3 Minute Scares is back for its eighth ectoplasmic year!

North Manchester FM’s Halloween creative writing competition is open for submissions for 2023.

North Manchester FM's Hannah Kate wants your scary stories for Halloween! Once again, she’s asking people throughout Greater Manchester to submit their 3-minute stories for her annual creative writing competition. Writers keen to be crowned Greater Manchester’s Spookiest Wordsmith can submit a recording of their mini-tale via Hannah’s website, with the best entries being broadcast on the Halloween edition of Hannah’s Bookshelf on Saturday 28th October.

We’re delighted to announce that the prize for this year’s best entry is a fabulous Halloween book bundle (with a few little surprises). Entries need to be 3 minutes long, meaning a word count of around 350-400 words. The judges will be looking for style and originality, as well as how scary the story is. The deadline for entries is Tuesday 24th October, at midnight.

Last year’s competition was won by Catrìona McLean. North Manchester FM presenter Hannah Kate says: ‘Catrìona was a worthy winner last, with a story that blew me and guest judge Daisy Black away with its creativity and expert use of the short form. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this year brings!’

All writers need to enter the competition is a computer with a microphone… and a good story. Entries can be recorded via Hannah’s website. More information and rules of the competition, including information for people unable to submit a recording, can also be found on the website.

Autumn Equinox Stories Wanted for Hannah's Bookshelf on North Manchester FM

Submit your seasonal flash fiction to be played on Hannah’s Bookshelf this September!

Can you tell a seasonal story in just 3 minutes? Want to have your work played on the radio? This month, I’m looking for seasonal (autumn, harvest) flash fiction from around the world for inclusion on Hannah’s Bookshelf, the weekly literature show on North Manchester FM.

On Saturday 23rd September, I'll be hosting the first Hannah's Bookshelf Autumn Equinox Special, and as part of my seasonal special, I’ll be playing a selection of my favourite 3-minute stories on the show (broadcast on FM and on digital). Want to be part of it? Submit a recording via my website of your seasonally inflected story (maximum 3 minutes) by midnight on Monday 11th September.

All genres welcome – be they cosy, romantic, scary or sad. The only rules are that stories must be your own original work, have some connection to the season, and be in English (the language of the broadcast). And please ease off the swears – stories have to be radio friendly! All you need is a microphone and a story – the details of how to submit are on my website.

If you aren't able to submit via a recording and would like another method of taking part, please message via my website for more information.

Please share this call with anyone who you think might be interested – I'd like to cast the net as wide as possible. My favourite seasonal stories will be broadcast on the Hannah’s Bookshelf Autumn Equinox Special at 2pm on Saturday 23rd September, on digital radio and 106.6FM.

Lammas: Day 4

It's the fourth day of our Lammas festivities. And I had a couple of nice things planned for today (and only a little bit bread-based!).

Breadmas Calendar Day 4

Behind Bread Wrapper No. 4 today... it's a Pretzel (from Morrison's)!

Bailey’s Wood Litter-Pick

We were out in the Lammas-y woods this morning for the Friends of Bailey's Wood litter-pick. And the rain (almost) held off too!

Hannah’s Bookshelf Lammas Special

I had a blast hosting the first ever Hannah's Bookshelf Lammas Special on North Manchester FM this afternoon, including some amazing seasonal short stories. I can't believe how fast the time went!

Lammas Candle

We lit our Lammas / Lughnasadh candle from Chalice Creations tonight. Lavender, patchouli and lemon to usher in the grain harvest.

Midsummer: Day 7

It's the big day! And gosh... what a week it's been. I feel like we've definitely made up for missing out on Beltane this year, and we've given the summer season a very grand welcome this time. Today was quite a busy one, building up to our Midsummer Dinner.

New Midsummer Earrings

These ones seemed particularly appropriate given the weather today!

Bailey’s Wood Midsummer Litter-Pick

We were back in the woods this morning for the Friends of Bailey's Wood Midsummer litter-pick. There were a few spots of rain, but otherwise a lovely summer's morning to be out in the woods!

Hannah’s Bookshelf Midsummer Special

This afternoon saw the first ever Hannah's Bookshelf Midsummer Special (a special seasonal edition of my weekly literature show on North Manchester FM). I had a lot of fun presenting this show, which featured a selection of seasonal short stories from some amazing writers.

Midsummer Tea Break!

My final Midsummer tea for this year! And today I'm drinking Deckchair Dreaming from Bird and Blend Tea.

Midsummer Dinner

Tonight Rob prepared the traditional Midsummer Dinner of Gratinated Cabbage and Roast Shallots.

Midsummer Gifts

We swapped our traditional Midsummer gifts tonight... more whiskies to add to the sets we'll be enjoying in December.

