• Buy the paperback online at MFC Retail. Buy the Kindle eBook online at Amazon. Rob Nichols, editor of the Fly Me To The Moon Boro Fanzine, presents a stirring and nostalgic collection of Boro fan stories. Cigar smoke, fried onions and bright green grass… what do you remember of your first Boro match? In the strange lockdown year of 2020, when football stopped and then had to close its doors to fans, Rob invited everyone he knows to look back in time and tell the story of their first Boro match experience. From Ayresome Park in 1947 to the Riverside Stadium in 2020, from old fans to young, famous sons of Middlesbrough and former fan-favourite players, these stories have one common theme, a love of Boro through rain and shine, and that shall never end… Paperback, pocket-size, 306 pages, RRP £9.99 ISBN 978-1-912218-98-1 Published by Sixth Element Publishing, November 2020
  • From Shrug to the Moon: The Robert Nichols Story Available now from Amazon in paperback and Kindle. Described as a subcultural force of nature, Rob Nichols is known throughout Teesside as the editor of the Boro Fanzine Fly Me To The Moon and equally as the front man of post-punk band Shrug, famous throughout Europe and still playing to sell out audiences. Steve Spithray gets Rob to talk about both and much more besides, including archaeology, local history and his love of Teesside, giving an indepth, behind the scenes glimpse into an incredible character who has thrown his whole life, time, energy and enthusiasm into supporting the Boro, the Teesside music scene and everyone around him.
  • Harvey Duckman presents a Pirates special edition in this awesome series of collected works of suspense and mystery in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror and steampunkery… This anthology features work by exciting new voices in speculative fiction, including both established authors and previously unpublished writers. These short stories give a glimpse into some fantastic worlds that are already out there for you to enjoy, as well as a taste of more to come… so get your bottle of rum ready and hunker down to read...
  • In the midst of the Covid-19 global lockdown of 2020, the Crossing the Tees Book Festival Short Story Competition carried on regardless, and gave the writers of the Tees area and beyond a chance to take part in Zoom workshops and work hard to craft their stories.

    With many thanks going to this year’s judges, Peter Barron MBE (journalist and author), Laura Degnan (writer and film maker) and Kay Tranter (librarian), this anthology showcases the winners along with the rest of the brilliant stories that were short-listed from over ninety great entries.

    Serious, poignant, funny, thought-provoking… there is no particular theme but all were written from the heart during the pandemic that stopped the world.

  • OUT NOW The winning entries from the first Sixth Element We Are Boro short story competition Write about the Boro, we said. Fiction, true life, we didn’t mind, we just wanted to capture the passion, exasperation and true heart of the fans. And that’s exactly what is in this little book. From Ayresome Park to the Riverside, from tomato sauce buns to chicken parmos, from selkies to goblins, working men’s clubs to away games, what comes through in this collection of short-listed short story competition entries is a genuine, deep-rooted, through rain or shine love for the Boro… however well, or otherwise, it’s going on the pitch. Paperback, 182 pages, RRP £6.99 ISBN 978-1-912218-72-1 Published by Sixth Element Publishing, December 2019
  • Kindle eBook £2.99 or FREE to read on Kindle Unlimited Welcome to our worlds… Harvey Duckman presents the fourth in a series of collected works of suspense and mystery in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror and steampunk. This anthology features work by exciting new voices in speculative fiction, including both established authors and previously unpublished writers. These short stories give a glimpse into some fantastic worlds that are already out there for you to enjoy, as well as a taste of more to come. Volume 4 includes stories by: Adrian Bagley, Crysta K Coburn, Thomas Gregory, Christine King, Peter James Martin, John Holmes-Carrington, A.L. Buxton, Zack Brooks, Fred Johnson, Ben McQueeney, Keld Hope, Deborah Barwick, Jon Hartless, R. Bruce Connelly, and Mark Hayes, as well as a bonus ‘Harvey Duckman’ story by Andy Hill, and a foreword by Amy Wilson. Edited by C.G. Hatton. Paperback, 248 pages, RRP £9.99 ISBN 978-1-912218-82-0 Published by Sixth Element Publishing, April 2020
  • In the summer of 2017, the Crossing the Tees Book Festival invited local writers to enter its first short story competition. With the theme, ‘Crossing the Tees’, the competition struck a beautiful chord and elicited almost a hundred entries that varied from whimsical ponderings to poignant memories, from fantastical tales to gritty commentaries on life in Teesside.

