Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2021 i Writing Magazine

It’s summertime! After a long winter of coronavirus lockdowns and a slow spring of unlocking, we can finally look forward to venturing out and even thinking about going on holiday, although it will probably be staycations for most of us this year. So, how lucky are we, that we live in a country with an amazing variety of landscapes and fascinating towns and villages to explore? Celebrate the Great British staycation with this month’s free-range writing. Even if, for whatever reasons, you can’t go on holiday this summer, you can always enjoy getting out and about in memory and imagination. You know the rule by now: stick to the timings. Your inner critic hates it when you have to get stuck straight in, without having time to worry about whether…

At primary school, I was infatuated by books and creative writing. ‘This passion for reading and writing continued and I eventually became a journalist, but the lure of writing feel-good fiction became too irresistible several years ago. That was when I had my first two books digitally published by the London based independent publisher Not So Noble Books. In fact, I read about their appeal for new submissions in Writing Magazine. ‘But like so many authors, I always dreamt of securing a traditional publisher. ‘I submitted my next book, which was to become A Room at the Manor, to agents and although I received a number of positive comments about my writing style and several requests for the full MS, an offer of representation remained elusive. ‘There were moments when…

£250 TO BE WON SEE P67 FOR ENTRY DETAILS, FULL RULES AND ENTRY FORMS Whether it’s creepy spec fic, a twisted fairytale, crime-gone-wrong or a harrowing psychological thriller, make sure you unnerve us to win this competition. The winner will receive £200 and publication in Writing Magazine, with £50 and publication online for the runner-up. The closing date is 15 August. STILL TIME TO ENTER - £250 to be won With its closing date of 15 July, there’s still time to enter last month’s competition for writing with a twist. Prizes and length are as above. See p67 for full details.…

‘In 2009 I wrote a first draft of a story I felt I needed to tell’ writes subscriber Graham Cox, who writes as Cassius Cox. ‘It centred around the real-life event of seeing my brother drown when I was a teenager. It took me eleven years to show anyone, and that person cried after reading it, thankfully for the right reasons. With her encouragement I started writing again but I needed help. ‘In June 2020, I signed up to Writing Magazine’s fiction writing course. I was assigned Lynne Hackles as my tutor. Within the first assignment Lynne gave me the best advice I could receive, and that was to write using my voice, don’t be something I’m not. The course gave me confidence and made me believe I could write…

‘Despite starting writing in 2016 and not the ‘90s, I didn’t start by looking up video courses online, or even on social media,’ writes subscriber Sophie Flynn. ‘I picked up my local paper. ‘This led me to the home of local novelist who ran day classes from her beautiful Cotswold cottage. Upon arrival, it became clear everyone there was slightly more advanced and had novels-in-progress. I had nothing in progress. So, when the tutor asked us about the central questions in our novels, I had to come up with something on the spot. ‘That question was: “What would you do if your first love came back but you were already married?” At that point, the story could have gone either way; I’d grown up on a diet of Sophie Kinsella…

£150 TO BE WON STILL TIME TO ENTER With its closing date of 15 July, there’s still time to enter last month’s competition for poems on ‘wheel’ themes £125 TO BE WON A loose theme for you to explore for this month, whether you choose to write an actual fantasy, or explore it as a theme word in a different genre. Just make us picture alternative possibilities. Your entry should be 1,500-1,700 words. The closing date is 15 August. The winner will receive £100 and publication in Writing Magazine, with £25 and publication on www.writers-online.co.uk for the runner-up. SEE P67 FOR ENTRY DETAILS, FULL RULES AND ENTRY FORMS…

Do you want to put emotion in your new poem. Sure, why not? However, you wouldn’t write something in the following way: ‘Today it is cold and raining/sky cloudy? Outside the house I fell on the path/twisted my ankle/I cried.’ No, you would not write like that as this would be simply telling a reader and not showing any emotion that the narrator might be feeling. Let’s look at those lines again and amend them. Today a vicious wind blows coldand rain slants needle-wise into my face.I leave the house to walk under looming skiesgrey and dark as my thoughts. Words have been selected to show emotions. Note how the wind is a vicious one and the rain is needle-wise. The narrator’s thoughts are dull and grey. Even more ‘showing’…

Win a £1,000 first prize in the Winchester Poetry Prize 2021 from Winchester Poetry Festival. The competition, which will be judged by Jacqueline Saphra, is for original, unpublished poems up to forty lines. There is a first prize of £1,000. The second prize is £500 and the third prize, £250. There is also a special prize for the best entry written by a Hampshire-based poet. A prizegiving event will take place as part of the Winchester Poetry Festival on 9 October, either live in Winchester or online, depending on whether restrictions are still in place. The entry fee is £5 for the first poem and £4 for any subsequent poems. The closing date is 31 July. Website: www.winchesterpoetryfestival.org…

Unpublished or self published Black-British writers are invited to submit children’s fiction for the Jericho Prize. This has two prizes of £500 plus development opportunities with industry editorial and design experts. The chief aim of the competition is to enable Black-British writers to ‘craft and showcase their stories to the world’. There are two categories for entries: the first for a rhyming or prose picture book of a maximum 800 words for ages 4+, the second for a short chapter book of 10,000-15,000 words for 7-9 year olds. Illustrations should not be submitted with manuscripts. Although books can have a complement of diverse characters all manuscripts must have a non stereotypical Black or mixed-Black character driving the story. ‘They must have a clear background that reflects their unique cultural/ethnic references,’…