Jaws

We watched the traditional film (as of this year) of the season while we had our Midsummer Dinner... Jaws! An out-of-town policeman tries to investigate the death of a young girl in the face of stonewalling from potential witnesses, the indifference of the partying locals, and the intervention of the extravagantly dressed and charismatic leader of the island... WAIT A MINUTE!

And so the wheel of the year turns. We'll be celebrating again at Lammas.

Lammas Stories Wanted for Hannah's Bookshelf on North Manchester FM

Submit your seasonal flash fiction to be played on Hannah’s Bookshelf this July!

Can you tell a seasonal story in just 3 minutes? Want to have your work played on the radio? This month, I’m looking for seasonal (Lammas, summer harvest) flash fiction from around the world for inclusion on Hannah’s Bookshelf, the weekly literature show on North Manchester FM.

On Saturday 29th July, I'll be hosting the first Hannah's Bookshelf Lammas Special, and as part of my seasonal special, I’ll be playing a selection of my favourite 3-minute stories on the show (broadcast on FM and on digital). Want to be part of it? Submit a recording via my website of your seasonally inflected story (maximum 3 minutes) by midnight on Monday 17th July.

All genres welcome – be they cosy, romantic, scary or sad. The only rules are that stories must be your own original work, have some connection to the season, and be in English (the language of the broadcast). And please ease off the swears – stories have to be radio friendly! All you need is a microphone and a story – the details of how to submit are on my website.

If you aren't able to submit via a recording and would like another method of taking part, please message via my website for more information.

Please share this call with anyone who you think might be interested – I'd like to cast the net as wide as possible. My favourite seasonal stories will be broadcast on the Hannah’s Bookshelf Lammas Special at 2pm on Saturday 29th July, on digital radio and 106.6FM.

Midsummer Stories Wanted for Hannah's Bookshelf on North Manchester FM

Submit your seasonal flash fiction to be played on Hannah’s Bookshelf this June!

Can you tell a seasonal story in just 3 minutes? Want to have your work played on the radio? This month, I’m looking for seasonal (Midsummer, Summer Solstice) flash fiction from around the world for inclusion on Hannah’s Bookshelf, the weekly literature show on North Manchester FM.

On Saturday 24th June, I'll be hosting the first Hannah's Bookshelf Midsummer Special, and as part of my seasonal special, I’ll be playing a selection of my favourite 3-minute stories on the show (broadcast on FM and on digital). Want to be part of it? Submit a recording via my website of your seasonally inflected story (maximum 3 minutes) by midnight on Monday 12th June.

All genres welcome – be they cosy, romantic, scary or sad. The only rules are that stories must be your own original work, have some connection to the season, and be in English (the language of the broadcast). And please ease off the swears – stories have to be radio friendly! All you need is a microphone and a story – the details of how to submit are on my website.

If you aren't able to submit via a recording and would like another method of taking part, please message via my website for more information.

Please share this call with anyone who you think might be interested – I'd like to cast the net as wide as possible. My favourite seasonal stories will be broadcast on the Hannah’s Bookshelf Midsummer Special at 2pm on Saturday 24th June, on digital radio and 106.6FM.

Performers Wanted for Live Poetry Special 2023

Want to perform your poetry on the radio?

The annual Hannah's Bookshelf Live Poetry Special is back!

On Saturday 25th March,Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM will be broadcasting its annual Live Poetry Special. And once again, I’d like to invite poets and spoken word performers to get involved and perform their work on the show.

I’ll be inviting poets into the North Manchester FM studio to perform their work live on the show from the studio in Harpurhey! I’ll also be offering a (very) limited number of slots for poets outside Manchester to pre-record their performance for inclusion in the broadcast.

Whether you’re a veteran performer or new to reading your work, I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line via the my website, tweet me or message me on Facebook if you’d like to perform or would like more information about how to take part. Slots are limited, and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Please let me know if you want a live or pre-recorded slot when you contact me.

The Hannah’s Bookshelf Live Poetry Special will be going out on North Manchester FM on Saturday 25th March at 2-4pm. It will be broadcast on 106.6FM (in the North Manchester area) and online (for the rest of the world). Performance slots are 6 minutes long.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 24

And finally! I've reached the last day of our Countdown to Christmas! (Admittedly, it's taken me a while to post this, but I've got there in the end!) I'm going to end this post just at the point we headed off for Christmas Dinner with the family, as these blogs were more about how we celebrated the midwinter season, rather than Christmas Dinner and presents. So here's the last bit of build-up...

Advent Tea

The final day of my Bird and Blend Tea calendar was Mojitea!

Advent Calendar

Each year, I make Rob an advent calendar filled with little envelopes to read each day. Usually, these envelopes contain a story, but this year they were clues for him to solve. After he'd decoded the message, it led him to a cupboard upstairs - the final door of the advent calendar, behind which there was a special nativity scene waiting for him!

