SPARKS, Janey Mac Books, May 2026.
An artist sends a drawing. A writer responds only to what she sees. No context. No explanation.
The drawings by Belfast artist Margaret Woods Moore that inspired them are beautifully observed.
The resulting stories by author and screenwriter, Lindsay J. Sedgwick are tiny and complete. In turn funny, fierce, tender, and occasionally devastating, they prove that flash fiction at its best carries the emotional weight of something much longer.
Together, they are something else entirely.
“SPARKS is pure alchemy – where one artist’s lines end, another’s words begin, elevating stunning art into thought-provoking and intriguing slices of life.”
– Eve McDonnell, author of The Last Boy, The Chestnut Roaster and Elsetime.
OUT THIS JUNE!
GLIMPSES BENEATH, Silver Locust Press, June 2026. An anthology of flash fiction that teases, delights and entertains.
‘Glimpses Beneath is a privileged door into the remarkable world of L J Sedgwick where nothing is ordinary and everything she sees spawns strange adventures. Wonderful thoughts, beautifully expressed.‘
– Conor McAnally, Author of Bullets in the Water
This is a collection that teaches you to see the world in a heightened way, all the things that we miss because we are too busy thinking and doing. L J Sedgwick has an extraordinary gift of observation, of finding the heartrending and the darkly comic in the daily minutiae of life. An extraordinary achievement
– Katherine Mezzacappa, author of The Maiden of Florence.
DAD’S RED DRESS, Janey Mac Books, 2017. Thirteen-year-old Jessie only wants life to be boringly ‘normal’. It’s not going to be easy – her kid sister thinks she’s been adducted by the Virgin Mary not once but twice, her step-Mum Eva makes erotic, feminist installations and her dad , who has always been Mandy behind closed doors, is about to transition. Described by readers as ‘joyous, loving… truly unique among the vast canon of coming-of-age stories…a delight to read’.
THE ANGELICA TOUCH
The Angelica Touch is the magical story of what might happen if you were a single parent and your teenage daughter decided to organise your love-life. From the same pen as the novel Dad’s Red Dress (2017), it’s an upbeat and humorous romantic rollercoaster set in Donegal during the first three months of 2010. It’s about doing something for the very best of reasons that makes everything worse… until it doesn’t.
Angelica, 14, has reached three conclusions. Firstly, her mother Molly, who manages a rundown hotel on the wild Drisogue peninsula in Donegal, is desperately lonely. (She’s not.)
Secondly, it’s entirely her fault that Molly is still single. (It might be.)
Thirdly, since she can hardly have a boyfriend of her own if Number Two is true, it’s up to her to find her mother a man. (It really isn’t.)
Given her dangerously impressive gift for matchmaking, Angelica’s solution is to develop a dating website for her mum. With the questions devised by Angelica and best friend, Grace, what could possibly go wrong?
Reviews said: ‘Another gift of joy from Sedgwick, the Angelica Touch is filled with heart and warmth.‘ ‘Whether it’s her deft use of language or her playful wit, the author undoubtedly carries her own brand of fairy dust.‘
WRITE THAT SCRIPT!
Want to write a script but not sure where to begin? Maybe you have a story in you that would be fantastic on the screen? With close to three decades working as a screenwriter and screenwriting tutor, Sedgwick has condensed all she learnt to help you to turn your ideas into screenplays
Screenwriting is a tight and demanding medium but it is also one of the most exciting forms in which to write. Write That Script! brings together all the theory you need, examples of how the theory works and challenging exercises to oil those writing muscles that will see you through to the end. Write That Script! will steer you through the stormy seas from wanting to write a script to having your first one down on the page or screen. More detail here.
The WULFIE series
A series of four children’s books for agest 6-9 published by Little Island. Each is stand-alone, although the characters do develop through the series, as does the depth of the world, and will reward the loyal reader. Full details here.
Lindsay J. Sedgwick 