Cover Reveal for NFFD anthology 2026

Mudlarking National Flash FIction Day Anthology 2026

As well as helping to judge the Microfiction Competition for National Flash Fiction Day 2026, I was offered the very exciting additional privilege of creating the artwork for the anthology’s cover.

The title of the anthology originates from Mudlarking Under Richmond Bridge During the Annual Draw Off, a stunningly beautiful flash fiction written by Rachael Dunlop.

I was not only struck by the elegant description in Rachael's story, but also found it deeply moving.

I had intended to paint in an abstract way, picking out some of the gorgeous detail, such as the garnets and Egyptian goose. However, I chose instead to illustrate Mudlarking in a more traditional style and pay homage to the stunning bridge and one of the characters searching for treasures, in order to bring my emotional engagement into the picture.

I'm very grateful to NFFD for giving me the position of artist-in-residence and also for including one of my own stories in the anthology as well.

Mudlarking launched on June 13th 2026 and you can preorder from NFFD .

The Bath Novella-in-Flash Award Runner-up!

A different author picture - a watercolour inspired by a photo of me on the beach at Sheringham, 1963

My novella-in-flash, The Hilltop Hour, has been judged a runner-up in the Bath Novella-in-Flash Award and will be published later this year!

I have also painted the image for the cover - which I will keep under wraps for now - so it will be even more exciting to see the book in print!

This novella began as a short story I was commissioned to write for a magazine years ago. One of the characters has stayed withe me ever since until I finally restructured the entire piece, keeping much of the original story and introducing a ssecond main character to share the narrative.

Here you can read the judge's report for the competition, Congratulations to all the winners and shortlistees!

The Bath Short Story Award, Local Prize Winner!

I'm excited to see my short story, The Song of the Salmon, in this lovely anthology published by Ad Hoc Fiction. This story was written years ago, at the same time time as I won the Bath Short Story Award's Local Prize for the first time with an entirely different story. All those years on and I finally felt The Song of the Salmon was ready to submit to a competition, never expecting history to repeat itself!

Here I am, receiving my prize at Mr B's bookshop with, left to right, Jane, Jude and Alison, the lovely team from from the Bath Short Story Award.