25 September 2023

FRIENDAHOLIC: CONFESSIONS OF A FRIENDSHIP ADDICT
By Elizabeth Day

Congratulations to Pindrop Co-founder on the publication of Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict.

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BEST SELLING AUTHOR OF HOW TO FAIL 

‘Bravely revealing.’ Bernardine Evaristo

‘Funny, moving, helpful and true, Friendaholic deserves a massive audience.’ Sathnam Sanghera

‘This book is brilliant.’ Jo Elvin

‘Essential reading… admirably candid and well-crafted’ The Guardian

As a society, there is a tendency to elevate romantic love. But what about friendships? Aren’t they just as – if not more – important? So why is it hard to find the right words to express what these uniquely complex bonds mean to us? In Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict, Elizabeth Day embarks on a journey to answer these questions.

Growing up, Elizabeth wanted to make everyone like her. Lacking friends at school, she grew up to believe that quantity equalled quality. Having lots of friends meant you were loved, popular and safe. She was determined to become a Good Friend. And, in many ways, she did. But in adulthood she slowly realised that it was often to the detriment of her own boundaries and mental health.

Then, when a global pandemic hit in 2020, she was one of many who were forced to reassess what friendship really meant to them – with the crisis came a dawning realisation: her truest friends were not always the ones she had been spending most time with. Why was this? Could she rebalance it? Was there such thing as…too many friends? And was she really the friend she thought she was?

Friendaholic unpacks the significance and evolution of friendship. From exploring her own personal friendships and the distinct importance of each of them in her life, to the unique and powerful insights of others across the globe, Elizabeth asks why there isn’t yet a language that can express its crucial influence on our world.

From ghosting and frenemies to social media and seismic life events, Elizabeth leaves no stone unturned. Friendaholic is the book you buy for the people you love but it’s also the book you read to become a better friend to yourself.

13 November 2020

The Queen’s Gambit Starring Jacob Fortune-Lloyd

Congratulations to Jacob Fortune-Lloyd on his starring ⭐️ role in The Queens Gambit playing D. L. Townes alongside the wonderful @anyataylorjoy in this brilliant new series from @netflix queen 👸♟ . Jacob is part of the Pindrop family and has performed for us many times, pictured here reading from @ashortaffairbook, performing at Makers House by @burberry and @thenedlondon for @artnightldn. We love you @4tunelloyd and we love the show! ❤️

You can listen to Jacob reading #Civilisation by #WillSelf from A Short Affair in our Pindrop Podcast.

10 October 2020

WATERSTONES IGTV TAKEOVER

Thank you Waterstones for inviting our co-founder Simon Oldfield to host a brilliant IGTV event with Russell Tovey who read his debut short story “The Kiss” from A Short Affair.  We talked about writing, art, queer culture and much more! Jump over to Waterstones to watch the full IGTV.

You can watch the full IGTV video here.

Thank you Waterstones and thanks to all the contributors to A Short Affair, you’re all amazing! A Short Affair is available at Waterstones and everywhere else!

@russelltovey |@SimonOldfield | @waterstones | @ashortaffair

 

04 September 2020

We are thrilled to announce the publication of the paperback of A Short Affair with new stories, new illustrations and a stunning new cover.

This vibrant collection brings together twenty original short stories by giants of the form alongside exciting new voices.  The paperback edition also includes two original stories by actor, podcaster and writer Russell Tovey, and Booker nominee Sophie Ward.

As curator and editor of A Short Affair, Simon Oldfield combines the best in short fiction and contemporary art with remarkable illustrations by Tracey Emin and other artists from the Royal Academy of Arts.

Writers: Russell Tovey, Elizabeth Day, Bethan Roberts, Nikesh Shukla, Claire Fuller, Ben Okri, Anne O’Brien, A. L. Kennedy, Anna Stewart, Craig Burnett, Douglas W. Milliken, Will Self, Jarred McGinnis, Barney Walsh, Rebecca F. John, Joanna Campbell, Emily Bullock, Cherise Saywell, Lionel Shriver and Sophie Ward.

Artists: Tracey Emin, Eddie Peake, Kay Harwood, Gabriella Boyd, Jonathan Trayte, Luey Graves, Marco Palmieri, John Robertson, Coco Crampton, Fani Parali, Murray O’Grady, Pio Abad, Declan Jenkins, Mary Ramsden, Carla Busuttil, Jessy Jetpacks, Nick Goss, Tim Ellis, Adam Shield and Humphrey Ocean.

Order your copy now here or from wherever you buy your books:

Waterstones | Foyles | Amazon

05 September 2019

The Guardian | Tate Liverpool

Pin Drop Studio went to Tate Liverpool during the Keith Haring exhibition with Russell Tovey as part of UK book tour for A Short Affair.  We love Liverpool, love the Tate, love the exhibition and love The Guardian for this little piece.  Read more here.

04 April 2019

How To Fail by Elizabeth Day

Congratulations to our co-founder, Elizabeth Day, on the publication of her latest book, Magpie. Join the throng and get your copy here.

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03 April 2019

A Short Affair, Pindrop’s debut anthology of original short fiction is now out in hardback.

This vibrant collection brings together twenty original short stories by giants of the form alongside exciting new voices.

Simon Oldfield, curator and editor, combines the best in contemporary short fiction with remarkable illustrations by artists from the Royal Academy of Arts.

Writers: Elizabeth Day, Bethan Roberts, Nikesh Shukla, Claire Fuller, Ben Okri, Anne O’Brien, A. L. Kennedy, Anna Stewart, Craig Burnett, Douglas W. Milliken, Will Self, Jarred McGinnis, Barney Walsh, Rebecca F. John, Joanna Campbell, Emily Bullock, Cherise Saywell and Lionel Shriver .

Artists: Eddie Peake, Kay Harwood, Gabriella Boyd, Jonathan Trayte, Luey Graves, Marco Palmieri, John Robertson, Coco Crampton, Fani Parali, Murray O’Grady, Pio Abad, Declan Jenkins, Mary Ramsden, Carla Busuttil, Jessy Jetpacks, Nick Goss, Tim Ellis, Adam Shield.

Order your copy here or from wherever you buy your books:

Waterstones | Foyles | Amazon

 

06 November 2018

A Short Affair on The High Low Summer reading special

We’re delighted that A Short Affair has been selected by Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes as a top summer read and featured in the latest episode of their brilliant podcast, The High Low.

Listen to the full episode here to hear Pandora Sykes on A Short Affair and her personal highlight, the ‘very Roald Dahl-ian and witty’ On Heat by Elizabeth Day.

You can listen to the full episode here (A Short Affair at 59mins). | Read more about A Short Affair here.

01 November 2018

On the road with Pin Drop…
A Short Affair regional tour announced

Thanks to support from Arts Council England, we are taking A Short Affair on a National Tour. During Spring 2019 we will be hosting live events across England in partnership with a number of leading arts venues including Turner Contemporary, Pallant House and The New Art Gallery Walsall (pictured here).

Booking is now open for the first of these events featuring acclaimed author Nikesh Shukla, who will be appearing at The New Art Gallery Walsall to read Didi’s, his outstanding contribution to A Short Affair. Read more about the event and book your free place here.

Since publication, A Short Affair has had an incredible reception being selected as a top summer read by hit podcast The High Low, Red magazine and featured on the Monocle Weekly podcast

The tour will launch in Spring 2019, with full details to be announced soon.

Support from Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants | A Short Affair available here.

30 October 2018

A Short Affair in The Art Newspaper

Louisa Buck writing in The Art Newspaper about Eddie Peake, Pin Drop and A Short Affair.

Read more here.

27 September 2018

Monocle Magazine | Simon Oldfield in the Summer Weekly

Get shorty! In the latest issue of The Summer Weekly from Monocle Magazine, Simon Oldfield – Pin Drop Studio Founder and Editor of A Short Affair – has written a piece about the rise of short stories and why they’re perfect for the modern reader. Pictured here in Los Angeles at Lautner’s iconic Garcia House on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles.

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20 September 2018

YES & NO | Pin Drop presents Undine by Melanie Whipman with artwork by Princess Julia

In this new collaboration with YES & NO magazine, Pin Drop is excited to present readers with an exclusive series of original short fiction from our portfolio, paired with specifically commissioned artworks. The series kicks off with Undine by Melanie Whipman, a powerful tale that was shortlisted for the Pin Drop Short Story Award 2017 and is accompanied here by a new watercolour by cultural icon, Princess Julia.

Read the complete story in the latest issue of YES & NO, with cover star Alison Goldfrapp, on sale now.

01 September 2018

The Words Podcast | A Short Affair

Pin Drop Studio was invited to BBC Broadcasting House to contribute to the latest episode of The Words podcast dedicated to art and literature, and following the publication of A Short Affair.  Founders Simon Oldfield and Elizabeth Day joined the panel alongside curator of the Royal Academy Schools, Eliza Bonham Carter and legendary broadcaster, Melvyn Bragg, to discuss the relationship between literature and the visual arts, captured across the pages of A Short Affair.

The episode also features Stephen Fry reading from Ms Featherstone and the Beast by Bethan Roberts and Elizabeth Day’s reading of On Heat. Both stories feature in A Short Affair.

Listen to the full episode here. | Read more about A Short Affair here.

09 August 2018

RED MAGAZINE

 

Excited to see A Short Affair in the September issue of Red Magazine, featured in ‘This month’s best books’ by Sarra Manning with an extract from On Heat, Elizabeth Day’s new story in the book| Get your copy here: pindropstudio.com

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A SHORT AFFAIR | Out Now

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“He pulls up his t-shirt to reveal wrinkly flesh, saggy in unexpected places. And then, because there’s no one around, he lifts the waistband of his jogging bottoms and checks his penis. It lies there, limp and curled, conveying defeat. A smattering of grey in his public hair.” Extract from ‘On Heat by Elizabeth Day.

25 July 2018

Monocle 24 Radio with Robert Bound featuring Simon Oldfield, Ben Okri & Jessy Jetpacks

Robert Bound invited us into their London studio at Monocle 24 Radio to talk about A Short AffairPin Drop’s first anthology of original short fiction.  Simon Oldfield was joined by Booker Prize-winning author, Ben Okri and artist Jessy Jetpacks to discuss Pin Drop and their contributions to the A Short Affair.

