The long and short of it

Writers from across the world descended on Edge Hill this weekend as an international short story conference was held at the university. 'The Short Story? was held on Saturday 13 May and was aimed at those writing and researching the short story, whether as practitioners or literary scholars.

After many years of comparative neglect, the short story is now acknowledged as a distinctive genre of crucial importance to world literature. Papers on the day covered the poetics of short fiction, international perspectives, women writers, science fiction, creative presentations and the adaptation of short stories for radio.

Writers from as far afield as Malaysia and Athens joined a team of seven experts and academics from Edge Hill to discuss the intricacies of short stories, together with detailed analysis of their own pieces of work. The conference was opened by Al Kennedy, the nationally recognised leading short story writer and novelist, who made her first appearance in the region.

Among the speakers was Edge Hill?s Julie Gordon. Julie?s subject was 'Size Matters ? The Grotesque and the Gothic Body? and Julie discussed the grotesque and gothic body as portrayed by women writers in twentieth century gothic short stories. These portrayals, some written nearly a century ago, mirror the emotions of women today as they are constantly subjected to media imagery prescribing an ideal appearance. The recent introduction of a National Short Story Prize marks a revival of interest in short stories in the UK. Collections and anthologies are being reviewed more frequently, while short story websites and e-zines are becoming much more common place. In its condensed form, the short story seems especially suited to twenty-first century readers who have more and more demands on their time.

Speaking ahead of the conference, organiser Dr Ailsa Cox, Programme Leader of the BA Creative Writing course at Edge Hill?s English department, commented: "It was a great coup for Edge Hill to get such an esteemed collection of short story authors together in one place and there was a real buzz around the university in the run up to the event. The delegates received a fascinating insight into the nature of storytelling across the world, and into the minds of some of the very best short story authors, scholars and publishers from around the globe."

This event was hosted by the Department of English at Edge Hill and will act as a platform for the launch of the North West Short Story Network.