Short Back and Sides with Tracey Slaughter

This workshop will concentrate on issues of ‘ending’ and ‘opening’ in the short story form, from finding the first seed of the story to setting down the final crucial word.

Looking at specific examples, as well as exploring their own work, participants will examine how questions of opening and ending intensify and deepen the story, reflecting on where to cut into the action, where to ‘open-out’ from a single image, and where to cut away from scene into white space.

In 2014 Tracey, who teaches creative writing at University of Waikato, established the university’s literary journal Mayhem.

Her collection of acclaimed short stories, deleted scenes for lovers, was published in 2016, while a book of poetry, conventional weapons, was published in May 2019.

Limited to 12 people.