The Art of the Shortest Story: A Flash Fiction Workshop with Jack Remiel Cottrell

Join us at Shadbolt House for The Art of the Shortest Story—a hands-on workshop with award-winning flash fiction writer Jack Remiel Cottrell.

Date and Time: Sunday, 13 July 2025, 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Venue: Shadbolt House & Studio, 35 Arapito Road, South Titirangi
Cost: $40 | $30 concession (student/senior)

How do you distil an entire world into a single page? In this workshop, acclaimed flash fiction writer Jack Remiel Cottrell (Ngāti Rangi) will guide participants through the power and precision of very short storytelling. With prompts, examples, and discussion, you’ll learn how to shape stories of 300 words—or fewer—that still carry weight and resonance. Whether you’re new to writing or looking to sharpen your craft, this is a chance to explore how constraint can spark creativity.

To register, or for more information, contact: Tracey Sharp at tracey@goingwestfest.co.nz

About your tutor

Jack Remiel Cottrell (Ngāti Rangi) is the author of two collections of flash fiction, Ten Acceptable Acts of Arson (Canterbury University Press, 2021) and The Emotion Dealer (CUP, upcoming). His flash has been featured in Newsroom's Reading Room, the NZ Listener, and takahē, as well as in anthologies like Te Awa o Kupu (Penguin, 2023). Jack placed third in the 2025 National Flash Fiction Day competition and was the Verb Wellington Writer in Residence in 2022. He lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.

In 2021 Jack appeared at a live streamed Going West event: Documented Reality: Queer Agendas