Winning the WH Smith Young Writer of the Year competition at the age of 16 was an auspicious start to Joanna Quinn’s writing career. Since then she has published numerous short stories and poems in a number of respected anthologies and magazines and completed an MPhil in creative writing.
For Joannajoa, the short story is like a small Pandora’s box; there should be an awful lot packed into a small space, with thoughtfully placed ‘handrails’ and signposts along the way to guide the reader. She says, “I think the focused nature of the short story can heighten small, ordinary moments. I am increasingly drawn to using the short story as a way of writing against conventional forms; the brevity of the genre allows and encourages greater experimentation. I am also fascinated by the idea of truth in fiction: what or who do we believe or why?”
These ideas are reflected in the short story collection she is compiling, which has the working title All of These Things Are True and Not True. The story that provided the name of the collection appeared in the 2009 Bridport Prize Anthology, while another story by Quinn was awarded second place in the prestigious competition in 2008.