Thank you to those of you who submitted to our In Other Stories 2026 anthology. As writers ourselves, we appreciate the courage it takes to send your writing out into the literary world.

If you have any queries about anything related to In Other Stories please don’t reply to this email or email Kerry Hammerton directly – please use our dedicated email address: inotherstories@gmail.com

Over the next few days all your stories will be saved into a folder and relevant details captured in our tracking worksheet.

We have sent a few emails to writers who submitted, asking for PDFs to be converted to Word, or for stories in the body of the email to be copied into a Word document, or for files to be correctly labelled. Someone also forgot to attach a flash to their email. We are still waiting for replies for some of these. If you think you are guilty of any of these transgressions please check your spam folders and reply to our email.

We know it seems like a small thing to you, but if there are a number of these it adds to our administrative burden – and we are an extremely small team.

The month of June is our reading period and by the middle of July a decision will be made as to which stories will be included. All those writers whose flashes are accepted will be emailed individually and, once we have confirmation that the writer accepts our publication conditions, we will publish the names of the writers and the titles of their stories. This will take place by the end of July.

August will be the month for editing of individual stories. The publishing process – typesetting, cover design, proofing and printing – will kick in after this. We can’t confirm a publication date but will keep you apprised as to our progress.

If you don’t yet own a copy of In Other Stories 2025 please reach out to your local bookstore and purchase a copy. If you can’t find a copy, please email us.

Keep writing!

Due to unforeseen circumstances we have to extend the deadline for the 2026 flash submission. (And we are sure you are secretly pleased with this information).

Thank you to those who have submitted ( we 🧡 you) and to those who have committed to send something in the next week (don’t forget!)

But for everyone else it gives you a few more weeks to put something together.

These guidelines still apply - please do read them carefully:

Read these snippets from the reviews for the 2024 and 2025 anthologies – don’t you want to be part of the magic:

‘I am stunned by the writers’ abilities to achieve the texture of their worlds in that short space of page … In Other Stories 2025 is filled with stories sailing on the surface of precise wordmanship, held aloft by the unsaid.’ Jarred Thomson on Goodreads.

‘I was thoroughly impressed by this collection … showcasing a wide variety of voices. This is a collection not to be missed.’ Riley Herbet-Henry on Good Book Appreciation Society

‘Every story is paired with a biography of the author and a note on the inspiration for the story. These add a wonderful layer to the book, telling a story within a story and giving this slim collection a real personality of its own. In Other Stories is a delight.’ Alex Latimer on Goodreads

‘Quick, intriguing and totally moreish. At the end of each story, I found myself greedily reading another, and another, and then, oh alright then, just one more.’ Nancy Richards from Woman Zone

‘These short shorts, like the garment, allow you to engage intimately and publicly with the packages of strangers – and then walk away. And it’s fascinating to see the range of the writers here: the shapes, sizes, leanings to right or left. (Spoiler: Most good writers both dress and think to the left.) There’s literally something for every taste.’ Diane Awerbuck on Good Book Appreciation Society

It’s 2026 and time to start thinking about your submission for the 2026 edition of In Other Stories.

Have you read the 2025 edition? If not, please get hold of a copy – it is a gem of a book. You can contact Kerry Hammerton directly to purchase a copy.

Keep a look out for upcoming workshops and prompts from Kerry on her Substack Newsletter: Snap. Pop. Flow

As usual, we are not doing an open public call for submissions - instead writers are being invited to submit.

Once again, there is no theme for the submission. We love all the various ideas and stories that come through.

Please don’t resend your story that didn’t make it into a previous anthology, unless you have substantially reworked it.

Please read the guidelines below. Please. And note the new email address.

Word Count: maximum 500 words

Format: word document, 12 Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing. File name must be the title of your story. Don’t put your name on the document.

Deadline: 1 May

Cover note: In the body of your email please list the following information:

• Full name

• Title of your piece

• Word count

• Please include the following statement in your email: I confirm that I am a South African citizen or resident, and this work is my own original work and has not been previously published

Email: inotherstories@gmail.com

· Don’t put your name on the document.

· Don’t send us a link. It must be an attached word document.

· Don’t put a cover page on your flash.

· Don’t put your flash in the body of your email.

· Don’t send us more than one flash. You choose the story you want to submit.

We deliberately use the word ‘flash’ and not ‘flash fiction’, because we are interested in both fiction and creative non-fiction (memoir). A flash is not simply a story that has been pared back to its bare bones. Instead, it concentrates on movement, every word and sentence is important to the story. There is no space for elaborate background setting, or descriptions: the details in the writing must add to the overall mood, theme and emotion of the piece. Often what happens off the page is as important as what happens on the page. A flash asks the reader to make intuitive leaps for understanding. The story should speak to something larger or linger in the reader’s mind.

The 2024 anthology was reviewed a number of times – do you think your new story will fit into the descriptions below?

Nancy Richards

‘quick, intriguing and totally moreish. At the end of each story, I found myself greedily reading another, and another, and then, oh alright then, just one more.

At a bite-sized 500 words or less, each of the twenty-one stories has its own flavour - and focus. In some cases, with less of a topic than a suggestion worked around fragments and memories, real or imagined moments and emotions.

