David
Hartley
The Subtle Art of Short Fiction
~ Fly on the Wall Press ~
'Voice of the Gods, Voice of the People: Authority & Authenticity in the Modern Short Story'
Out now with Fly on the Wall Press, a superb collection of essays and creative exercises focusing on the art and craft of short story writing. My contribution is an essay about how to write a compelling voice and why it matters.
Other contributors include SJ Bradley, Daisy Johnson, Sarah Schofield, Farhana Sheikh, Jonathan Taylor, Kerry Hadley-Price, Sascha Akhtar, Mahsuda Snaith, and Matt Wesolowski.
An essential and much-needed handbook for the craft of the short form tale, I couldn't be happier to be included.
Writer, Performer, Artist, Editor, Tutor
I write strange stories about strange things for strange people. I am preoccupied by animals, neurodiversity, folklore, and untapped possibilities of storytelling forms. I've performed my work within bus stations, ancient libraries, decaying edgelands, a Swedish train station, and among a forest of tattooed bodies. I have collaborated with spectral musicians, Estonian performance artists, and a plant orchestra. I'm always interested in creative partnerships. Get in touch with me below.
~ PhD Creative Writing, University of Manchester
~ Fauna (Fly on the Wall Press) - short story collection
~ Incorcisms (Arachne Press) - short(er) story collection
~ Writer-in-Residence: Tartu, Estonia, 2024: 'The Forest of Ink & Skin'
~ Lead artist: 'The Embassy of Utopia', Festival of Libraries 2024 & 2025
~ Workshop Tutor for 'Beyond the Spectrum' with Writing East Midlands
~ Editor: Obscura: New Uncanny Tales (Comma Press)
~ Lecturer in Creative Writing, The University of Manchester
Picture: Nic Chapman
Sample Stories
