Pin Drop Studio is an arts and entertainment studio founded in 2012 by Simon Oldfield and Elizabeth Day, with a particular focus on

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

. Pin Drop Studio publishes short fiction, stages an annual short story award for new writing in association with the Royal Academy of Arts, has a podcast series and hosts live events in major cities around the globe with authors, actors, artists, cultural commentators and original thinkers. Pin Drop Productions commissions original fiction from new and established writers.

Books

''A Short Affair'' is an anthology of original short fiction from Pin Drop Studio, published in hard-back in July 2018 by Scribner, an imprint of

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...

, and edited by Simon Oldfield. The book contains eighteen original short stories by best-selling authors alongside new writers from the annual Pin Drop Short Story Award, with a foreword by Tim Marlow. The cover design is by White Cube artist Eddie Peake, and each story is accompanied by a unique contemporary artwork, created by artists from the Royal Academy Schools. A sequel to ''A Short Affair'' is in development.

Pin Drop Short Story Award

The Pin Drop Short Story Award is an annual writing prize for new original short stories. It is a free-to-enter, non-commercial, open-submission competition for both published and unpublished writers, and receives over 500 entries each year from writers across the globe. Regular judges of the award include the artistic director of the Royal Academy, Tim Marlow, along with the Pin Drop founders, Simon Oldfield and Elizabeth Day. The winning story is presented each year at a ceremony at the Royal Academy, where it is read in full to a live audience by a notable actor. Previous award winners: 2015 - author Bethan Roberts won with her short story, "Ms. Featherstone and the Beast", which was read to a live audience by

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

. 2016 - author Claire Fuller won with her story, "A Quiet Tidy Man", which was read to a live audience by British actress

Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leadi ...

. 2017 - author Cherise Saywell won with her story, "Morelia Spilota", which was read to a live audience by British actress and

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

star Dame Penelope Wilton. 2018 - author and actress

Sophie Ward Sophie Anna Ward (born 1964) is an English stage and screen actress, and a writer of non-fiction and fiction. As an actress, she played Elizabeth Hardy, the female lead in Barry Levinson's '' Young Sherlock Holmes'' (1985), and in other feat ...

won with her story, "Sunbed", which was read to a live audience by British actress and Game of Thrones star

Gwendoline Christie Gwendoline Tracey Philippa Christie (born 28 October 1978) is an English actress who is best known for portraying Brienne of Tarth in the HBO fantasy-drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012–2019). She is also widely known for her role the Fir ...

Pin Drop Podcasts

Pin Drop Podcasts is a series of live audio recordings of original short fiction and interviews with notable authors and actors, made available free of charge.

Short fiction portfolio

Pin Drop Productions holds the rights to a library of original short fiction and regularly commissions writers to produce new stories for publication and for film and TV adaptation.

Pin Drop Live

Pin Drop Live stages events at venues such as BAFTA, the Royal Academy, Hauser & Wirth Somerset and

Soho House Soho House is a museum run by Birmingham Museums Trust, celebrating Matthew Boulton's life, his partnership with James Watt, his membership of the Lunar Society of Birmingham and his contribution to the Midlands Enlightenment and the Ind ...

in London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris and other major cities. Typically an original story is read in its entirety to a live audience by an author, actor, artist or thinker, followed by an interview. Guest readers have included, Stephen Fry,

Ben Okri Ben Okri (born 15 March 1959) is a Nigerian-British poet and novelist.Ben Okri"
British Council, ...

Russell Tovey Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981) is an English actor. He is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural comedy-drama '' Being Human'', Rudge in both the stage and film versions of ''The Histo ...

, Juliet Stevenson,

Sebastian Faulks Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – ''The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', '' Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pub ...

, William Boyd,

Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with '' The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with '' Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and '' A ...

, Richard Dawkins,

Princess Julia Princess Julia (born Julia Fodor, 8 April 1960) is an English DJ and music writer who has also been called the "first lady of London's fashion scene." Biography Princess Julia first came to notice in the early 1980s as part of the short-lived ...

Selma Blair Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...

, A.L.Kennedy, Dame Sian Phillips, Dame Eileen Atkins, Dame Penelope Wilton,

Tom Rob Smith Tom Rob Smith (born February 19, 1979) is an English author, screenwriter and producer. Personal life and education The son of Swedish mother Barbro and English father Ron, both antiques dealers, Smith was born and raised at Norbury, South Lo ...

, Peter Blake, Gwendoline Christie,

Will Self William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English author, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Sel ...

Maura Tierney Maura Therese Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on the sitcom '' NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), Abby Lockhart on the medical drama '' ER'' (1999–2009 ...

, Graham Swift, Sue Tilley,

Molly Parkin Molly Parkin (born Molly Noyle Thomas, 3 February 1932) is a Welsh painter, novelist and journalist, who became most well-known for her work on ''Nova'' magazine, newspapers and television in the 1960s. Early life Parkin was born on 3 February ...

Tuppence Middleton Tuppence Middleton (born 21 February 1987) is an English actress known for her performances in film, television and theatre. In 2010, she was nominated for the ''London Evening Standard'' Film Awards for Most Promising Newcomer. Middleton appea ...

, David Nicholls,

Ed Stoppard Edmund Stoppard (born 16 September 1974) is an English actor. He is the son of playwright Tom Stoppard and doctor Miriam, Lady Hogg. Life Stoppard was born on 16 September 1974 in London, England, the son of playwright Tom Stoppard and Miriam ...

, and

Curtis Sittenfeld Elizabeth Curtis Sittenfeld (born 1975) is an American writer. She is the author of a collection of short stories, ''You Think it, I’ll Say It'' (2018), as well as six novels: ''Prep'' (2005), the story of students at a Massachusetts prep sch ...

References

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External links

Official website
2012 establishments in the United Kingdom Arts organizations established in 2012 British writers' organisations Podcasting companies British salon-holders American salon-holders French salon-holders Arts organisations based in the United Kingdom Storytelling organizations