‘The Reinvention of Christmas’

The final Christmas chapter of Ronald Hutton's Stations of the Sun was 'The Reinvention of Christmas'.

Hannah’s Bookshelf Christmas Special

My Hannah's Bookshelf Christmas Special aired today on North Manchester FM. As is tradition, I talked about a selection of newly published festive books on the show.

Castlerea Christmas Eve Session

Also tradition, I went in to Castlerea Care Home for a Christmas Eve celebration today. I read 'A Visit from St Nicholas' to the residents, and we had a bit of Gingerbread Latte flavoured Irish Cream and some mince pies. One of the residents also produced a big box of Quality Street for us to share!

Yule Candle

And finally... we lit our Yule candle from Chalice Creations today. It was scented with frankincense, orange, cinnamon and cedarwood!

And so, the countdown was over, and so that's where I'm ending this blog. The wheel of the year will turn again after New Year, when we'll be getting ready to celebrate Imbolc.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 17

And another belated Christmas blog from me. Still a lot of stuff to post about, so I'll keep going till I get to Day 24!

Advent Tea

Day 17 of my Bird and Blend Tea calendar was Strawberry and Pomegranate!

‘The Trials of Christmas’

The next Christmas chapter I read from Ronald Hutton's Stations of the Sun was 'The Trials of Christmas'.

3 Minute Santas

Although we were on holiday this week, the show had to go on. My Hannah's Bookshelf Pre-Christmas Special (which is a selection of festive flash fiction called 3 Minute Santas) went out today on North Manchester FM.

Bakewell Mincemeat Flapjack

While we were in St Ives, we bought some lovely festive flapjacks from Flapjackery. Today we had the Bakewell Mincemeat one.

Magpie Murders

I read Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz while we were away. I loved this book so much, I was genuinely gutted when I finished it.

Surviving Christmas

Tonight we had a double-bill of festive films, starting with Surviving Christmas!

Four Christmases

And our double-bill of 'no one should go to Fiji at Christmas' films concluded with Four Christmases!

Countdown to Christmas: Day 11

It's the last day before we go away for our annual December holiday, so today (or this evening at least) was a mad panic to get everything finished before we head off to Cornwall for ten days with no wi-fi or mobile signal!

Advent Tea

Today's advent tea from my Bird and Blend Tea calendar was Mulled Cider!

Virtual Writing Retreat

Today was also my final Virtual Writing Retreat of the year (a thing I do with some other writers who have been on my Hannah's Bookshelf radio show on North Manchester FM). As it's December, this month's retreat had a festive flavour.

3 Minute Santas is back for its sixth sparkling year!

It's time to submit your festive flash fiction to be played on Hannah’s Bookshelf this December!

Can you tell a festive story in just 3 minutes? Want to have your work played on the radio? This Christmas, I’m once again looking for festive (not necessarily Christmas) flash fiction from around the world for inclusion on Hannah’s Bookshelf, the weekly literature show on North Manchester FM.

On Saturday 17th December, I’ll be playing a selection of my favourite 3 Minute Santas on the show (broadcast on FM and on digital). Want to be part of it? Submit a recording via my website of your holiday-themed story (maximum 3 minutes) by midnight on Sunday 4th December.

All genres welcome – be they cosy, romantic, scary or sad. But ease off the swears – stories have to be radio friendly! All you need is a microphone and a story – the details of how to submit are on my website.

Please share this call with anyone who you think might be interested – I like to cast the net as wide as possible. My favourite 3 Minute Santas will be broadcast on Hannah’s Bookshelf at 2pm on Saturday 17th December, on digital radio and 106.6FM.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 29

On to Saturday now, and another busy day with several costume changes!

Today's Tea

Saturday's tea was the final vial from my Rosie Lea Tea gift set... Wolfsbane! It's green sencha with sea buckthorn and cornflower petals. Wow, I've had more sea buckthorn than I was expecting this Halloween!

Today's Story

Saturday's classic tale of horror was 'The Damned' by Algernon Blackwood.

‘The Modern Hallowe’en’

I read another chapter from Ronald Hutton's The Stations of the Sun on Saturday... 'The Modern Halloween'.

Litter-Pick in the Woods

It was the monthly Friends of Bailey's Wood litter-pick on Saturday morning, and in honour of the spooky season, fancy dress was encouraged. Am I fleeing the Castle of Otranto? or am I on a community litter-pick? It's hard to tell!

Hannah’s Bookshelf Halloween Special

Saturday was also the day of my Hannah's Bookshelf Halloween Special on North Manchester FM, featuring the shortlisted (and winning) entries for this year's 3 Minute Scares competition. And, as is tradition, I presented the show in fancy dress!

Dinner with my Mother-in-Law

And it was Halloween Dinner (potato pie), dessert (pumpkin pie), and a film (The Lost Boys pie) at my mother-in-law's on Saturday night.