You can listen to it here.

25 July 2018

RED MAGAZINE
10 best books to read this July

Thank you Red Magazine for selecting A Short Affair for your pick of the 10 best books this July! Sarra Manning says:

‘As we’re deep into holiday season, I always think that a good short story collection is essential to dip in out and out of in between dipping in and out of the nearest expanse of water! And A Short Affair is one of the best anthologies of short stories you’ll find this year. Contributors include Elizabeth Day, Will Self and A.L.Kennedy among others but the stand out for me was A Quiet Tidy Man by Claire Fuller.’

Read the article here.

12 July 2018

Sophie Ward wins the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2018

Congratulations to Sophie Ward, winner of the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2018 for her story, Sunbed. 

The award was presented by Gwendoline Christie at a special ceremony at the Royal Academy of Arts, followed by a spellbinding reading of the winning story. 

Read more

Photography by Owen Richards/Copyright @ Pin Drop Studio

11 July 2018

A Short Affair publication party

A Short Affair was officially launched on 11th July at a celebration in the Life Drawing Room at the Royal Academy of Arts, which also marked this year’s Pin Drop Short Story Award presented by Gwendoline Christie. See more images from the evening here.

Read more

Simon Oldfield, Editor of A Short Affair, and Elizabeth Day, were joined by Tim Marlow, Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Arts, and Suzanne Baboneau, Managing Director of Scribner, to welcome an army of well-wishers to the party. It was wonderful to bring the Pin Drop Studio family together for this special occasion and celebrate with everyone including the contributors to the book, past winners of the Pin Drop Short Story Award, our amazing narrators including Russell Tovey and Gwendoline Christie, our members and supporters, and of course, the brilliant Pin Drop team. Thank you to our sponsors at Stonehage Fleming for making it possible, Jason Atherton for the canapés from Pollen Street Social, and Moet & Chandon for the magnums of Champagne.

A Short Affair is out now. Available from all good bookshops including Waterstones, Hatchards Piccadilly, Foyles and the Royal Academy Bookshop. You can order your copy online here:

Waterstones | Foyles | Amazon | Guardian | Pin Drop Shop

29 June 2018

Shortlist Announced for Pin Drop Short Story Award 2018

We are delighted to announce the shortlist for this year’s Pin Drop Short Story Award, an award in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts.   The winning story will be announced and narrated by Gwendoline Christie on 11th July at a special awards ceremony at the RA.

Shortlist

David Butler, Scorched Earth

Nat Luurtsema, Howling Pack of Undesirables

Niamh MacCabe, Steer the Dark Skies Blue

Anthony Quinn, Trick Bag

Stefanie Seddon, Breaking Horses in Waiuta

Kathryn Simmonds, The Social Smoker

Stuart Snelson, Space Invaders

Maria Thomas, Lucky

Sophie Ward, Sunbed

Asif Zubairy, Playing God

Read more

The award is judged by Pin Drop Co-founders Elizabeth Day and Simon Oldfield, and the RA’s Director of Artistic Programmes, Tim Marlow. Commenting on this year’s award, Pin Drop Co-founder and award judge, Simon Oldfield commented:

“Congratulations to all the writers featured in this year’s shortlist for the Pin Drop Short Story Award. We have been impressed by the extraordinary quality and diversity of the stories selected for the shortlist, which represents an exciting range of genres, tone and subjects. It has been thrilling to see such fresh and accomplished writing emerge from a talented pool. Each story surprises, delights and leaves a lasting impression long after reading.”

14 June 2018

Longlist announced for the Pin Drop Short Story Award 2018

We are delighted to announce the longlist for this year’s Pin Drop Short Story Award – an award in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts.

Gwendoline Christie, best known for portraying the warrior Brienne of Tarth in the HBO series Game of Thrones since 2012, and the First Order Stormtrooper Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), will announce and narrate this year’s winning story on 11th July at a special awards ceremony at the RA. The award is judged by Pin Drop Co-founders Elizabeth Day and Simon Oldfield, and the RA’s Director of Artistic Programmes, Tim Marlow.

We received an unprecedented number of submissions this year and are thrilled with our long list, featuring fifteen stories of outstanding quality.

Read more

Longlist

Annabel Banks, Common Codes

Redfern Jon Barrett, Closure

David Butler, Scorched Earth

Kirsty Logan, Everything You Never Knew You Wanted (Plus Wasps)

Nat Luurtsema, Howling Pack of Undesirables

Niamh MacCabe, Steer the Dark Skies Blue

Ava Ming, Good Hair

Tabitha Alice Potts, The Edge

Anthony Quinn, Trick Bag

Stefanie Seddon, Breaking Horses in Waiuta

Kathryn Simmonds, Social Smoker

Stuart Snelson, Space Invaders

Maria Thomas, Lucky

Sophie Ward, Sunbed

Asif Zubairy, Playing God

The winner will be announced at a special event on 11th July. Read more here.

07 May 2018

Lionel Shriver in Beyond – A Life in Seven Journeys

Lionel Shriver, award-winning author and contributor to A Short Affair reflects on the seven journeys – physical, emotional and spiritual – that have shaped her life and work in the latest issue of Beyond, the travel magazine by St Regis.

