| news & events |
Tania is currently fiction-writer-in-residence at Bristol University's Faculty of Science, based in the Nanoscience and Quantum Information Centre. She is also fiction editor of Southword magazine, and a judge of the Bristol Short Story Prize, the Brit Writers Awards and the Sean O'Faolain Short Story Competition.
Feb 2010
Tania will be reading Plaits at the Short Fuse hair-themed reading event in Brighton on March 10th.
Exchange Rates, a play Tania adapted from her short story, published in The White Road and Other Stories, won the Total Beast 6-minute play competition,. It was performed, together with the other shortlisted entries, in London on 31st January 2010 at the Bridewell Theatre.
Jan 2010
Exchange Rates, a play Tania adapted from her short story, published in The White Road and Other Stories, is a finalist in the Total Beast 6-minute play competition and will be performed, together with the other shortlisted entries, in London on 31st January 2010. For more details, click here.
Tania will be a guest speaker at the Arvon Foundation's Totleigh Barton centre in Devon, and at Bath Spa University.
Nov 2009
The short screenplay Tania wrote based on the story North Cold from the book is a finalist in the Waterford Film Festival Short Screenplay competition.
Sept 2009
Bookmunch says: "Hershman has a keen mind, can concoct the sort of slippery knot that hooks you, that has you turning pages to see what happens next (which is rare in short story land, or at least in the short story land I’ve visited).." See the reviews page for more.
A new review over at PANK magazine: "The eponymous story of this collection is worth the price of admission. It is, without a doubt, one of the best short stories I’ve ever read." See the reviews page for more.
Happy First Birthday to The White Road and Other Stories!
In honour of the book's first birthday, Tania is giving away three signed copies on her blog, TaniaWrites. If you haven't already bought a copy, head over there to win!
August 2009
The White Road and Other Stories is Salt's Number One Bestselling Book
Following on from Salt's Just One Book campaign persuading people to buy a book to help save this wonderful and dynamic small independent publishers, my book is currently top of the Salt bestseller list! Please keep supporting Salt, there is a 33% discount on all books throughout August, enter coupon code HU693FB2 when you checkout.
May 2009
The White Road and Other Stories longlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award
Along with 56 other short story collections, The White Road and Other Stories has been longlisted for the prestigious Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, last year won by Jhumpa Lahiri for her collection, Unaccustomed Earth.
As part of the Emerging Writers Network's Short Story Month, Dan Wickett discusses my story, On A Roll, from The White Road and Other Stories:
While the bulk of this seven page story involves gambling, roulette and a short dip into the actual purchasing of the $645 shoes in question, Hershman hits the reader with a blow to the temple about 85% of the way through with the inclusion of a paragraph about her personal history. It's a subtle weaving in of almost an explanation for the unnamed narrator's actions. I say subtle though as it's not heavy handed - there's no neon sign pointing to the paragraph, no Cliff's Note header stating pay attention..." Read the full blog post
Review in Front&Centre
Matthew Firth says: "The White Road may not be hard-hitting short fiction but it shows there is more than one way for writers to separate their work from the pack of safe and boring mainstream writing. Props to Hershman for showing readers that not all short fiction is dull and formulaic.". See the reviews page for more.
April 2009
2009 Orange Award for New Writers
I am one of two writers commended in the 2009 Orange Award for New Writers.The judges said: "We would also like to commend Tania Hershman ...whose work stood out for its remarkable quality. We look forward to seeing more of [her] writing in the future."
Review in the Frogmore Papers Issue 73
Jeremy Page says: "The short short story is Hershman’s preferred form, and there are some very short shorts in this, her debut collection. For the most part her experiments are a resounding success". See the reviews page for more.
Sally Zigmond's Review
In her review, Sally Zigmond says: "As I now read more novels than short stories, I had expected to prefer the longer stories in this collection to the flash fiction (as some reviewers have) but to me the longer ones were either too long or too short--not quite right for this Goldilocks. The flash fiction, on the other hand, I loved for its brevity, its inventiveness and its poetic quality." See the reviews page for more.
A Review by Matt Bell:
On his blog, Matt Bell says: "The White Road is a very fine collection, containing enough wonder and humor and heartbreak to overflow its slim pages, forcing the reader to share in the great emotion contained within. Hershman's talent is obvious, and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow across whatever new stories and new books might follow this excellent start." See the reviews page for more.
March 2009
A Review from Down Under: Wet Ink magazine, Issue 14:
Dominique Wilson reviews The White Road and Other Stories, saying: "This collection exemplifies everything that is best about the short story. With succinctness rarely seen in the work of someone new to fiction, Hershman extracts the very essence of a moment to reveal the poignant fragility of human relationships". See the reviews page for more.
March 10th: Liars League: Art and Science
Tania's new science-inspired flash story The Painter and the Physicist,
was read by an actor at the Liars League event in London, and is now
available to listen to online.
