Lucy Goldring is a Northerner hiding in Bristol. She did a philosophy and sociology degree in the nineties and forgot to go home. Her fifteen year career in the third sector included a long stint promoting sustainability.
Lucy started writing ‘seriously’ in 2016 when she discovered she could type micros whilst her daughter napped on her. A year later the brilliant Mimi Thebo ran a writing course at her son’s school, which was packed with useful stuff and just the boost she needed. Mimi was kind enough to critique Lucy’s first attempts at writing.
Lucy has been shortlisted by Flash 500, Northern Gravy (with one selection), Retreat West (including coming second place) and three times by the National Flash Fiction Day (NFFD) for her micros. After many attempts, she finally made the Bath Flash Fiction Award‘s longlist in February 2022 and will appear in the associated anthology. She once had a comedy sketch recorded for BBC’s Newsjack but it didn’t make the final edit. Were it not for winning Lunate Fiction’s monthly flash comp in 2020 with ‘The Eight Year Hope of Us (as seen on TV)’, she would have an acute case of bridesmaid complex. This story will appear in Dr Tania Hershman’s charity anthology of winning flash, which will raise funds to support fuel poverty initiatives over the coming months.
Lucy has been published by 100 Word Story, Bear Creek Gazette, The Cabinet of Heed, Comma Press, The Daily Drunk, Detritus Online, The Drabble, Ellipsis Zine, Friday Flash Fiction, Funny Pearls, Idle Ink, Little Old Lady Comedy, Lunate Fiction, (mac)ro(mic), the National Flash Fiction Day (anthology and FlashFlood event), Northern Gravy, Paragraph Planet, Punk Noir, Selcouth Station, Storgy, Reflex Fiction, Tiny Molecules, Truffle Magazine and Virtual Zine.
The editors of the 2019 National Flash Fiction Day anthology selected Lucy’s story ‘Listening from the Outside’ and later nominated it for Best Small Fictions 2020. In the same year 100 Word Story nominated her micro ‘Sisters in a Hotel Twin Room, 1988’ (previously shortlisted by NFFD).
bestmicrofiction 2022 features Lucy’s story ‘Calling at: Pharmacy, Florist, and Off-Licence only’, which originally appeared in 100 Word Story. Her story ‘The One-Woman Show’ – published by The Cabinet of Heed – made the longlist for the Wigleaf Top 50 2022.
Lucy has been longlisted four times by Reflex Fiction in their rolling quarterly competition. As well as being published online the longlisted stories – ‘Collapsing Isosceles’ (September 2018), ‘Why I Still Don’t Care for Jazz’ (March 2021), ‘Upholstered Cumulus’ (February 2022) and The Day Before Lois Clears Her Desk (January 2022) – appear in Reflex’s award-winning anthologies.
Lucy writes a lot about climate angst whilst trying not to get overwhelmed by her own. Some of her climate-themed stories (possibly including the Loomer Collection) may one day get wrangled into a collection.
When not writing or reading Lucy consumes an unhealthy volume of comedy.
Tweets @livingallover
Lucy Goldring 