Stories Rule Press is a small, family-owned Canadian publisher, established in 1999. They publish genre fiction and non-fiction ebooks and print books. Their publishing list has been thrown out by the pandemic and they ask authors who are interested in submitting boxed sets, or other fiction or non-fiction projects, to sign up to be notified when they will be open for long form submissions again, hoping it will be in September. But they do currently need submissions for an anthology of short contemporary romance stories with a Christmas theme. They want something cheerful for this pandemic year, ‘no historical or futuristic settings, paranormal elements, MM or FF stories, reverse harem, threesomes, etc’. Just think of simple, old fashioned, happily ever after, sweet romance, something every reader will enjoy. The anthology…

The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in scriptwriters having fewer opportunities to showcase their work as theatres were forced to close, smaller ones perhaps permanently. To offset this FlowerSong Press is to publish an anthology of short plays and monologues which is to be published in Spring 2022. New, unproduced scripts, on Covid-19 and all its permutations, are invited from around the world. They should be a maximum 25 pages and submitted before 1 August. Plays which have been give a reading or workshop are eligible, as are simultaneous submissions so long as you inform FlowerSong if acceptance is gained elsewhere. Format your work as a doc or pdf document with a title page containing your contact details. Submit as an email attachment and include a 50-75 word third person bio in…

Robert Scragg has won the Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction for the manuscript of his novel Helix. He wins £2,500 to support the completion of his book. A runner-up prize of £500 was awarded to Barbara Scott Emmett for Dog Leap Stairs. The Lindisfarne Prize celebrates outstanding crime and thriller fiction by writers from the north east of England. It was set up three years ago by author LJ Ross, and sponsored by her publishing imprint Dark Skies Publishing. ‘Since its inception three years ago, the Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction has gone from strength to strength, which is reflected not only in the growing number of submissions from extremely gifted writers but also in the quality of the writing,’ said LJ Ross. ‘This year’s crop of talent, in particular,…

The Emma Press will have a submission window for essay collections for adult readers between 21 and 27 June. The boutique independent press is looking for essay collections for its Prose Pamphlets series. The wordcount for these is between 15,000 and 20,000 words. Essays for the Emma Press might include memoir, travel writing, food writing, mediations or more experimental writing. Send a proposal and sample pages or the full manuscript during the submission window. Authors whose work is selected for the Prose Pamphlet series will receive £100 and royalties. Website: https://theemmapress.com/about/submissions/…

The James Berry Poetry Prize for emerging poets of colour has three equal prizes of £1,000 and publication with Bloodaxe Books. The James Berry Poetry Prize from Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts is aimed at young and emerging poets of colour. The prize has been devised by Bernadine Evaristo and Nathalie Teitler, and is Arts Council-funded. Three equal winners will each receive £1,000 and mentoring to help them develop their work, followed by publication of a debut collection with Bloodaxe Books. The prize is open to poets of colour who have not yet published a debut collection. Special consideration will be given to LGBTQI+ and disabled poets and poets from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. To enter, send a personal statement, a writing CV and 10-12 pages of poems. Entry is…

Literary novels, novellas, poetry and short stories collections and memoir, written in English or Dutch, are welcomed from writers around the world by London-based Holland Park Press. Poetry collections from a single poet, multiple poets and anthologies will all be considered as will out-of-copyright works translated form Dutch to English by a professional translator. This publisher has a commitment to ‘ongoing book and author promotion’ and expects its authors ‘to have their own unique voice and be able to add something new and lasting to literature’. The main criteria for the publication of its books is that they have literary merit and are a ‘compelling read’. Manuscripts should not be part of a series, should be completed and be no more than 100,000 words. If you have self-published this manuscript…

The Olga Sinclair Prize 2021 is open for entries. This year’s contest from Norwich Writers’ Circle is for short stories on the theme of ‘Lost’ The seventh edition of the annual international contest has a first prize of £500, a second prize of £250 and a third prize of £100. The winners and the top seven shortlisted entries will be published in an anthology. The judge is Stephen Carver. The theme has been chosen to reflect the lost rivers, landmarks and streets in the City of Norwich. Enter original, unpublished short stories up to 2,000 words on the ‘Lost’ theme. Stories may be in any genre, and do not have to mention Norwich. The entry fee is £9 for one story and £7 each for two or more stories. The…

Isele Magazine has a team of editors who believe ‘that literature and the arts are an integral part of the daily conversations that uplift and/or shape our thinking’. So they ‘publish writers and artists who hold a mirror to our society, who challenge conventional expectations about ways of being, how to be, and who decides who should be.’ Submit new fiction, poetry, essays, and photographs. They publish a monthly web magazine, a guest-curated quarterly series, a yearly print magazine, and a weekly blog full of the topical conversations both ‘within and outside of our literary spheres’. Submit by email, no more than 8,000 words of prose, as a doc file. Make sure to email to the correct fiction or non-fiction address. For poetry submit no more than six pages of…

Publishing commercial fiction, London based Joffe Books invites submissions from writers around the world and encourages, ