News

Friday Paella!

You are welcome to arrive from 1.00 pm onwards on Friday 12th July for the in-person flash fiction festival, 12th -14th July at Trinity College, Bristol.

What’s happening on Friday afternoon this year?

From 2.00 pm – 5.00 pm another fantastic three hour pre-fest workshop by acclaimed teacher and writer from the US, Kathy Fish. Open to festival participants and those who can’t make the whole weekend (£50) This workshop is now sold out.

Cole Beauchamp at paella stall in 2023

We have arranged for Luciano from https://www.paellacaluciano.com/ in Bristol/Portishead to come and cook fresh paella for us again. Advanced booking for this is now closed (19th June) I will ask Luciano to make a few extra if any latecomers want one. Vegan paella, £12.00. Chicken paella £14. (both Gluten Free). Contact us asap if you would like one of these

There is no other catering on Friday afternoon, but you can also bring a picnic to eat in the extensive grounds. The bar will be open and free coffee and tea is available (please bring your own re-usuable mug) Thanks.

Other Friday Events:

Bar (run by Trinity College)

Karaoke ready to go in 2019

Badger’s Pouch, the bar, will be open from 2.00 pm
After the Friday evening readings and mini-book launches, Karaoke entertainment will be available from 8.30 pm in the bar, organised by Helen Rye and Christopher Allen. Chill out room for quiet chats also available.
Bookshop
The festival bookshop will be open from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm in the Tyndall’s room, by Reception in the main building. There will also be a meet and greet session for newcomers in the bookshop and also the bar.
Official Welcome, Flash fiction readings and mini book launches 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm in Dining Room.

Accommodation options

Outside Trinity College

The 2025 flash fiction festival will be held at Trinity College, a Theological College, in the Stoke Bishop area of Bristol.

There are single budget bnb (basic breakfast) rooms at Trinity College to book as part of the festival package plus 20 camping spots with facilities in the grassy area in front of the college and we have blocked booked rooms for the festival place/accommodation package at Churchill Hall, a Bristol University Residence only a few minutes walk away from the college, in a lovely setting opposite the Bristol Botanical Gardens. You can see Churchill Hall and its proximity to Trinity on our location map on the menu.

The rooms are bnb (continental breakfast). An example of one is pictured below, along with a picture of the hall and an area of the shared bathroom. They are quite spacious and for single occupancy only.

You can also book your room for Thursday and Sunday nights in both Trinity College and Churchill Halls
More details and for a link to the booking form on our booking page

The Area and Other Accommodation Options (thank you to former festival director, Diane Simmons, for compiling this list originally. Updated by 2023 team member, Damhnait Monaghan 2023).
Stoke Bishop is a pleasant area not far from the Downs (a large open park land)) and is under two miles from the Clifton suspension bridge, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. If you don’t mind a walk, Clifton Village is about a 30 minute walk from Trinity College and is a beautiful area of Bristol to stay in. It has quite a few hotels and guest houses. Please note that areas of Bristol are very hilly.

The city centre too has lots of hotels to suit all budgets, as well as some hostels. It is particularly attractive round the waterside area. The city centre is approx 2.4 miles from Trinity College. Redland and Henleaze areas are also attractive parts of Bristol not too far away.
There is a plenty of free parking in the grounds of Trinity College. Please note that traffic can be very heavy in Bristol.

You may find this website helpful: https://visitbristol.co.uk/

Caravans, Campervans and Tents
There are 6 available caravan/campervan spots at Trinity College for people with their own caravans/campervans. There are electricity points. The cost is £20 per night. Toilets and showers available.

There is space for 20 tents in Trinity grounds (without electricity).The cost is £20 per night. Toilets and showers available.
If you would like to book a place for your van or wish to camp, you can book a space via our booking form.

