Books:
Profits From Book Sales are Donated to Charity
Quick links on this page:
buy the anthology - about the anthology - book launch party - videos
anthology cover - list of 1,000 contributing author names
I'm pleased to present the 81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology, a book containing 1,000 stories written by 1,000 authors. This book is the result of almost seven years of hard work and the generosity of writers living all over the world - a truly global collaboration.
The anthology contains 1,000 stories that are exactly 81 words in length. The book was officially published on 20th November 2021.
The 81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology sets a new 'unofficial' world record for the most contributing authors published in a book. You can learn more about why the record is unofficial by reading the anthology's introduction.
81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology - cover artwork by Jacek Wilkos
The book was published by Victorina Press, an independent UK publisher who follow the principles of bibliodiversity (the cultural diversity applied to the writing and publishing world, developed by a group of Chilean independent publishers). Because there are authors from many different countries featured in the book, this felt like the perfect project for them to be involved with.
I'd like to thank VP's Managing Director, Consuelo Rivera-Fuentes, and the rest of the Victorina Press team (Sophie, Jorge, Pagen and Amanda) for supporting this project and publishing the anthology. Their involvement adds credibility to the world record attempt and will help the book (and every author featured in it) gain more exposure.
The 81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology is available in print and eBook formats.
Proceeds from book sales will be donated to the Arkbound Foundation, a charity that aims to widen access to literature and improve diversity within publishing by running projects that empower people from disadvantaged backgrounds and deprived communities to get their voices heard.
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Kindle eBook copies of the book can be purchased here (UK) and here (rest of world):
The book can be bought from all of Amazon's websites. You can find it by searching for the book by name or the Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN):
B09JZXVYL8
You don't have to own a Kindle to read this version of the anthology - you can download a free Kindle app that works on most modern devices.
You can buy paperback copies of the book from Victorina Press here:
You can also buy paperbacks from Amazon here:
The book is also avialble from many good book shops, like Foyles and Waterstones in the UK.
The book's ISBN is:
9798741365144
The 81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology contains 1,000 stories submitted to the 81 Words writing challenge.
The challenge was conceived by Adam Rubinstien, a self-professed educational basket-case from the ’70s who says he finds his sense of meaning and well-being through creativity.
The original logo from Adam's 81words.net website
The 81 Words writing challenge was originally launched in 2015 on 81words.net. It became part of my website in April 2017 and I soon developed the challenge into a world record attempt for the most contributing authors published in an anthology. The 81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology was published in November 2021.
The 81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology is the sixteenth writing challenge book to be launched in support of charity on this website. You can find out how much money we've raised in total on the main writing challenges page.
I would like to say a big thank you to Angela Googh and Dr Lynda Nash for their help proofreading the book. I'd also like to thank Ange for her hard work coding the eBook version of this anthology for publication.
You can find a lot more information about the 81 Words writing challenge, including why it's an 'unofficial' world record attempt, by reading the introduction in the book or visiting the 81 Words challenge page.
In April 2022, the 81 Words Anthology was shortlisted in the 'Best Anthology' category of the Saboteur Awards, run by Sabotage Reviews. And on 14th May 2022, the book was announced as the winner. So it is now a world-record-breaking AND award-winning anthology.
Victorina Press also won the 'Most Innovative Publisher' category, which is fantastic news.
I couldn't attend the award ceremony because I was at DT Langdale's wedding (author of story number 396), but Victorina Press were there to collect the awards.
Sophie, Consuelo and Jorge from Victorina Press at the Saboteur Awards, with copious amounts of gin
VP kindly sent me the award to look after on behalf of all the authors involved in ther 81 Words Anthology shortly afterwards.
Editor Chris Fielden looking suitably excited with the rather fantabulous Saboteur Award
In June 2022, the book was recognised by the World Record Academy for the most contributing authors published in a flash fiction anthology.
A couple of weeks later, the WRA asked me and Victorina Press for money to maintain the world record listing. This is a charity project that runs at a loss, so we didn't have any marketing budget to cover these type of expenses. Therefore, the WRA removed our listing from their website.
Many writers in the book have been sharing its details, which have helped sales. Here is an example; a marvellous picture of the University of Nottingham’s Sutton Bonington Campus Creative Writing Group. All the group members have contributed a story to the book.
