Submissions for Telltales in June are now closed.  We have had a flurry of entries in the last 24 hours which we will be reading with excitement.

Looking forward to seeing you for a fantastic night at Dolly’s Wine Bar on Tuesday 25 June!

Oh, and if you would like to submit to read as part of the Telltales set on Thursday 18 July for Penzance Literary Festival, submissions are still open!  The theme is Vision.  The deadline for entries is the 26 June so you’ve still got time to think, write and send us your best work.

We’re excited.  Submissions are officially open for the next Telltales, which will take place at 7.00 pm on Tuesday 25 June at the wonderful Dolly’s Wine Bar in Falmouth.

Whatever you write, we’d love to hear from you.  Whether you are a new writer, scribbling poems on the back of an envelope for the first time, you have a complete novel under your bed or several publications to your name, why not come along and read to a friendly audience?

What Telltales offers is the chance for writers to share their work with people who love words.  In the past we have heard sci fi stories, travel memoirs, playscripts and poetry in translation.  We’ve heard short stories, rap and radio broadcasts.  We’ve even had someone reading from their blog.  The unifying factor has been, and will always be, a passion for writing.

Our theme for June is The Gift.  Feel free to be as inventive as you like with this!  Your gift could be something beautiful: a long-forgotten treasure, a love token, a birthday present.  Or it could be subversive: a Trojan horse, a white elephant.  It could even be a talent or a magical property.  As always, it’s up to you.  The closing date is 11 June and all submissions must be under 10 minutes long (no more than 2,000 words).

Of course, if you’d prefer just to come along, kick back in the stylish setting of Dolly’s Wine Bar and listen to some top quality wordcraft, you are as always very welcome.

So here we are – April is upon us and Telltales is fast approaching.

There’s still time to submit if you’re interested in reading out. The theme is Changing Times and we’ll be programming eight great writers to share their work based loosely on the theme.

We’ve had a fair few entries already so make sure you submit your work using the form on the right, by the 17 April to be in with a shot of being scheduled.

And if you’re not up for reading but just want to come and celebrate almost five years of great writing with us instead, you’re more than welcome – we’ll be at Dolly’s Tea Room and Wine Bar (above The Bookseller), Falmouth, from 7pm on the 30 April, for a final delicious slice of word pie, served up Telltales style.

Look forward to reading your stuff and seeing you all on the 30 April for a right good knees up.

A few things have changed at Telltales HQ in the last couple of months. We’ve sadly said goodbye to The Rum Bar, our brilliant venue, which has generously hosted us for the last two  years.

Alongside that things have picked up pace at Stranger Collective, the writing agency we run when we’re not organising Telltales. With one of the founding partners off on maternity leave things are super busy every day, keeping on top of all the exciting writing projects we have on.

What’s more, Telltales has been running in its current form for nearly five years – it’s been truly amazing to see so many writers join our little group and to follow the developing talents of individuals as their words become more polished and impactful.

We’ve been on the hunt for a new Telltales challenge for a while, something that will stretch and invigorate everyone involved for the next five years and beyond – continuing to showcase, motivate and inspire writing talent from across the spectrum.

So we’ve made a decision.  A difficult decision. We won’t be holding a Telltales in March, concentrating instead on laying plans for the next stage of Telltales, whatever that may be. We’ve got a few ideas that are starting to take shape, but we’d love to talk them through with anyone who’s interested – to see who might want to come on board to make something exciting happen in Cornwall’s writing community. More news on that soon.

For 30 April it will be business as usual. The theme will be ‘Changing Times’ and as normal, writers are invited to submit on the theme.

So if you’re interested in reading out, get your thinking caps on and submit, using the form on the right.

Short stories, prose, poetry, script extracts anything goes, as long as it is an original piece written by the reader we’re happy.

We look forward to reading your stuff and celebrating with you on the 30 April.

It’s amazing what a couple of months away can do. The subs have been flooding in and the line-up is shaping up nicely – in short it looks like Telltales: Horizons is going to be one of the best yet.

If you fancy hearing what Cornwall’s writing scene has to say for itself come down to the wonderful Rum Bar, Killigrew Street, Falmouth, TR11 3PN, on Tuesday 27 November from 7pm (readings start at 7.30pm sharp).

Not only will word wizardry, delicious cocktails and a warm fire be waiting for you, but there’ll also be free mince pies and a chance to pick up the brand new Parabola Project Issue III: Horizons (see what we did there?)

As the official launch of our third and final issue of The Parabola Project, this month’s Telltales promises to be extra special. We can’t wait.

Look forward to seeing you all there.

Yep, you read that right, we‘re going to take Hall for Cornwall by storm.

January’s Telltales will be taking place on Thursday 24 January at Hall for Cornwall’s Assembly Rooms as part of their Platform season,

As always it will be free to attend with a stellar lineup representing the best of what Cornwall’s writing scene has to offer. It’ll be Telltales as you’ve always known it, but because we’re dealing with the big boys you have to book your seat – you can start booking now by phoning the box office on 01872 262466.

So, do you fancy taking to the Hall for  Cornwall stage? If so, this is what you have to do. Because it’s a theatrical space we thought submissions should be appropriately themed, so we’ve gone for ‘This Mortal Coil’.Think life’s stresses, being human, making mistakes, mortality, death, birth and everything between. Pretty broad, non? Which is why we are setting another criteria too. We’re looking for work that comes from a dramatic view point, a single narrator, a monologue, a  solilique or a single scene experience. It can still be poetry, short stories, scripts or prose it just has to feature one voice as the central thrust to the piece. Make sense? Good.

If you’re interested in reading out as part of this milestone Telltales event then start submitting now. Use the form on the right and mark up your submission January HFC so we know what you are submitting for.

Submissions close on the 9 December and we’ll let you know on the 13 December if you’ve been successfully programmed so you have lots of time to practice.

Kicking off 2013 the way we mean to go on, we can’t wait!

It was a difficult job, a lot of reading and some tough decisions, but we finally made it. We have our contents planned for the third and final Parabola Project and boy, it’s a corker.

Continuing to showcase the best of the creative writing scene’s up and coming talent, alongside established word wizards, we’ve got a brilliant issue planned.

There’s poetry from  Telltales regulars Nick Jarvis and Jake O’Leary sitting alongside the genius that is Luke Wright (we’re very excited to be publishing him),  as well as prose from ones to watch Lydia Benson and Ben Power, cosying down with Little White Lies’ own Ed Andrews.

We’re mixing hip hop inspired film noir narratives with surreal sci fi, heart wrenching vignettes of life and death, alongside moving poems  about love and loss. Parabola  has definitely grown up this year and we’re mighty proud of what it’s becoming.

And as always with Parabola it’s not just about the words. We’ve got some mindblowing illustrations and photos from outstanding imagemakers set to make Horizons the best Parabola Project ever.

We’ll keep you updated on our progress as always, but right now get out your pencils and put a date in your diary – 27 November 2012, at the Rum Bar, Killigrew Street, Falmouth.

It’s when we’ll be hosting a bumper Telltales and celebrating the launch of our third and final issue of the Parabola Project. You simply have to be there.