Other Caravan sites:
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/sites/townlisting.asp?town=Bristol
Airbnb
Airbnb is a good way of finding affordable accommodation. If you are unsure about the area, please email for advice. The link for Stoke Bishop, Bristol is below: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/s/Stoke-Bishop–Stoke-Bishop–United-Kingdom/homes?adults=1&place_id=ChIJk_zJ1YSNcUgRD32b4q2v_3A&refinement_paths%5B%5D=%2Fhomes&checkin=2022-07-08&checkout=2022-07-10

Hotels, Hostels and Bed and Breakfasts
Please note that I have not visited any of these hotels listed below, so can’t vouch for them being any good, but the ratings system should help. Please check my estimated walking times are correct before booking. I would recommend going on www.booking.com, www.trivago.co.uk or www.expedia.co.uk as bargains can be found.
Hostels
Bristol Youth Hostel, 14 Narrow Quay, Bristol, BS1 4QA, United Kingdom. 2.5 miles, 55 mins walk https://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-bristol Private rooms available. Dorms not available at time of writing, but may be open by July.
Couchsurfing:
https://www.couchsurfing.com/places/europe/england/bristol

Hotels, Bed and Breakfasts and Apartments

Nearest to Trinity College (within 2 miles)

The Washington, Clifton. 1.7 miles from Trinity – 35 mins walk. Available from booking.com. Described as ‘cheap and cheerful’. More info from booking.com & also available on visit Bristol site: https://visitbristol.co.uk/accommodation/the-washington-p7201

The Rodney House Hotel, 4 Rodney Place, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 4HY – 1.7 miles and 35 mins walk from Trinity College. Available from booking.com. Their own website here: https://cliftonhotels.com/bristol-hotels/rodney
The Regency Bristol Hotel, 40-44 St Pauls Road, Clifton BS8 ILR
35 mins walk, 1.7 miles

The Channings Hotel, Clifton Bristol – 31 min walk. You can book direct from their site or on booking.com etc. https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/avon/channings-hotel/

Number 38, Clifton, 38 Upper Belgrave Rd, Bristol BS8 2XN. Less than a mile. Also available from booking.com About a 17 min walk. Hotel website: http://www.number38clifton.com

Victoria Square Hotel, Clifton. 1.8 miles. 37 mins, http://www.victoriasquarehotel.co.uk/en/default.html
Also available on booking.com etc.

Beaufort House apartments, Clifton. 1.2 miles and a 25 min walk – on booking.com etc

The Alma Tavern, 18-20 Alma Vale Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2HY
Rooms are bookable through Airbnb. 29 mins walk. 1.4 miles. Rooms also available through booking.com

Within an Hour’s Walk (or nearly)

Holiday Inn, Bristol city centre https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186220-d1983528-Reviews-Holiday_Inn_Bristol_City_Centre-Bristol_England.html 52 mins walk. 2.9 miles.

The Bristol Hotel https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186220-d191631-Reviews-The_Bristol-Bristol_England.html 56 mins walk. 2.6 miles.

Best Western Henbury Lodge Hotel, Station Rd, Henbury, Bristol BS10 7QQ,
https://www.bestwestern.co.uk/hotels/best-western-henbury-lodge-hotel-83915 2.7 miles, 58mins walk.

Bristol Marriott Hotel, https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186220-d192930-Reviews-Bristol_Marriott_Royal_Hotel-Bristol_England.html
51 mins walk. 2.3 miles. www.marriott.co.uk

Travelodge, Anchor Road, Bristol. 52 mins, 2.4 miles. One of a chain of basic hotels. https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/78/Bristol-Central-hotel

Mercure Bristol Holland House Hotel & Spa. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186220-d628111-Reviews-Mercure_Bristol_Holland_House_Hotel_Spa-Bristol_England.html
3 miles, 1 hr 4 mins walk. https://all.accor.com/hotel/6698/index.en.shtml

Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel 2.3 miles, 51 mins walk. https://all.accor.com/hotel/A0I2/index.en.shtml

Brooks Guest House, Bristol, St Nicholas Court, St Nicholas Street, Bristol
Looks cool accommodation – retro roof top caravans. 53 mins and 2.4 miles.

The Ibis, Explore lane, Bristol BS1 5TY
https://all.accor.com/hotel/5547/index.en.shtml
2.5 miles. Around 53 mins walk to Trinity.

The Crafty Cow, 65 Gloucester Road, Bristol BS7 08J. 53 mins walk, 2.7 miles.