Read more here.

22 February 2018

Pin Drop Women
On the cover of a magazine…

 

Sunday’s magazine were dominated by the incredible women we have the privilege of working with at Pin Drop.  Elizabeth Day interviewed Kylie Minogue for cover interview of The Sunday Times Magazine.  And across at the Observer, Pin Drop star, Selma Blair, was featured on the cover of the magazine and interviewed here.

16 January 2018

Monocle 24 Radio Podcast
Featuring Elizabeth Day on Pin Drop & A Short Affair

Robert Bound, Chris Power and Pin Drop’s Elizabeth Day, celebrate the joys of the short story and our forthcoming anthology of original short fiction, A Short Affair.  Listen to their discussion on why these lithe texts are worth more than just their word count and don’t play second fiddle to the novel.

Listen to the Monocle podcast here.

Read more

07 November 2017

House Highlights: Jason Atherton from Pollen Street Social

Soho House magazine features Pin Drop with celebrity chef, Jason Atherton, in conversation with Simon Oldfield.  During this exclusive interview, Jason shares his journey from humble roots to the helm of his global restaurant group, his experiences working with Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White and Ferran Adria, and being awarded a Michelin star almost immediately upon opening his flagship restaurant, Pollen Street Social.

07 October 2017

House Highlights: Pin Drop with Daniel Lismore

Designer Daniel Lismore joins Pin Drop Studio to discuss his handmade haute-couture and friendships with artists such as Stephen Fry and Vivienne Westwood.

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13 September 2017

Portrayal for Burberry

Portrayal for Burberry; featured a series of live performances by Pin Drop Studio with Russell Tovey, Tuppence Middleton, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Ben Okri.

The programme, curated by Simon Oldfield​ for Burberry, featured literature specially selected in response to the inspirations behind Burberry’s September 2017 collection and the accompanying exhibition, Here We Are.

Award-winning British actor, Russell Tovey, opened the series on Monday 18th September with a series of readings.

Full performance schedule:

+ Russell Tovey:  Monday, 18th September

+ Nathan Stewart-Jarrett: Thursday, 21st September

+ Ben Okri: Wednesday 27th September

+ Tuppence Middleton: Saturday 30th September

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Press: featured in Creative Review here.

12 July 2017

The Party by Elizabeth Day. Published on 13th July 2017

We’re thrilled to announce the publication of The Party by Elizabeth Day – the much-anticipated fourth novel from Pin Drop Studio’s Co-founder.

Published by 4th Estate on 13th July, The Party is a gripping story of obsession and betrayal, privilege and hypocrisy, set in the unassailable heart of the British establishment which has already garnered comparisons to The Talented Mr Ripley, Brideshead Revisited and The Secret History.

Sebastian Faulks describes The Party as ‘Witty, dark and compelling’, Vogue calls it ‘a satirical thriller‘, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) says ‘I practically murdered this book in an evening I loved it so much. The Party is a terrifying, hilarious, brilliantly written original with a wit to die for’.

Already a Number One Amazon Bestseller, Louise Doughty of The Observer featured The Party in Best Holiday Reads for Summer 2017.  

Get your copy of The Party and read an interview with Elizabeth exclusively for Pin Drop Studio here.

 

 

12 July 2017

The Party by Elizabeth Day featured in British Vogue

This month sees the release of Elizabeth Day’s widely-anticipated fourth novel The Party.

In the latest issue of British Vogue, The Party is the headline book for summertime reads, which Sebastian Faulks describes as, ‘witty, dark and compelling’, and is receiving rave reviews ahead of it’s release.

The Party is published by 4th Estate on 13th July.

24 June 2017

Cherise Saywell announced as Winner of the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2017

Dame Penelope Wilton, announced Cherise Saywell as the winner of the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2017 for her exceptional story, Morelia SpilotaThe presentation was followed by a live narration of Morelia Spilota by Dame Penelope Wilton, which will be released as a podcast soon.

‘‘The quality of writing and the ambition of the writers seems to get stronger each year. It was a pleasure and a privilege to judge the prize and to encounter this year’s short-list.’

– Tim Marlow, Artistic Director, Royal Academy of Arts

‘It was a privilege to judge this year’s RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award and select the winning story from such a strong shortlist.  Cherise Saywell is a worthy winner for her superb story, ‘Morelia Spilota’, which is written with great confidence and verve.  It is a brilliant short story.’

– Simon Oldfield, Founder, Pin Drop

Read more

‘Cherise’s story is a superb example of the short form: elegant, lyrical and with a quiet, restrained power. It is written with such surety of tone and pace that reading it, you feel at once you are in the hands of a master storyteller.’

– Elizabeth Day, Founder, Pin Drop


The RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2017 is supported by Audible.

02 June 2017

Shortlist announced for the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2017

We are delighted to announce the shortlist for this year’s RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award – an award in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts.

