form of a Substack Note. (incidentally that place is possibly the only game left in town when it comes to non-despair-inducing social media and might well be worth you checking out)
Somehow FB (
) makes it work. Will we see more of this from him in 2024?Review of The Girl at the Tram Stop by Terry
Terry (
) is the man of all genres it seems. Ever prolific whether it be in the form of memoir, essay, playful word puzzles, or in the case of todays contribution- a genuinely surprising book review. Is there any form of writing that Terry can’t turn his hand too?So that was the 2023 annual STSC symposium on Fiction. We hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Thank you for your support with these projects we put together, thank you for reading them and thanks for all of your comments, feedback and notes. Thank you for taking the time to share them and pass on the word.
And finally, and most importantly:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
TJB.
Thank you for this brilliant list!
thanks, Tom 🤣 have a lovely Christmas