    This anthology celebrates the winner, runners-up, and highly commended stories, as judged by Becci Sharrock, John Nicholson and Mark Freeman, as well as the rest of the short-listed entries.

    “Brilliantly written creative reimaginings of a region rich in writing talent.” Tracey Iceton, Writer in Residence

  • Harvey Duckman presents... not the special plumbing edition. But kind of! The latest in the series of collected works of suspense and mystery in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror and steampunkery, called, oddly enough Harvey Duckman Presents… is, as it says on the cover, volume 9 but it may or may not feature a brilliant array of plumbing and plumber related tales, in amongst our usual offerings. As always, this anthology features work by exciting new voices in speculative fiction, including both established authors and previously unpublished writers. These short stories give a glimpse into some fantastic worlds that are already out there for you to enjoy, as well as a taste of more to come. Volume 9 includes stories by: John Holmes-Carrington, Graeme Wilkinson, Mark Hayes, R. Bruce Connelly, Will Nett, Davia Sacks, Peter James Martin, Robin Moon, Joseph Carrabis, A.L. Buxton, C.K. Roebuck, Liam Hogan, Kate Baucherel, Liz Tuckwell and Ben Sawyer. Edited by C.G. Hatton.
  • After growing up in Newcastle on Tyne and graduating its Medical School in 1953, Geoffrey Marsh had a 34 year career as a GP in Norton, Stockton-on-Tees, helping to transform General Practice from its 1950s pattern of single doctors working independently to its current pattern of multidisciplinary teams and targeted preventive work. Upon retiring, he pursued his interests in gardening and creative writing. This book is a collection of his memories of Norton and writings on his medical school years, as well as his poetry, prose and ponderings on family, life and his favourite place to visit, Italy. A wonderful mix of funny, poignant and insightful reflections, Northern Roots shares a glimpse of life as a GP in a very different time. All proceeds from this book will be donated to Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières).
  • Available now in paperback and Kindle. Harvey Duckman presents a Christmas special edition in his series of collected works of suspense and mystery in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror and steampunkery… This anthology features work by exciting new voices in speculative fiction, including both established authors and previously unpublished writers.

These short stories give a glimpse into some fantastic worlds that are already out there for you to enjoy, as well as a taste of more to come… all with a flavour of the festive season. The Harvey Duckman Presents… Special: Christmas 2019 includes stories by: Thomas Gregory, Andy Hill, Peter James Martin, Craig Hallam, Kate Baucherel, Cheryllynn Dyess, Marios Eracleous, Zack Brooks, Ben McQueeney, Maggie Kraus, Gerald Wiley, Lynne Lumsden Green, Mark Hayes, Ben Sawyer and R. Bruce Connelly. Edited by C.G. Hatton.
  • Continuing the tradition from the summers of 2017 and 2018, Crossing the Tees Book Festival launched its third short story competition and attracted over a hundred spectacular entries from writers nationwide. With no specified theme again this year, everyone’s imaginations were once more freed to create a richly varied collection of thoughtful and downright entertaining stories. This anthology presents the winner, runners-up, and highly commended stories, as judged by Rob Scragg (author), Amy Lord (author) and Carol McIntosh (librarian), as well as the rest of the short-listed entries. Paperback, 238 pages, RRP £10 ISBN 978-1-912218-75-2 Published by Sixth Element Publishing, December 2019
  • Salvage, the long-awaited follow up to Jon May's first book, Divers, tells of his time with the truly extraordinary South China Sea Ocean Salvage And Towing Company,from dealing with the devastating consequences of a typhoon in the South China Sea, searching for missing explosives and going to the rescue of a shipwrecked crew, to hunting for lost pirate treasure, treating wounds from a shark attack and almost being lost at sea himself. Salvage has the dry, dark humour of professionals facing tough, life-changing decisions in the face of disaster and has a delicate balance of harsh reality and poignant reflection, giving further insight into the truly remarkable and adventurous lives of these men at sea. Paperback, 156 pages, RRP £9.99 ISBN 978-1-908299-72-7 Published by Sixth Element Publishing, July 2015

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