Some writers have mentioned the book in interviews. An example is John Lane, author of story number 658. He was interviewed by P. English Literature, run by Peter Okwonkowith.
You can see the interview below. John talks about the book at approx. 9 mins 20 seconds.
For every book sold, £1 will be donated to the Arkbound Foundation.
You can learn more about the Arkbound Foundation on their website.
The book launch celebration was held on Zoom on Saturday 15th January 2022. We decided to hold the party online because the book features stories written by authors residing all over the world. We wanted to give them all the opportunity to attend and read their work.
The event was held in conjunction with Talking Tales, a long established story telling event run by Stokes Croft Writers.
There were some fabulous readings at the event. It was wonderful to hear such varied and amazing performances. I'd like to thank all the readers for sharing their time and their talent.
The readers were:
For more information, please see the Facebook event.
Here are some videos of contributing authors reading their stories.
Story 001: One Previous Owner, by Christopher Fielden
Story 109: Out of Isolation, by Hervé Suys
Story 341: There's Something About Anne, by C.R. Berry
Story 456: Catfish 4 Tea, by Peter Gregory David Gough
Story 506: The Bridge, by Rosie Cullen
Story 532: Memorial, by Lynne Arnot
Story 543: Gone, by Anna Sanderson
Story 549: The Open Secret, by Alan Dale
Story 594: The Duck's King, by Natasha Nagle
Story 624: Grandma's Friend, by Lynn Zeleski
Story 701: My Muse My Motivation, by Violet James
Story 898: Plus Ca Change, by Sean Tobias May
Story 937: Room at the End of the Hall, by Michele Kelly
The videos have been published on the Victorina Press YouTube channel. They were also used for promotional activities on Facebook and Twitter when the book was released.
The cover for the 81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology was created by Jacek Wilkos.
Jacek Wilkos
Jacek Wilkos is an engineer from Poland. He lives with his wife and daughter in the beautiful city of Cracow. He is addicted to buying books. He loves black coffee, dark ambient music and riding his bike.
You can learn more about Jacek's artwork on his Facebook page.
Jacek is also one of the anthology's contributing authors - his story is number 856.
81 Words Flash Fiction Anthology - 1,000 Stories by 1,000 Authors, Full Book Cover by Jacek Wilkos
Here is a (rather epic) list of the 1,000 contributing authors featured in the anthology. There are actually more than 1,000 writers in the book because some of the stories were written by two-person author teams. As mentioned further up this page, all the details are in the introduction of the book.
Here is the list, presented alphabetically based on first name / initial:
Vivian O
This is great news. Really looking forward to reading the book later this year.
Chris Fielden
Thanks Vivian :)
Jayanta B
Dearest Chris. Hi, I hope this mail finds you absolutely fine!
I cannot thank you enough - I feel so extremely humbled and happy to have received this mail of yours. I am so excited to have come to know of the long-awaited anthology to appear published around November this year. Now, are you going to send all the contributor's a copy? I am asking this because I am ready to purchase my copy, too, if needed. I would be highly appreciative and obliged if you could let me know... Your kind reply is awaited.
Thank you so very much, Chris, this is fantastic news from you. Please guide me towards what I am required to do for getting my short bio, if at all needed, attached to the piece in the collection.
Thank you for everything, Chris. Take all care, all my love and my wishes and prayers for you.
My best regards, Jayanta (my serial no. 415)
Chris Fielden
Hi Jayanta. Thank you for your kind message. It's great to hear the book means so much to you.
I'm afraid we won't be able to give free copies of the book to contributing authors. All the writing challenge projects on my website are run in support of charity and do not make any money. If we gave everyone a free copy, the project would run at a large loss and I just can't afford to cover it I'm afraid. A huge amount of work has gone into the preparation of this book and everyone involved has given their time for free. That is the only way this book could exist. Sorry if that news is disappointing, but I hope you understand my reasons.
Author biographies will appear in the book alongside each writer's story. We have used the biography supplied when each story was submitted, so no problem there.
If you have any other questions, please do let me know. All the best, and thank you for your continued support - it means a great deal to me :-)
Jayanta B
Hi Chris, thanks a ton for your kind, fast reply.