Diane Awerbuck on Good Book Appreciation Society

‘These short shorts, like the garment, allow you to engage intimately and publicly with the packages of strangers – and then walk away.

And it’s fascinating to see the range of the writers here: the shapes, sizes, leanings to right or left. (Spoiler: Most good writers both dress and think to the left.)

There’s literally something for every taste.’

Mike Boyd on Goodreads

‘The joy of a book like ‘In Other Stories’ is the richness of the variety and the brevity that gives you access to these different worlds. Each story is like a postcard; a moment caught in time - and compelling in that. The stories span the ordinary to the extraordinary, the personal to the national.’

If you have a flash that you want to submit… don’t miss the deadline: Monday 30 June.

You still have time to edit something - in fact you still have time to write and edit something - and submit.

If you are looking for some inspiration read these stories:

FlashFlood: 'An expression of futility' by Abby Williams

The Night Chorus | Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction

A reminder of the details for the submission

We are not doing an open public call for submissions - instead writers are being invited to submit.

Guidelines

Word Count: maximum 500 words

Format: word document, 12 Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing. File name must be the title of your story. Don’t put your name on the document.

Deadline: 30 June

Cover note: In the body of your email please list the following information:

• Full name

• Title of your piece

• Word count

• Please include the following statement in your email: I confirm that I am a South African citizen or resident, and that this work is my own original work and has not been previously published

Email: rosebankwritersflashanthology@gmail.com

DON’TS

· don’t put your name on the document

· don’t send us a link. It must be an attached word document

· don’t put a cover page on your flash

· don’t put your flash in the body of your email

What is Flash?

We deliberately use the word ‘flash’ and not ‘flash fiction’, because we are interested in both fiction and creative non-fiction (memoir). A flash is not simply a story that has been pared back to its bare bones. Instead, it concentrates on movement, every word and sentence is important to the story. There is no space for elaborate background setting, or descriptions: the details in the writing must add to the overall mood, theme and emotion of the piece. Often what happens off the page is as important as what happens on the page. A flash asks the reader to make intuitive leaps for understanding. The story should speak to something larger or linger in the reader’s mind.

Photo by Lareised Leneseur on Unsplash

The deadline for submissions for the next In Other Stories anthology is just around the corner! The submission was sent to you at the beginning of April - hopefully you did see the email and have been madly writing interesting flash stories. If this is the first time you are seeing the call for submissions - don’t despair you still have time to submit.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted a story already!

Looking for inspiration, Kerry will be running a number of workshops in, and close to, Cape Town in May and June. The links for booking the workshops can be found here: Flash Writing Workshops

A reminder of the details for the submission

We are not doing an open public call for submissions - instead writers are being invited to submit.

Guidelines

Word Count: maximum 500 words

Format: word document, 12 Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing. File name must be the title of your story. Don’t put your name on the document.

Deadline: 30 June

Cover note: In the body of your email please list the following information:

• Full name

• Title of your piece

• Word count

• Please include the following statement in your email: I confirm that I am a South African citizen or resident, and that this work is my own original work and has not been previously published

Email: rosebankwritersflashanthology@gmail.com

DON’TS

· don’t put your name on the document

· don’t send us a link. It must be an attached word document

· don’t put a cover page on your flash

· don’t put your flash in the body of your email

What is Flash?

I deliberately use the word ‘flash’ and not ‘flash fiction’, because we are interested in both fiction and creative non-fiction (memoir). A flash is not simply a story that has been pared back to its bare bones. Instead, it concentrates on movement, every word and sentence is important to the story. There is no space for elaborate background setting, or descriptions: the details in the writing must add to the overall mood, theme and emotion of the piece. Often what happens off the page is as important as what happens on the page. A flash asks the reader to make intuitive leaps for understanding. The story should speak to something larger or linger in the reader’s mind.

Here are links to some interesting flash stories:

https://brightflash1000.com/2024/02/05/quick-stop/

https://www.matchbooklitmag.com/carvell

https://newflashfiction.com/she-would-hate-all-this-publicity-by-louella-lester/

https://www.invisiblecitylit.com/fiction/an-emptiness-forever/

The 2024 anthology was reviewed a number of times – do you think your new story will fit into the descriptions below?

Nancy Richards

‘quick, intriguing and totally moreish. At the end of each story, I found myself greedily reading another, and another, and then, oh alright then, just one more.

At a bite-sized 500 words or less, each of the twenty-one stories has its own flavour - and focus. In some cases, with less of a topic than a suggestion worked around fragments and memories, real or imagined moments and emotions.

Diane Awerbuck on Good Book Appreciation Society

‘These short shorts, like the garment, allow you to engage intimately and publicly with the packages of strangers – and then walk away.

And it’s fascinating to see the range of the writers here: the shapes, sizes, leanings to right or left. (Spoiler: Most good writers both dress and think to the left.)

There’s literally something for every taste.’

Mike Boyd on Goodreads

‘The joy of a book like 'In Other Stories' is the richness of the variety and the brevity that gives you access to these different worlds. Each story is like a postcard; a moment caught in time - and compelling in that. The stories span the ordinary to the extraordinary, the personal to the national.’