Feb 2009
Feb 22nd: World Jewish Relief Short Story Anthology launch, London
Tania read from one of her stories at the London JewishBookWeek.com
launch of the WJR charity anthology, The Sea of Azov. An audio recording
of the session is now available on JewishBookWeek.com.
The White Road and Other Stories is reviewed by Anne Brooke in
Hags, Harlots and Heroines. Visit the reviews page for details.
Jan 2009
Jan 6th: Tania is visiting Debi Alper's blog on the eleventh and final "stop" on
her virtual book tour. For information on the tour, click here.
JMWW Journal's Winter Issue includes a review of The White Road and Other Stories:
"She weaves the warbly, neon threads of magical realism together with the steel rods of science, and the effect often is very satisfying." Visit the reviews page for more.
Dec 2008
**
Dec: The White Road and Other Stories is one of Amazon UK's Top 10
Bestselling
Short Story Collections! **
Short Story Collections! **
Dec 29rd: Tania is visiting Botswana on the tenth and penultimate "stop" on her virtual book tour:Lauri's Thoughts from Botswana blog. For information on the tour, click here.
The White Road and Other Stories is reviewed on Pulp.net: "A clever, warm and thoroughly recommended debut.". Visit the reviews page for more.
Dec 23rd: Tania talks to Marianne Villanueva on the ninth "stop" on the "Walking the White Road: flash, fiction and science" Virtual Book Tour: Kanlaon. For information on the tour, click here.
Tania is interviewed by Smokelong Quarterly about her flash story, Coat and Shoes, published in the latest issue, and about writing in general.
Tania plays Word Association on the eighth "leg" on the "Walking the White Road: flash, fiction and science" Virtual Book Tour: Kelly Spitzer's website
New Scientist has included The White Road and Other Stories in its Christmas Books Special: Best of 2008, and the reviewer says: "Inspired by scientific progress and science journalism and driven by an author dripping with talent, this is as good as modern reading gets." Read the full review.
Tania talks about the environment, libraries and her typical day on the seventh "stop" on the "Walking the White Road: flash, fiction and science" Virtual Book Tour: The Eco-Libris Blog - and there is a giveaway of a free copy of her book!
Exchange Rates, the short play Tania adapted from her story of the same name, which is included in her collection, has been shortlisted for the Total Beast Six Minute Play competition and will be performed in London, with the other shortlisted plays, in 2009.
Tania is On the Couch, talking about short stories and literary influences on the sixth "stop" on the "Walking the White Road: flash, fiction and science" Virtual Book Tour: Eric Forbes' Book Addict's Good Books Guide. For information on the rest of the tour, click here.
Nov 2008
26th Nov: Tania talks about fiction and genre on the fifth "stop" on the "Walking the White Road: flash, fiction and science" Virtual Book Tour: Tim Jones' Books in The Trees blog. For information on the rest of the tour, click here.
25th Nov: Momaya Press awards evening, London: Tania received 3rd prize in this year's Momaya Press short story competition
18th Nov: Tania talks about fiction and religion on the fourth "stop" on the "Walking the White Road: flash, fiction and science" Virtual Book Tour: Sue Guiney's blog. For information on the rest of the tour, click here.
13th Nov: Tania is named European regional winner, the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Short Story Competition 2008-9. Listen to her winning story here.
9th Nov: Tania visits the third "stop" on the "Walking the White Road: flash, fiction and science" Virtual Book Tour: Vanessa Gebbie's News blog, for a discussion on magical realism. For information on the rest of the tour, click here.
7th Nov: Tania is interviewed in the Jewish Chronicle.
5th Nov: The "Walking the White Road: flash, fiction and science" Virtual Book Tour reaches its second stop on the LiteraryMinded blog. For information on the rest of the tour, click here.
Oct 2008
28th Oct: The White Road, was reprinted by New Scientist magazine, the science weekly whose articles inspired half the stories in her collection. Read it here.
The "Walking the White Road: flash, fiction and science" Virtual Book Tour kicks off on the Keeper of the Snails blog with a discussion on science in fiction.
Oct 12th: Tania's book launch, Jerusalem, Israel,
Sept 2008
The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Festival 2008, Cork, Ireland, Sept 2008.
Visit the Stories page to watch Tania reading two of the stories from her collection at the festival.
| interviews |
For the interviews that formed Tania's Walking the White Road Virtual Book Tour click on the logo :
Tania has been interviewed by:
Smokelong Quarterly
The Jewish Chronicle
Haaretz newspaper
WriteWords
Nik Perring
WritingNeuroses
Normblog
| articles and guest blog posts |
Stopping to Smell the Miniature Roses
Tania's article on short stories in Bellatrista magazine.
Nothing Beats Time
Tania's guest blog post on writing and not-writing on the Strictly Writing blog.
Trios: Self Promotion
Tania's guest blog post about getting published by a small press on the How Publishing Really Works blog.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Short Stories
Tania's article was published on the Vulpes Libris book blog as part of short story week
Tania's Writing Routine
Tania admits the truth about her writing routine (as it was last year) in a guest blog post on Branta: The Might of Write.