No, I am not at all disappointed, even a bit. I can completely understand the hugeness, the humongous task undertaken for this anthology. Yes, it is certainly not possible to send a free copy to each of 1,000 contributors and I am absolutely fine with buying my copy. I even want to do so for that would be my humble, sincere attempt to remain associated with this massive project. For us all, it shows a unique solidarity made for a greater writing legacy, or rather a writers' family as a whole. The spirit is so vibrant. I feel it, Chris. I will very personally request you to send me the link or payment mode so I can use it to buy my copy once the anthology is online in November.
Thanks with no end, with all my love and best regards for you. Stay safe, Chris. Wishes and prayers,
Jayanta.
Chris Fielden
Thank you for your kind reply, Jayanta – it’s very much appreciated.
I will be sending links to all the contributing authors when the book is published so they can buy copies if they wish to, so no problem there.
Stay safe, my friend. All the best. Cheers, Chris
Kathryn S
Hi Chris. Thank you so much. Really looking forward to buying the book so I can read all the stories and support a great cause. I'm sure my little story will be in good company.
Chris Fielden
No problem, thank you Kathryn - very much appreciated. Your story is in fantastic :-)
Rex C
Wow! This is a splendid effort, Chris. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to write for your book. It means a lot to see our hard work in print. I'm looking forward to buying a copy as soon as its out. Thank you once again.
Chris Fielden
No problem at all, thanks Rex :)
All the best to you.
Sandra P
Fantastic news Chris! Many thanks for your perseverance with this project - already ordered it. Cheers mate!
Chris Fielden
No problem, Sandra.
And thank you for ordering the book - very much appreciated :-)
Chris B
Thanks Chris, look forward to making my purchase and spreading the word and perhaps be chosen as on of the readers on Zoom night.
Chris Fielden
Thanks Chris, much appreciated. If you want to attend and read at the book launch, please confirm by email. There are a lot of people attending and reading so I need a confirmation to stay on top of it all please. Many thanks :-)
Sandra P
Oh fantastic, the book has arrived this morning. It's really cool - great layout, weighs a ton and the cover is beautiful! Brilliant seeing my story amongst the other 999. Well done to all of us!
Chris Fielden
Brilliant, thank you Sandra - really glad to hear you're pleased with the book :-)
Vivian O
Hi Chris.
I wanted to order 3 copies of this and thought I'd buy it from Victoria Press rather than Mr Bezos. But unfortunately, when it came to checking out, Victoria Press were going to charge over £15 (medium parcel) for postage. I'm afraid Amazon won on this occasion with free delivery.
Many thanks for all you do to promote writers and writing. I'm really looking forward to reading all the stories.
Very best wishes for 2022.
Chris Fielden
Hi Vivian. That's great, thank you for buying copies of the book Vivian - it's very much appreciated.
The books are large and heavy, hence the postage cost. I've sent a few to friends and it does cost a lot. Unfortunately, small presses (and indie bookshops) just can't compete with Amazon, especially when it comes to delivery prices. It's one of the reasons they are disliked by many involved in the writing community - they contribute to putting small presses and book shops out of business. That said, Amazon also do an awful lot for authors via their KDP platform, so I tend to be supportive of them for that reason. Without them, I wouldn't have been able to sell anything like as many books or raise as much money for charity.
Anyway. Thank you for your comment and raising this issue. It's good to make everyone aware of both sides of the story.
All the very best to you, and happy New Year :)
Vivian O
Hi Chris. My three copies of the book arrived yesterday - I could hardly lift them :-) What a fantastic and diverse collection! Once again, many thanks for doing this and thank you for including my story number 151 FATAL CAUTION.
Chris Fielden
Brilliant news, thank you Vivian. The book is fairly humongous... reading it is a healthy workout LOL.
And thank you for your kind words too :-)
Grannd K
Hey, I've tried looking for the WRA entry as the link provided in the email led to a 404 page, but I'm seeing zilch on the site. Forgive me my scepticism but is there any actual proof on the site itself?
Chris Fielden
Hi Grannd, thanks for your message.
Unfortunately, the World Record Academy archived the listing about an hour after I sent the email out to all the contributing authors. WRA asked me and Victorina Press for money to maintain the listing. We have explained this is a charity project many times during our correspondence with them and that we have no marketing budget, but they have not put the page back on their website. It’s a real shame - I just hope they have a change of heart. If they don't, I'll consider removing the mention of the record from this page.
If you have any other questions, please let me know.
Chris Fielden
Further to my previous comment, I have now updated the wording regarding the WRA on the page above.
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