My Mother Was an Upright Piano builds on the strengths of Tania Hershman's first collection of short stories The White Road which was commended by the judges of the 2009 Orange Award for New Writers. Hershman's fiction is inspiring, thought-provoking and witty. Her economy with words cloaks her subtlety and power, and she is able to create characters with distinct voices and explore deep and sometimes disturbing relationships is just a few paragraphs of prose. Her writing style has a lyrical quality and often the meter of her work brings added resonance to her themes.

'A joyous and celebratory tribute to all those who battled to be heard, who fought for their achievements to be recognised and honoured, who simply kept going' Kate Mosse The tried and tested 'On This Day in History' format has elevated the stories of many people and their impact on the wider world. However, of those considered noteworthy by the Establishment, just a fraction are women. But this is not the whole story - not by half. Our past is full of influential women, many of whom have been unfairly confined to the margins of history. Politicians, troublemakers, explorers, artists, writers, scientists and even the odd murderer; these women have shaped society around the globe. From Beyonce to Doria Shafik, Queen Elizabeth I to Lillian Bilocca, On This Day She sets out to redress this imbalance and give voice to both those already deemed female icons, alongside others whom the history books have failed to include: the good, the bad and everything in between - this is a record of human existence at its most authentic.

A fascinating page-a-day collection profiling extraordinary women of all races, eras, and nationalities. Our past is full of influential women. Whether politicians, troublemakers, explorers, artists, and even the odd murderer, women have shaped society around the globe. But too often, these women have been unfairly confined to the margins of history. On This Day She: Putting Women Back into History One Day at a Time corrects this imbalance. A day-by-day collection of inspiring stories about incredible women who made history but seldom received the acknowledgement they deserved, this book introduces readers to women of all colors, eras, and nationalities. From Queen Elizabeth I to Beyonce, Doria Shafik to Lillian Bilocca, this book gives voice both to female icons and to those whom the history books have overlooked. These women campaigned, cured, and adventured their way through life. They include musicians, painters, scientists, poets, and more. Spanning centuries, On This Day She is a record of human existence at its most authentic.

Scraps is the second anthology from National Flash-Fiction Day. It features more than seventy huge tales told in only a few words. All of the stories in this collection have been inspired by other works of art: paintings, sculptures, TV programmes, films, music and more. As a result they are imbued with something of the original, but then take off into new and often surprising directions. Scraps features stories from Jenny Adamthwaite, Jenn Ashworth, Oliver Barton, Alan Beard, Natalie Bowers, Cathy Bryant, Joanna Campbell, Nuala Ni Chonchuir, James Coates, Claire Collison, Chris Connolly, L.A. Craig, Judy Darley, Ariel Dawn, Vanessa Gebbie, Kylie Grant, David Gullen, David Hartley, Kevlin Henney, Tania Hershman, Sarah Hilary, H Anthony Hildebrand, Eva Holland, Holly Howitt, Thaddeus Howze, Anouska Huggins, Claire Ibarra, Paul Kavanagh, RM Kealy, John Keating, Calum Kerr, Clare Kirwan, Mark Kockelbergh, Emma J. Lannie, Cathy Lennon, Beverly C. Lucey, Amy Mackelden, R A Martens, Ana Martinez, Thomas McColl, Stephen McGeagh, Danielle McLaughlin, Siobhan McNamara, Freya Morris, Andrea Mullaney, Clay Norman, John Paul O'Neill, Sonya Oldwin, Jim O'Loughlin, Amanda Oosthuizen, Jonathan Pinnock, Dan Powell, Amanda Quinn, Eabha Rose, Sam Russell, Shelley Day Sclater, Emma Shaw, Ian Shine, Diane Simmons, Tim Stevenson, Becky Tipper, Stella Turner, Tracey Upchurch, Bart Van Goethem, Alison Wells and Brendan Way. Funny, sad, exciting, intriguing, experimental and traditional, Scraps is a snapshot of the best in contemporary flash fiction.

Short Circuit fills a real gap in the text book market. Written by 24 prizewinning writers and teachers of writing, this book is intensely practical. Each expert discusses necessary craft issues: their own writing processes, sharing tried and tested writing exercises and lists of published work they find inspirational. Endorsed by The National Association of Writers in Education, it became recommended or required reading for Creative Writing courses in the UK and beyond, including Goldsmiths, The University of Kent at Canterbury, Glasgow University, John Cabot University in Rome, Stockholm University in Sweden, Sussex University, Brighton University, Edge Hill University, Chichester University, The National University of Ireland in Galway, and University Campus Suffolk, at Ipswich.

Tania Hershman is a former science journalist turned short story phenomenon. Her previous collections, including poetry, have attracted enormous praise and attention and in SOME OF US GLOW MORE THAN OTHERS she invites us to sample what life is like at the cutting edge of technology, where the future appears to be rushing ever faster to meet our present. Whether she is writing about genetics, laboratory etiquette, art and experimentation, or the simplest molecules that make up our myriad world, all her stories exude the power of her precision prose. Ranging from poignant cameos and unlikely viewpoints to the most complex decisions humans can make, these extraordinary stories gently challenge our world view as we careen toward the unknown and ask us to assess what we wish to retain of ourselves, what to jettison, and what we hope to attain when we get there. Stories from this, her third collection, have been heard on Radio 4 and Radio 3.

Writing Short Stories: A Writers' and Artists' Companion is an essential guide to writing short fiction successfully. PART 1 explores the nature and history of the form, personal reflections by the editors, and help getting started with ideas, planning and research. PART 2 includes tips by leading short story writers, including: Alison Moore, Jane Rogers, Edith Pearlman, David Vann, Anthony Doerr, Vanessa Gebbie, Alexander MacLeod, Adam Thorpe and Elspeth Sandys. PART 3 contains practical advice - from shaping plots and exploring your characters to beating writers' block, rewriting and publishing your stories.