The Writers Clinic: Short Fiction Edition

The Writers Clinic: Short Fiction Edition
 

Are you looking for help with your writing? Join us for The Writers Clinic, an online group session with our resident writing doctor, Shreya Sen Handley. The clinic provides an opportunity to share your writing dilemma and get help finding a solution. Each session will cover a different subject, with a short introduction and refresher, followed by an opportunity for participants to ask for advice.

This month’s theme is short fiction!
 

What to Expect:

We’ll start with a concise 15-20 minute talk on essential elements of short fiction, setting the stage for an engaging discussion. Then, it’s your turn! We’ll open the floor to your questions, allowing each participant about three minutes to ask and discuss.

This is your opportunity to address individual writing concerns in a supportive environment. With a maximum of 15 participants, you’ll benefit from hearing the dilemmas of others and gain advice you may not even know you wanted. Whether you’re grappling with plot, character development, or finding your unique voice, you’ll find valuable insights from Shreya and your peers.

Recently appointed Head Judge of New Writers fiction competition there’s no one better to help you on your journey than Shreya. Check out Shreya’s own short story collection Strange (HarperCollins 2019) for a taste of what’s to come!
 

Shreya Sen Handley:

Currently writing her fourth book, set to be published by Penguin in 2026, Shreya Sen Handley is the author of three books published by HarperCollins: Handle with Care (2022), presented to The Queen from Britain-wide nominations of ‘reader favourites’ by the National Literacy Trust in 2024 and longlisted for Times of India’s Best Nonfiction Book 2023; the “masterful” short story collection Strange (2019); and Memoirs of My Body (2017), which won Best Nonfiction Book at the NWS Writing Awards 2018 and was a UNESCO Cities of Literature Best Read 2017.
 

As the first South Asian woman to write international opera, she co-wrote the Welsh National Opera’s film series Creating Change (2020) and the epic production Migrations (2022), which received acclaim from The Times and The Guardian as one of 2022’s best shows. In 2021, her play Quiet premiered at London’s award-winning Tara Theatre, alongside new work from Hanif Kureishi of My Beautiful Laundrette.
 

Shreya is a creative writing teacher for British and Indian institutions, including the Universities of Cambridge, Nottingham, and serves as a writer-in-residence for First Story, Britain’s leading creative writing charity.
 

Her short fiction, poetry, and essays have been published in anthologies, broadcast on the BBC and Australian radio, and shortlisted for prizes in India and Britain, besides providing the battle cry for British social justice campaigns.
 

In addition to featuring in numerous anthologies—such as Five Leaves Publications’ UNESCO City of Literature bid-winning These Seven (2015), The Third Script (2016) published by Australia’s Transportation Press, and the University of East Anglia’s Writing Places (2019)—she is one of the few living writers included in British secondary school textbooks (Detectives, Hodder Education, 2020).

She has also served as a fiction judge for Writing East Midlands and The Society of Authors’ Aurora Prize 2022, Derby Book Festival 2023, and New Writers UK in 2025.
 

A former television journalist for CNBC, MTV, and East India head of Australasian Channel [V], she continues to write columns for international media outlets, including CNN, National Geographic, The Guardian, Times of India, and The Asian Age.
 

An illustrator for Hachette, HarperCollins, Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature, Nottingham City Council, and Welsh National Opera, her art has also been exhibited in galleries in Britain and China.
 

Details:

Spaces are limited to 15 people per session and refunds are not available. You will be given an allocated time to share your query so please come prepared for the session. The session will take place on Zoom, you will be guided to the link via an automated email sent to you by Eventbrite 2 hours before the session starts. The link will be sent to the email associated with your Eventbrite account. For any questions please contact admin@nottinghamwritersstudio.co.uk. We can’t wait to see you there and help you elevate your writing journey!