Dame Penelope Wilton, who is known to millions for her roles across film, stage and television, will announce and narrate this year’s winning story on 23rd June at a special awards ceremony at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Read more

Shortlist

Anna Stewart, The Way I Breathed

Anne O’Brien, These Silver Fish

Carol Farrelly, Emergency

Cherise Saywell, Morelia Spilota

Craig Burnett, Feathers Thick With Oil

Douglas W. Milliken, Heart’s Last Pass

Emily Bullock, Freshwater

Honoria Beirne, Rafferty

Jarred McGinnis, Rough Beasts

Joanna Campbell, Brad’s Rooster Food

Melanie Whipman, Undine

Rebecca F. John, Paper Chains

We received an unprecedented number of entries this year, with writing of an incredibly high standard from all around the world. The award, which offers a unique platform for emerging and established writers to showcase their short fiction, is being judged by Pin Drop Co-founders Elizabeth Day and Simon Oldfield, and the RA’s Director of Artistic Programmes, Tim Marlow.

Supported by Audible.

Book tickets to see Dame Penelope Wilton.

18 May 2017

Longlist Announced for the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2017

We are delighted to announce the longlist for this year’s RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award – an award in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts.

Dame Penelope Wilton, the award-winning actress who has enjoyed an extensive career starring in numerous films and television productions including Calendar Girls, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Downton Abbey, will announce and narrate this year’s winning story on 23rd June at a special awards ceremony at the RA.  The award is judged by Pin Drop Co-founders Elizabeth Day and Simon Oldfield, and the RA’s Director of Artistic Programmes, Tim Marlow.

Simon Oldfield commented:

“This year, we have received an unprecedented number of entries from across the globe and the quality has been extraordinary. Pin Drop champions superb short fiction and we’re delighted to see both established and emerging writers on the longlist, with stories that capture unique voices and new writing with confidence and verve.”

Read more

Longlist

Adrian Todd Zuniga, Lincoln Wimbley Writes a Story at 37,000 Feet

Anna Stewart, The Way I Breathed

Anne O’Brien, These Silver Fish

Anthony McGuinness, Fair Exchange is No Robbery

Antonia Honeywell, Dora Maar and the Secret Tree

Arthur Allan, Before the Curtain

Carol Farrelly, Emergency

Cathy Thomas, Pigs

Catriona Ward, Lula-Belle

Cherise Saywell, Morelia Spilota

Ciarán Collins, Angela

Craig Burnett, Feathers Thick with Oil

Douglas W. Milliken, Heart’s Last Pass

Emily Bullock, Freshwater

Hanna Ali, Bloated

Hannah Persaud, Dress Rehearsal

Harry Godfrey, Lobster Man

Honoria Beirne, Rafferty

Jarred McGinnis, Rough Beasts

Joanna Campbell, Brad’s Rooster Food

Jude Cook, Being Here

Juno Baker, The Rules of the Game

KM Elkes, Shoreham Street

Melanie Whipman, Undine

Philippa Holloway, Like a Message

Rachel Stevenson, English Beach

Rebecca F. John, Paper Chains

Ruth Brandt, Going West

Sarah Evans, My Mother’s Story

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Supported by Audible.

13 April 2017

Pin Drop with Lionel Shriver featured in House Seven Magazine

Lionel Shriver, who returns to Pin Drop on 18th April, is featured in this month’s issue of House Seven, the magazine from Soho House.  More information here.

19 March 2017

Pin Drop Masterclass at the Dickens Museum with A.L. Kennedy

Join the Pin Drop team on Saturday 23rd September 2017 at the Charles Dickens Museum for a masterclass with award-winning writer, A. L. Kennedy. In the space of one day, you will learn how to find your voice, hone your writing skills and construct a compelling storyline. Find out more here.

 

22 September 2016

5 Reasons Why You Should Visit Burberry’s Makers House – Pin Drop in Harper’s Bazaar

Pin Drop has been selected as one of the highlights of Burberry’s Makers House by Harper’s Bazaar – the groundbreaking show venue, which included our curated series of reading performances with BAFTA Breakthrough Brits and world leading actors including Dame Sian Phillips and Juliet Stevenson. Read more here.

16 September 2016

Vanity Fair, The A List: Pin Drop Studio at Burberry Makers House

Pin Drop featured in The A List by Vanity Fair, highlighting our series of reading performances at Burberry Makers House, produced in collaboration with our friends at The New Craftsmen.  Read more here.

09 September 2016

House Highlight: Princess Julia – Pin Drop in Soho House Magazine

As London Fashion Week comes to a close, music writer, DJ and fashion-world favourite Princess Julia joins us to read new material and tell stories from her extraordinary life. Princess Julia first came to notice in the early 1980s as part of the Blitz Kids club scene alongside Marc Almond and Boy George. Her appearance for Pin Drop comes hot on the heels of her sell-out, one-woman show at East London gay bar The Glory.

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07 September 2016

Pin Drop + Burberry

Pin Drop collaborated with Burberry and The New Craftsmen to curate a series of short readings drawn from the collection’s inspiration, Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando.

The series took place at Burberry Makers House between 20–27 September and included readers from major British actors including Juliet Stevenson, Dame Sian Phillips and Lisa Dwan to breakthrough talent including Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Juliet Oldfield, Clara Paget and Jeremy Neumark Jones.

