This new series of short stories maps out what happens to our country in the future. Writers have contributed their interlinking visions of England’s future through their short stories.
Having finished our first timeline, we’ve decided to publish the winning entries in an anthology. Soon, we’ll be looking for entries to the next timeline, which will go on to make Volume 2.
The stories listed below can now be found in England’s Future History: Volume 1 (Kindle and paperback).
- Oh dear by Dave Beach
- The Genesis by Miriam A. Averna
- I want to be pure for him by Stephen Oram
- How beautiful by Maria C. McCarthy
- Mercy by Richard Blass by Florence Bean
- Thin man by Sarah Scott
- Jellymen by Norman Miller
- Rat farm by Tom Leins
- Sky castle by Lizzie Clark
- Wake up to yourself by Aviva Treger
- Three and a half things by Nina Lindmark Lie
- Afterlife by Lisa Farrell
- Second Thoughts by Emma Levin
Or you can see how these tales shaped the future in our final Timeline.
Submit your story
We’re on a bit of a break but will be back later in 2017.
We will be looking for stories between 500 and 3,000 words set in the future and based in England. Simple, right?
The twist is that once a story has been accepted and published, the events in that story become canon- they are officially part of England’s Future History’s timeline. Other stories that follow have to take these historic events into account.
Some tips:
- Don’t write us into a corner: The selection of stories will be curated so any that write us into a corner (apocalypse scenarios etc) will be rejected no matter how good they are
- Think small: Not every story has to have a major event. We’re looking for more personal views of the future. Characters are just as important as the events. But the story should reflect the changing times
- Follow the timeline: As new stories are published the events of these tales will be added to our timeline. Before you submit, read the timeline to make sure you’re not contradicting someone else.
- Get connected: One of the aims of this project is to create a connected vision of England’s future. So, you’ll get extra brownie points if you make reference to events in other stories. Think of it as the EFHLU – the English Future History’s Literary University.
Send your ideas to englandsfuturehistory@gmail.com and we’ll check them out. Visit our Submissions page for more details.
A bit about me
You might be asking, whose running this excellent site? Well, it’s me, Jonathan Brown…with a little help from some friends.
Having spent many years writing short films, short stories, theatre, radio plays and more I got a bit sick of entering everyone’s competitions and submitting to other people’s magazines and website, so thought I’d set up my own.
Currently, I work for the Press Association, so my editing skills will be being put to good use.
England's Future History 
Er…will there be payment?
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At the moment we don’t have any budget to pay as we’re not getting any income from anywhere. But in the future, if we find a source of income (e.g publishing stories on Kindle) I’d obviously split any income between the writers
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so how old do you have to be and the split would it be 50/50 or would you get more
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Thanks for commenting. As I’m not running this site as a business or for profit I’d make sure the writers got the majority of any earnings. As we’re not at that stage yet, I haven’t worked out the specifics yet though so couldn’t give a definite answer – but rest assure I’ll try to be as fair as possible. As for age, there’s no age limit. Obviously for younger children we’d discuss any payment with their parents/guardians. Hope this answers your questions.
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This is an awesome concept, I’ll definitely try to submit something soon!
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Glad you like it. Look forward to reading your entry.
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Hi, do your ideas have to be backed up with evidence or can they be imaginative?
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Either really.
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Hi, sorry to bother you is it okay to swear?, don’t usually ask that one.
Many thanks
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Yes that’s fine
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Interesting! This could be used as flash fiction? If you posted a story on here could the author then rewrite it for a longer piece somewhere else?
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Yes, we accept flash fiction (above 500 words). We are happy for writers who have been published on this site to submit their story to other websites, whether in the original form or rewritten.
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How can i submit my story ? What’s the last date ?
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Thanks for getting in touch. The email address for submissions is on the page above – englandsfuturehistory@gmail.com. Deadlines are at the end of every quarter (end of March, June, Sept, Dec).
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Amazing. I’ve only got the chance to check the links that were recommended to me and wow, I’m interested to join. Will dig on this further.
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Hi Jonathan
Great concept!
You might’ve seen that I’ve submitted a story to you, but it was past the June deadline. Does that mean I won’t hear anything about the story till after the September deadline?
Thanks.
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Yes. New stories are published every quarter and authors will be informed within a week of the deadline. Glad you enjoy the site.
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In the email, what do we put in the subject and where do we put our names?
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No format as such. Just make it clear in the body of the email. Thanks
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Can you write a story as either an alternate view to someone else’s story or write a story based on their ideas in the same time or is that an infraction to the rules?
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As long as you don’t contradict them that’s fine. You could offer an alternative point of view on an incident if you want
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Does the author keep copyright of work submitted?
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Yes.
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