The theme for September’s Telltales is “What on Earth…!!!”.

This theme encourages you to create something with an element of surprise or shock attached to it. So far Telltales has supported written and spoken word, music and art creations. We’d like our horizons to be broadened even further – perhaps a sound or group recording or a piece of roving reporting! Just remember to keep to about 10 minutes in length.

“What on Earth…!!!” might also get you thinking about surprises during these strange times. Or you may want to focus on planet earth, the soil beneath your feet, electrical connections to the ground, underground dens, earthworms, earthquakes or earthworks! There are so many earth idioms too – earth shattering, down to earth, salt of the earth, hell/heaven on earth, cost the earth, move heaven and earth and vanish off the face of the earth! What on Earth will you think of next?!!

Please submit your work by email to info@telltales.org.uk

The deadline for submissions is Friday 25 September.

Telltales will be on Tuesday 29 September.

Thank you!

Here’s the virtual edition of Telltales for 28 July 2020 on the theme of Summer Sun.

Thank you very much to all our readers and listeners who have made this latest edition of Telltales possible!

best wishes
Marcus and all of us at Telltales

Thank you again to everyone who was involved in our virtual Telltales in May, which is still available as a recording below.

For Telltales on 28 July we’re inviting submissions on the theme of Summer Sun.

Submissions are open until Friday 24 July for poetry, prose, short stories and excerpts from longer works. Please think in terms of around 1500 words maximum, which is around 10 minutes. We look forward to hearing from you.

Please submit via email, with your document attached, to:

info@telltales.org.uk

If your submission is accepted we will ask you to record your piece on your computer or phone and send it to us as a sound file, to include in the virtual Telltales event.

Instead of meeting at our usual venue in Falmouth, we will again be putting Telltales online.

This July edition of Telltales will be available on this website from 7pm on Tuesday 28 July 2020.

Here’s the virtual edition of Telltales for 26 May 2020 on the theme of Freedom?.

Our wonderful readers are:

* Ella Walsworth-Bell
* Carole Inman
* Des Hannigan
* John Lugo-Trebble
* Clare Reddaway
* Henry Purbrick
* Patricia Minson
* Frances Evans
* Penny and Lally Macbeth

and music by Janice Joplin and Joni Mitchell

Thank you very much to all our readers who have made this latest edition of Telltales possible!

best wishes
Marcus and all of us at Telltales

Thank you again to everyone who was involved in our virtual Telltales on 31 March. The recording of the March event is available below.

For Telltales on 26 May we’re looking forward to your submissions on the theme of Freedom?.

What does freedom mean to you? What’s in a word? How can each person’s ideas of freedom be so different?
How have ideas of freedom changed throughout history? Can you capture the idea of freedom in poems, a short story or a prose piece?

Submissions are open until Friday 22 May for poetry, prose, short stories and excerpts from longer works. Please think in terms of around 1500 words maximum, which is around 10 minutes. We look forward to hearing from you.

Please submit on this page or via email to info@telltales.org.uk

If your submission is accepted we will ask you to record your piece on your computer or phone and send it to us as a sound file, to include in the virtual Telltales event.

Instead of meeting at our usual venue in Falmouth, we will again be putting Telltales online.

This May edition of Telltales will be available on this website from 7pm on Tuesday 26 May 2020.