Read more abut the collaboration here.

04 July 2016

Juliet Stevenson announces Claire Fuller as winner of the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2016

Award-winning actress, Juliet Stevenson, announced Claire Fuller as the winner of the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2016 for her exceptional story, A Quiet Tidy Man. The presentation was followed by a live narration of A Quiet Tidy Man by Juliet Stevenson, which you can listen to here.

Read more

‘I’ve loved judging the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award. The talent was plentiful, fresh and exciting and Claire Fuller is a very deserving winner.

– Simon Oldfield

‘Claire Fuller’s brilliant story is such a worthy winner: both darkly comic and deeply moving, with a modern-gothic undertone that reminded me of Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected. It’s going to be a wonderful addition to the Pin Drop archive.’

– Elizabeth Day

The RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2016 is supported by Audible.

17 June 2016

A.L. Kennedy long listed for the Man Booker Prize 2016

Congratulations to Pin Drop narrator A.L. Kennedy for her inclusion in the long list for the Man Booker Prize 2016, announced earlier today.

Kennedy’s eighth novel, Serious Sweet, takes place over a single day, and is surprisingly Kennedy’s first Man Booker nominated title. To the right is a gallery of images of A.L. Kennedy reading for Pin Drop at past events.

Read more

Special mention must also go to Ian McGuire and Virginia Reeves, also included in the list, both published by Scribner UK, who will be publishing Pin Drop’s first collection of short stories in the near future.

The winner of the Man Booker Prize will be announced on 25th October 2016, best of luck to all the authors. You can hear A.L. Kennedy reading for Pin Drop on RTE’s The Book Show back in February 2014 here.

 

31 May 2016

Shortlist Announced for the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2016

We are delighted to announce the shortlist for this year’s RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award – an award in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts.

Juliet Stevenson, who is known to millions for her roles across film, stage and television, will announce and narrate this year’s winning story on 24th June at a special awards ceremony at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Read more

Shortlist

Barney Walsh, Under the Waves

Catherine McNamara, Pia Tortora

Cathy Thomas, Fish and Chips Season

Claire Fuller, A Quiet Tidy Man

Kirstin Zhang, Mountain Strawberries

Melanie Whipman, Silent as Storks

We received an unprecedented number of entries from across the globe with writing of an incredibly high standard.  The award, which offers a unique platform for emerging and established writers to showcase their short fiction, is being judged by Pin Drop Co-founders Elizabeth Day and Simon Oldfield, and the RA’s Director of Artistic Programmes, Tim Marlow.

Supported by Audible.

Book tickets to see Juliet Stevenson.

09 May 2016

House Highlight: Sir Peter Blake – Pin Drop in Soho House Magazine

The influential artist will read a short story before taking questions from the audience, moderated by Pin Drop founder Simon Oldfield. Blake is perhaps best known for his iconic sleeve design for The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, frequently voted the greatest album cover of all time. Other key works include Self-Portrait with Badges (1961) and The First Real Target (1961). Blake has gone on to influence numerous contemporary artists, and is recognised as a significant figure in the Pop Art movement.

Asked which piece of at he is most proud of, Peter answered, ‘I would say Self-Portrait with Badges (1961) because it won the John Moores Painting Prize in the Junior section, and was a very important picture for me to paint at the time.’

05 April 2016

Not to be Missed – Pin Drop in Soho House Magazine

Pin Drop has landed in LA with a full-page feature in Soho House magazine to mark our LA debut with Selma Blair on 7th April.

23 March 2016

Audible UK announced as official sponsor of Pin Drop UK Live Events programme

Pin Drop is delighted to announce that Audible, the world’s leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment, has signed up to be our official sponsor for live events in the UK.

Read more

Tracey Markham, Country Manager, Audible, added, “The wonderful thing about events like Pin Drop is that they tap into the love we all have for listening to a story. Over the past decade we’ve worked hard to bring new life to listening as a leisure activity through our catalogue of audiobooks and other audio content. We see Pin Drop, which pairs the best short stories with the finest narrators, as a kindred spirit in that everything it does is about communicating the love of listening to the wider public. As such we’re thrilled to support its events as sponsor, and can’t wait to see what they have planned in 2016.”

To mark the partnership, Audible is offering everyone a free trial and audiobook. Download your free audiobook here.

27 June 2015

Stephen Fry announces Bethan Roberts as winner of the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2015

Stephen Fry, at a special event at the Royal Academy of Arts, narrated Ms. Featherstone and The Beast by Bethan Roberts, the winner of the inaugural RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award. You can listen to Stephen’s narration here.

Stephen Fry commented: “Pin Drop is a wonderfully innovative scheme that unites the written arts with the visual. In iconic venues like the Royal Academy, new and established writers have their works read, discussed and questioned by enthusiastic audiences. The presence of the written word in public spaces filled with visual art reminds writers, whose work is so often private and inward, of the capacity of literature to reach out, uniting it with the family of all the arts where it belongs. I really believe in Pin Drop and felt immensely rewarded to be involved.”

