Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Free Thinking Festival: How Short is a Short Story?
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Free Thinking Festival: How Short is a Short Story?
George Saunders, Kirsty Logan, Jenn Asworth and Paul McVeigh discuss writing fiction short and long with presenter Matthew Sweet.
Acclaimed American short story writer George Saunders talks about travelling in time to explore Abraham Lincoln’s life during the American Civil War when the President’s beloved young son died. These historical events have inspired Saunder’s first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, whilst his short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, McSweeeney’s and GQ.
He compares notes on the art of the short story with Paul McVeigh, Jenn Ashworth and Kirsty Logan, who’ve been commissioned by New Writing North and the WordFactory to write Flash Fiction on this year's Free Thinking Festival theme of The Speed of Life.
Kirsty Logan is the author of books including The Gracekeepers and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales and a range of short stories.
Jenn Ashworth’s books include Fell, The Friday Gospels, A Kind of Intimacy and Cold Light and a selection of short stories.
Paul McVeigh has won prizes including the Polari prize for his debut novel The Good Son. Born in Belfast he is co-founder of the London Short Story Festival, writes a blog and has represented the UK at events in Mexico and Turkey.
Recorded in front of an audience as part of Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival at Sage Gateshead.
The stories commissioned for the Festival are available to listen to as an Arts and Ideas podcast available for 30 days.
Producer: Zahid Warley
View all episodes
By BBC Radio 4
4.3
286286 ratings
George Saunders, Kirsty Logan, Jenn Asworth and Paul McVeigh discuss writing fiction short and long with presenter Matthew Sweet.
Acclaimed American short story writer George Saunders talks about travelling in time to explore Abraham Lincoln’s life during the American Civil War when the President’s beloved young son died. These historical events have inspired Saunder’s first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, whilst his short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, McSweeeney’s and GQ.
He compares notes on the art of the short story with Paul McVeigh, Jenn Ashworth and Kirsty Logan, who’ve been commissioned by New Writing North and the WordFactory to write Flash Fiction on this year's Free Thinking Festival theme of The Speed of Life.
Kirsty Logan is the author of books including The Gracekeepers and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales and a range of short stories.
Jenn Ashworth’s books include Fell, The Friday Gospels, A Kind of Intimacy and Cold Light and a selection of short stories.
Paul McVeigh has won prizes including the Polari prize for his debut novel The Good Son. Born in Belfast he is co-founder of the London Short Story Festival, writes a blog and has represented the UK at events in Mexico and Turkey.
Recorded in front of an audience as part of Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival at Sage Gateshead.
The stories commissioned for the Festival are available to listen to as an Arts and Ideas podcast available for 30 days.
Producer: Zahid Warley
More shows like Arts & Ideas
View all
Global News Podcast
7,924 Listeners
The LRB Podcast
312 Listeners
The Archers
1,089 Listeners
Newshour
1,063 Listeners
In Our Time
5,577 Listeners
The Documentary Podcast
1,801 Listeners
In Our Time: Culture
620 Listeners
6 Minute English
1,748 Listeners
Learning English Conversations
1,024 Listeners
The Infinite Monkey Cage
1,951 Listeners
Great Lives
488 Listeners
Backlisted
585 Listeners
London Review Bookshop Podcast
129 Listeners
Front Row
129 Listeners
Start the Week
160 Listeners
Bookclub
241 Listeners
The TLS Podcast
181 Listeners
The Week in Art
219 Listeners
You're Dead to Me
3,236 Listeners
The Bomb
1,006 Listeners
A brush with...
148 Listeners
This Cultural Life
103 Listeners
Close Readings
94 Listeners
Past Present Future
349 Listeners