Foyles hire out their Gallery area for events, perhaps it will take place there?

Info and pics here

 More info on the 4 shortlisted stories including the short story Damien will be reading, here

OK...yeah...so...I may have a ticket for this too.....

The event is in the Gallery...and there doesn't appear to be any seat allocations - just a ticket number.

Here is a little more info on "Othello" the short story Damein will be reading at the EFG Short Story Awards on 3 April, plus a brief interview with the writer Marjorie Celona

Damien is not fitting the profile of her ideal reader! lol!

Sunday Times EFG | Marjory Celona | booktrust.org

What inspired you to write the story? Is it drawn from personal experience?

Is it okay to say that I don't remember?  The inspiration for anything I write is so quickly eclipsed by the writing of it. I do recall driving through the town of Othello, Washington, a couple of times, and I do recall that both times something was on fire.  I have nothing coherent to say about where my characters come from (the moon?)-and beyond that the story just kind of wrote itself. It took a long time. 

How does writing short stories differ from writing full-length fiction, and what do you enjoy about writing in the genre?

I could and did write short stories while attending university full time and working three part-time jobs.  I wrote short stories in coffee shops, in computer labs, on buses, on airplanes, on napkins, in notebooks, on other people's computers in other people's apartments.  It isn't easy work by any means, but you can do it here and there.  You can do it and still have a life.  I couldn't have a life while I wrote my novel.  I lived in a cottage in the woods and saw no one. That said, novels are a sloppier business.  They're never perfect, even the sort-of perfect ones.  But there are so many perfect short stories. I like the pressure of this-the pressure to get even the phonemes right. 

Do you write by hand first or straight onto screen; why does your chosen method work for you?

I write on my laptop (years ago, I broke my wrist and am unable to write longhand anymore, though I do prefer it). I like writing on little hotel notepads best; if I could, I think I'd write exclusively that way.

Which short story collection by another author would you recommend?

Unlikely Stories, Mostly by Alasdair Gray. 

The story will be read aloud by an actor at Foyles on Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 April. Who would be your preferred voice to read your short story aloud and why?

Someone who sounds like his name could be Vernon Lindy, a down-on-his-luck guy in his 30s or 40s, who lives in a part of Washington state known as the Palouse. Someone who loves music, especially Motown.

What would you do if you won the prize?

Live off the funds while I finish my next book; put the rest in a savings account for my soon-to-be-born first child. Feel really, really lucky.

Foyles WordTheatre reading

Damien Molony (Being Human, Ripper Street, Suspects) will be reading Marjorie Celona'sOthello at The Gallery, Foyles Charing Cross Road on Thursday 3 April. Buy tickets: £8/£5 (concessions).