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The quality of the entries of this year’s award was high and varied and included a cast of wonderful characters from life models to lion tamers. Returning a shortlist of exceptional quality, the judges selected six stories which each do what a good short story should do: invites us into their world, engages from the first sentence and ends up telling us something about ourselves. In such a competitive field, we needed a truly exceptional winner and our choice was unanimous. Bethan Robert’s evocative story Ms. Featherstone and The Beast, is both tender and poignant. It deals with big themes – love, war and loss of innocence – with a restrained lightness of touch. And, like all the best short stories, its impact lingered and continues to do so.

Bethan’s first novel The Pools was published in 2007 and won a Jerwood/Arvon Young Writers’ Award. Her second novel The Good Plain Cook, published in 2008, was serialized on BBC Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime and was chosen as one of Time Out’s books of the year. My Policeman, the story of a 1950s policeman, his wife, and his male lover, followed in 2012, and was chosen as that year’s City Read for Brighton. Her latest novel is Mother Island. She also writes short fiction (in 2006 she was awarded the Olive Cook short story prize by the Society of Authors), and drama for BBC Radio 4. She lives in Brighton with her family.

The judging panel included Pin Drop co-founders Simon Oldfield and Elizabeth Day, and the Royal Academy’s Director of Artistic Programmes, Tim Marlow.

 

18 June 2015

Shortlist Announced for the RA & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2015

Earlier this year, we launched a special literature award offering a platform for emerging and established writers to showcase their short stories, in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts.  Stephen Fry will announce and read the winning short story, which will be recorded live and included in Pin Drop’s audio archive of narrations by acclaimed authors and actors including Lionel Shriver, Graham Swift, Sebastian Faulks and William Boyd.  The shortlisted authors are:

Wendy Brandmark, The Other Room

Sarah Evans, Iron and Blood

Virginia Harris, The Inspector

C. Kozinski, Kevlar

Bethan Roberts, Ms. Featherstone and The Beast

Miriam Kate Robinson, Call Ladies

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The RA and Pin Drop Short Story Award continues our collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts with this special literature award, offering a unique platform for emerging and established writers to showcase their short stories.  In the spirit of the Summer Exhibition, the competition is open submission. All stories were read anonymously, and interestingly the judges have arrived at an all-female shortlist.  The judging panel includes Pin Drop co-founders Simon Oldfield and Elizabeth Day, and the Royal Academy’s Director of Artistic Programmes, Tim Marlow.

09 May 2015

House Highlight: Tom Rob Smith – Pin Drop in Soho House Magazine

Join Pin Drop for an evening with Tom Rob Smith, author of the bestselling novel Child 44, now adapted into a film starring Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman. Child 44 was long-listed for the 2008 Man Booker Prize, and nominated for the 2008 Costa First novel Award (former Whitbread). The series continued with The Secret Speech and concluded with the third novel in the series Agent 6, Smith’s fourth book, The Farm, a stand-alone novel, was published in February 2014 to critical acclaim and he has also written London Spy for BBC Two, starring Ben Whishaw.

When asked about his daily writing routine, Tom said, “I wake up very early and start writing by 6am. The early mornings are when I’m most creative. My study has a view over London – I watched the Shard being built while writing ‘The Farm’ and drinking strong Assam tea.”

Tom will be reading a short story and an extract from one of his novels followed by a Q&A with Pin Drop founder Simon Oldfield.

24 March 2015

Dawkins seeks out his inner Bertie – Pin Drop in the Evening Standard

At last night’s Pin Drop, Richard Dawkins regaled Soho House with his parodies of Jeeves & Wooster. The ES Londoner’s Diary reports, Dawkins seeks out his inner Bertie.

“The Londoner has been marvelling recently at the fact that Professor Richard Dawkins has been quiet of late, by his standards at least. Now the mystery may have been solved: he’s been busy with Jeeves & Wooster.

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The atheist and academic was at Soho House for a talk hosted by short-story celebrants Pin Drop last night, where he read tales adapted from, and voiced in the style of, P G Wodehouse. Dawkins writes the stories for his clan gatherings so there are no plans for release, perhaps because, he joked, “the family are pretty litigious with the Wodehouse estate”.

Read the full article here.

03 February 2015

The 100 Best Things in the World – Pin Drop in GQ

We like lists of the best things in the world, particularly when we’re at number six in a list of the 100 Best Things in the World Right Now. Thank you GQ. Read more here.

06 November 2014

Salon Society: Highbrow Nights Out – Pin Drop in ES Magazine

We are delighted to be featured in the culture special issue of ES Magazine, in a piece by Alice-Azania Jarvis on the rise of literary salon. Read more here.

 

26 May 2014

The Irresistable rise of the Short Story – Pin Drop in The Telegraph

We are delighted to be included in Sam Baker’s article for The Telegraph on the rise of the short story.  Read the full article here, which includes a video of Alice Patten reading for Pin Drop.

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30 January 2014

A.L. Kennedy on The Book Show – Pin Drop on RTE Radio 1

We kicked off the New Year with a narration by the multi-talented A L Kennedy, author, comedian, broadcaster, Professor of Creative Writing…it’s almost easier to list the things Alison doesn’t do rather than those she does. Alison read ‘This Man’, from her brilliant new short story collection, All the Rage, to an intimate audience in the Bloomsbury apartment of Pin Drop co-founder, Simon Oldfield. The rooms were filled with works of art from 20th Century masters Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat to contemporary artists Ryan Leigh, Matthew La Croix and Simon Foxall, so that as Alison read, we were able to let our minds be stimulated by both sight and sound.

