Born in London, raised in Kerry, Ireland, I’m Alison Wells, writer of flash fiction, short stories and novels, and mother of four now living in Bray, Co. Wicklow. I’ve worked as a technical writer and have degrees in Psychology and Communication Studies and am now a library assistant in the Lexicon – Ireland’s largest public library. It contains 80,000 items!
I write fiction on the literary side, with a surreal edge and I always want to do new things. In (Jan 2019) my novel Eat! (arising out of an original flash fiction published in the Stinging Fly) was longlisted/highly commended in the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair. In 2020 The Exhibit of Held Breaths was selected as finalist.
My short fiction has appeared in the Sunday Tribune, Crannóg, The View from Here, Metazen and in many anthologies including the Higgs Boson, Voices of Angels, Eighty Nine, Deck the Halls and UK National Flash Fiction Day’s Jawbreakers and Scraps, RTE Arena’s New Planet Cabaret, The Stinging Fly and The Lonely Crowd.
I’ve been shortlisted for Hennessy New Writing and for the Bridport, WOW, and Fish Awards, BBC’s Opening Lines, Over the Edge New Writer and in the Bray Literary Festival flash fiction competition. I won the Big Book of Hope Ebook fiction category with my flash fiction medley Flashes of Entropy and Hope.
In 2012 and 2015 I was awarded writing residencies at Cill Rialaig, Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry
For some time I blogged for the popular and comprehensive writing site Writing.ie (Random Acts of Optimism blog on Writing.ie)
Completed Novels
The Exhibit of Held Breaths which explores the power of belief itself when an enthralling exhibit upturns the life of its reluctant curator. Read three chapters
Eat!: Consumption becomes medicine for a girl with pica and a would-be cannibal in this linguistic feast of love, loss and longing set in boomtime Ireland. Read three chapters.
As A.B. Wells: My feel good comedy & science inspired novel Housewife with a Half-Life explores the adventures of Susan Strong a housewife who is literally disintegrating and her god-like fairly god-father (Fairly Dave) who guides her round her parallel universes on a quest for re-integration. Read three chapters
The Book of Remembered Possibilities: a woman destroys her own life by writing the story of her alternate self.
Work in Progress and Future Plans
Unusual Flashes of Light is a collection/novella of interrelated flash fiction tales, interlinked characters affected by love, longing and a belief in UFOs.
Other untitled notes in progress: The story of a man broken by news and his unravelling marriage, told through lists, click bait headlines, phishing emails and other media devices as he tries to find his way back to what is true.
Feedback from Hennessey XO Literary Awards 2009 Judge Carlo Gebler
‘I was incredibly taken with this, it’s very poetic, the language is extraordinary, very finely wrought and beautiful. The events described are sinister/ frightening and although it was not realistic, within the context of the story and the rules that apply within the story it makes perfect sense. It’s very short, but what I admired, what we admired was this writer’s ambition which is fantastic.’ Carlo Gebler
Writing Achievements
Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2020 Finalist with The Exhibit of Held Breaths
Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2019 (Longlist) with Eat!
John McGahern Award shortlist 2019 (for emerging writers)
Pushcart Prize nomination 2021 via Crannóg
Short stories
Winner Big Book of Hope fiction category 2012 Flashes of Entropy and Hope:
Shortlists
Hennessy XO Literary awards for New Irish Writing 2009 Bog Body
Bridport Prize 2010 Gods and Other People
Bray Literary Festival Sept 2018 Entropy Held
Wow awards Galway 2014 (Longlist) The Princess & the Cryogenic Engineer
Over the Edge, New Writers, Galway ,Sept 2014 My Father Made a Wood (Flash fiction)
Over the Edge, New Writers, Galway, Oct 2013 The Memory Jar
RTE radio Arena New Planet Caberet Competition May 2013 The Wobegone’s Slaughtered Dreams
Anam Cara Competition July 2012 Leather
International Fish Prize 2010 (also Sean O’ Faolain 2010 longlist) All that thinking:
WOW awards Galway 2010 Sad about the plumbers’ uncle:
Sean O’ Faolain 2010 (Longlist) Filch
Publications: Short stories, poetry, Non-fiction
Without the light pollution I can see the stars Crannóg, October 2020
How I wrote ‘There’s a Café in this story The Lonely Crowd online Sept/17
https://thelonelycrowd.org/2017/09/20/how–i–wrote–theres–a–cafe–in–this–story–alison–wells/
There’s a Café in this story The Lonely Crowd, July 2017
All that Thinking Literary Orphans, Special Irish Issue, USA, April 2014
Eat! The Stinging Fly, Spring 2014
The Woebegone’s Slaughtered Dreams New Planet Cabaret anthology, New Island, Nov 2013
Random Acts of Optimism Number Eleven, August 2013
Egg Scraps, National Flash Fiction Day Collection, June 2013
Letter Crannóg March 2013
Unfolding Deck the Halls, July 2012
Flashes of Entropy and Hope: The New Big Book of Hope, Y books, June 2012
Elsewhere Jawbreakers, National Flash Fiction Day Collection, May 2012
Meringue Angel Collection, Bridgehouse Publishing, Dec 2011
Breaking News Metazen, Oct 2011
If I could turn back time Literary Mix Tapes: 89, 2011
Truth and Silence The View from Here, July 2011
Unwritten Crannog Magazine, October 2010
Supersymmetric: Almost but not quite Higgs Boson Anthology April 2010
Sad about the Plumber’s Uncle WOW anthology, Words on the Street April 2010
Bog Body Sunday Tribune, New Irish Writing, Aug 2009
Last Time I saw Him & Home for Christmas Ireland’s Own, 2002
The Flask Sunday Miscellany: The collection 2006-2008
If we thought that love was gone Poetry for Cancer 2010
ME ELSEWHERE
Random Acts of Optimism blog on Writing.ie
Head Above Water 
Hi Alison,
I found your blog (or rather it found me) via a Google Alert I have placed for “ebook publishing, self publishing). I admire your energy! I want to invite you to participate in The Ebook Crew, a new real-time ebook-theme network I have created. It’s a mutual admiration and support group. Now, with your permission, I’ll go have a look at your stories! All the best, Michael
Hi Alison found your blog via Inkwell website. Enjoyed the post on Procrastination Tips t … it so resonates with me! Off to try out your tips … thanks for your push to action.
Thanks so much for reading, nice to meet you.
I’ve enjoyed exploring your site Alison. I found you via the River of Stones project. I shall visit again!
Debs
I so enjoy your work.
What is flash fiction?
I like the sound of your Higgs Boson piece (can you tell I am married to a physicist). Is it easy to get hold of it online?
Thanks Marina 🙂 here is the most straightforward link to it http://yearzerowriters.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/the-higgs-boson-anthology-supersymmetric-almost-but-not-quite-by-allison-wells/
OOOOOO, Alison the housewife with the half-life (or whatever) book coming out sounds great!!! My first novel I wrote (one of many which I just threw away because…well, it wasn’t great at all) was about a housewife who had a fairy god mother of sorts who’d show up in the toilet and in the mirror of the bathroom. It was kooky but definitely not publishable. I so want to read yours!!! Please let us know when it comes out. I will buy one.
Oh Jane, we’re so much on the same wavelength! Maybe you can have another look at yours. Mine is available on Amazon etc now.
I’m going to buy one!!! Thanks!!!