I’m delighted to announce that submissions are open for Botanical Short Stories, an anthology of contemporary writing about plants and flowers which will be published by The History Press in spring 2024. The book’s editor is Emma Timpany and illustrations are by RHS Gold medal winning botanical illustrator Sarah Jane Humphrey

From tokens of love to neolithic burial gifts, bridal bouquets to seasonal wreaths, healing potions to artistic masterpieces, flowers and plants have a multitude of meanings and a long and complex relationship with all our lives. They are the stuff of myth, of gods’ metamorphoses and the emblems of kings and saints. They brighten our homes and bring joy to our senses, delight us in gardens and countryside, convey our emotions, symbolise new birth and human mortality, and yet are often overlooked as an inspiration for writers of fiction.

This stunning collection of contemporary fiction will celebrate the world of flowers and plants and the meanings they hold, in twelve intriguing and surprising new short stories. I am looking for stories of approximately 3,000 to 5,000 words by new, emerging and established writers. If you have a story that falls outside this range but which you feel is suitable for the anthology, please contact me at botanicalshortstories@gmail.com before submitting.

More details and full submission guidelines are available on the Botanical Short Stories website. Tweets @BotanicalShorts

Submissions close at 12pm on Friday 10 February 2023.