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The evening was recorded by Irish broadcaster RTE who will be featuring Pin Drop as part of their flagship arts programme, The Book Show, presented by Sinead Gleeson. In fact, aside from the stunning narration by Alison, perhaps the most impressive part of the entire evening was watching the RTE producer, Zoe Comyns, manually hold the sound boom for the best part of half-an-hour without a murmur of complaint. That woman has excellent arm muscle control.

Listen to the full programme here.

Our narration was also featured in Canada’s The Globe and Mail in a wonderful piece written by journalist and author Leah McClaren. Leah instantly understood what Pin Drop was about and totally got to the heart of what makes a short story narration so very special. If you have a moment, do read the article here.

11 October 2013

Pin Drop’s New York debut

We’ve just come back from Pin Drop in New York, our first foray into transatlantic narration, so it seemed only fitting that our star narrator was Colum McCann, whose latest novel, TransAtlantic, was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Colum read a brand new short story to a rapt audience of New Yorkers at the Churner and Churner gallery in Chelsea which was showing a exhibition of new works by British sculptor, Nick Hornby (no relation to the literary Nick Hornby).

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The whole evening was sponsored by our partners, Audible. We also listened to a narration by the brilliant writer, Lea Carpenter, who read a beautiful Sam Shepard short followed by her own original short story inspired by the Raymond Davis incident in Pakistan. Pin Drop co-founder, Elizabeth Day, read a George Saunders short story in advance of the US publication of her second novel, Home Fires. All three narrators shared a single theme – the impact of war through the generations in both America and the UK. The evening was introduced by Pin Drop Co-founder, Simon Oldfield.

It was an incredible night, with so many people turning up after news of Pin Drop had crossed the Atlantic. This marks the start of many more US Pin Drops. Thank you NYC!

26 September 2013

Pin Drop at the London Design Festival

Pin Drop was recently invited by the Crafts Council of Ireland to stage a one-off narration in their fantastic space at Tent London in Brick Lane’s Old Truman Brewery. The exhibition, Vernacular, was being staged as part of London Design Festival and featured the work of over 20 designers including this amazing desk by Irish architects O’Donnell + Tuomey.

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To fit in with the overall theme of the event, Pin Drop asked acclaimed Irish actress Lisa Dwyer Hogg (currently appearing at the National Theatre in Richard Eyre’s Liola – and yes, that is Lisa on the poster) to read a short story by one of Ireland’s foremost contemporary writers, Kevin Barry. Lisa read Atlantic City – a poignant, funny and telling short story that even included the opportunity for Lisa to launch into a pitch-perfect rendition of Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday. Lisa narrated while sitting in a particularly comfortable chair designed by O’Driscoll Furniture and upholstered in the finest Donegal tweed.

We had a fantastic night, enjoying free Jamesons whisky cocktails (absolutely lethal ones at that) and welcomed a whole host of new Pin Drop attendees, including the actor Stephen Rea and the designer Paul Costelloe.  Thank you to Julia Ravenscroft and Ann Mulrooney and all her team at the Crafts Council of Ireland, our sponsors Audible UK and, most importantly, Lisa herself who was a really brilliant narrator.

12 August 2013

Pin Drop in The Evening Standard

Francesca Segal’s excellent narration for Pin Drop on 31 July was recently featured here in The Evening Standard.

Francesca read an extract from her Costa Award-winning debut novel The Innocents at Simon Oldfield Gallery in Mount Street.  She also read a story by Edith Wharton as her own novel is loosely based on Wharton’s The Age of Innocence.

29 July 2013

Pin Drop at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

On 11 June, we hosted a wonderful evening at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, holding a Pin Drop narration overlooking the beautiful picnic lawn before a spellbinding production of To Kill A Mockingbird. Highly-acclaimed actress, Juliet Oldfield, read Bernice Bobs Her Hair, a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

28 July 2013

Pin Drop at the Houses of Parliament

On 20 June, we held a Pin Drop narration in the Houses of Parliament, offering our guests an exclusive and intimate look inside these iconic buildings. Our venue for the evening was the Jubilee Room, just off Westminster Hall, which came complete with the most fantastic wallpaper Pin Drop has ever seen.

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Our first narrator that evening was the acclaimed young poet Owen Sheers, who read incredibly movingly from his prose poem Pink Mist, informed by the testimonies of soldiers who served in Afghanistan. We then welcomed the actress Lyndsey Marshal (Garrow’s Law, Poirot, The Hours, Rome) who took a break from appearing in Othello at the National Theatre to read the Hercule Poirot mystery, ‘The Kidnapped Prime Minister’ – complete with a fabulous Belgian accent.

Afterwards, we drank champagne and munched on delicious Propercorn popcorn – all in the shadow of Big Ben.  The evening was a huge success and marked the start of our special programme of events sponsored by Audible, the UK’s largest provider of audiobooks. Thank you to the Houses of Parliament for being such generous hosts.