Norfolk Guest House, 575 Gloucester Road, Bristol BS7 0BW. Booking.com 2.5 miles, 50 mins walk

Other Options
For budget options, there are Premier Inns: https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/home.html May not always be in the most scenic parts of the city. None are particularly close. Premier Inn has one in Filton, but traffic can be busy around there

January 8th Flash Fiction Festival ‘Throwdown’ Winners

For the New Year, there were two contests for the Great Flash Fiction Festival Throwdown challenges on January 8th. Thank you to Electra Rhodes and Karen Jones for setting the challenges and judging the entries. Electra’s writing challenge was based on the painting ‘Starry Night’ by Vincent Van Gogh and Karen’s was based on Claude Monet’s ‘The Poppy Field’. Mugs, shown in the stack here, featuring these paintings, form part of the winners prize and both our judges created great prompts. Our winners also receive £30 cash and publication and two runners-up a book from Ad Hoc Fiction plus publication in the Flash Fiction Festival Anthology due out soon.

Electra and Karen have now chosen their winners
Electra said:

photo by Serge Van Neck on Unsplash

“It was a pleasure to read this collation of stories and to pay them all some thorough attention. There was lots of rich and evocative language, some delicious description, and some clever characterisation. I really enjoyed reading them aloud to see how they sounded and landed. Thank you for making it so hard to choose.

In the end I plumped for one where I liked the way the piece accreted new layers throughout, and built and built and built. The language was clean and the characters effectively drawn in few words, and it was laced with a melancholy and regret which was subtly done but which stayed with me afterwards. So ‘The Lost Man in Van Gogh’s Starry Night’ is the winner”
(This story was written by Marzia Rahman from Bangladesh.
Marzia Rahman is a Bangladeshi fiction writer and translator of short stories and poetry. Her short fictions have appeared in many magazines and journals worldwide. Her novella in flash, Life on the Edges, was longlisted in the Bath Novella in Flash Award in 2018. She is also a painter.

“The runner-up is the one that made me laugh, I’m a bit of a sobersides and I went into the reading of all the entries ready to experience a range of emotions but without an expectation I’d find something I thought really funny. I admit it’s quite a dark humour and I’m not entirely sure whether or not it’s an unreliable narrator telling a tall tale, or what exactly did or didn’t happen, but, again, the story stayed with me afterwards. I admit too, to being a bit of a sucker for punny titles so, ‘Poetic Justice’ is my runner-up.”
(This story was written by Marie Gethins from Ireland)
Marie Gethins’ flash fiction is widely published in magazines and journals and she has won or been placed in many short fiction awards. Marie is a Pushcart and Best of the Short Fictions nominee and an editor for Splonk literary magazine in Ireland.

Karen said:

photo by Corina-ardeleanu-sWlxCweDzzs-unsplash-1

The stories for the prompt were amazing – I really struggled to choose a winner and runner up.

First place: ‘Restoration’ a great take on the prompt and I loved the way the sections slotted together, just like the bowl in the story. The use of colours was beautifully done.
(This story was written by Corrine Leith from the UK)
Corrine Leith lives in rural England with a cat, a dog and two ponies. She writes a mix of flash fiction, poetry and children’s stories which have been published in print and online. She is a previous winner of The Potteries Prize for Flash Fiction and was runner-up in the latest annual Mslexia Flash Fiction Competition.

Runner up: ‘I See Red’. Using different shades of this colour was a perfect way to tell this story. The anger and hurt builds through the sections and I felt I could really see and feel everything the mc went through.
(This story was written by Sudha Balagopal from the US)
Sudha Balagopal’s short fiction has been published in journals around the world, has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fiction and will be included in Best Micro Fictions in 2022. Her novella in flash, Things I Can’t Tell Amma was highly commended in the 2021 Bath Flash Fiction Award and published by Ad Hoc Fiction in 2021. When she’s not writing, she’s teaching yoga.

Many congratulations to all four writers! We’re looking forward to seeing them all in print in Flash Fiction Festival Anthology Vol Four.

Winners from the November Great Flash Fiction Festival Throw Down Contest

Photo by Billy Huynh, Unsplash

We’re delighted that Sara Hills, an award winning writer and editor based in the UK who won the Winner of Winners with her story ‘Blue’ for the Showstopper Challenge in our Spring and Summer series of flash fiction festival days agreed to judge the November ‘Throwdown’ Challenge.

Sara based her prompt on the well-known picture ‘The Kiss’ by Gustav Klimt’ and following Sara’s excellent instructions, entrants were asked to write a story involving a kiss of some sort. Read in Full