Short Stories

News, Short Stories

‘No Jacket Required?’ Published

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My new flash fiction short No Jacket Required? has been published at Flash Fiction North.

It’s the story of the unwritten rules around aging and of a man with a leather jacket. It deals with themes including masculinity, aging, and overcoming your own insecurities.

You can read it over at Flash Fiction North’s recent fiction page. Just search for “Mat Growcott” and it should be the first one to pop up.

I’ve really grown to love writing flash fiction. Character work at this level – around 500 words or less – is about what to leave in and what to take out. It’s a different kind of challenge to longer work.

It’s been a very busy few weeks, and I haven’t had a lot of time to update the website. I’ve finished a few shorts that I’ll go into more detail on in the coming week or so, as I get caught up.

In the meantime, enjoy No Jacket Required?.

News, Short Stories

One Step Ahead To Be Published in 2026

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One Step Ahead has been accepted for publication at Close to the Bone.

You’ll be able to read it at some point in early 2026. The flash fiction piece is about a strained encounter between two old friends. The story explores masculinity, those who peaked too soon, and the things left unsaid.

It’s the kind of story I really enjoy writing. Character first, where a layer of bravado just hides what it’s actually about. It’s something I’ve explored elsewhere, in stories like Chosen and Not The One. I’m looking forward to sharing them all.

This comes just a few days after The Caretaker was also picked up, although that one is a decent way away. I’ll be sharing more details on that as soon as I can.

When One Step Ahead is published, I’ll share the link here.

News, Short Stories

Two New Shorts: ‘One Thing and Another’ and ‘Alicia, 14’

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I’ve finished two new shorts: One Thing and Another and Alicia, 14. I have submitted them for publication.

One Thing and Another is a 2,600 word story about love and the lies we tell ourselves. It follows Daniella, a woman whose meaningless affair leads to her saving an old woman’s life, exploring the duality of public and private life in the digital age. It was fun to explore something in such a close perspective to such a flawed character, and to toy with the ways reality can drip through without her noticing.

This started as a more literary tale than I usually tell. Like with The Searcher, it’s an experiment with combining voice and intent. I can’t wait to share how it turned out.

Alicia, 14 is a very different story. Flash fiction – less than 500 words long. This is part of Leak, a collection of short stories I’m occasionally working towards. This story is about a man who has mourned for his murdered sister for fifty years, losing his entire life to it. When a data leak allows him to see the police files for the case, he gets to enact the closure he has needed. Leak is built around this theme. What happens when the internet is blown open? Boudoir is another from Leak.

The beauty of these pieces is that they have a life beyond the collection. That’s important, as it’ll make the whole stronger. The central idea of an unprecedented data leak is timely, sure. But it’s also something that sits nicely at the heart of these stories. Leak isn’t a sci-fi collection. It isn’t about tech. Leak is about people, and the highs and lows of our relationship with the internet.

One Thing and Another and Alicia,14, will hopefully be available to read in the near future.

News, Short Stories

The Caretaker Accepted for Publication

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My horror short The Caretaker has been accepted for publication.

This short, based loosely on an unreleased film by Moe Acharki, is my only horror so far. It follows a young man tricked back to a village from his youth, searching for a friend he thought was missing. Instead he finds something older and far more deadly. The Caretaker is a slow-burn horror story dealing with themes of class, religion and the dangers of nostalgia.

I’ll have more information on the wheres and whens in the near future. I’m excited for people to be able to finally read it.

Watch this space.

Blog, News, Novels, Short Stories

New Short – New Updates

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A new short has been written and submitted for a competition! And while I’m not going into details at this point, it’s one I’m quite happy with.

To start with, I’ve had some problems with the website over the last week or so. When I’ve tried to reach it to post updates, it hasn’t loaded. I’m not sure if this is a me problem or an everybody problem, so it’s something I’ll keep an eye on.

Onto the short. It’s for a competition and I’ve decided not to talk too much about competition shorts from here on. They like anonymous judgment – no name or contact details on the manuscript. And while it’s unlikely the judge will jump onto Google to try and find details, it’s also not really in the spirit of things to post too much. So for now I’ll keep it secret.

All I’ll say is it deals with themes of masculinity, dementia and being trapped in a life that isn’t your own. It follows a father and son who had a bad relationship, but who now rely entirely on one another.

Over the next few days I’ll be posting some other updates. Some thoughts on submitting Nepo Baby, and an exploration of storytelling in film through three versions of The Secret Garden. I’d like to write more often about storytelling, but time is short and sometimes the website doesn’t work. We’ll see what happens.

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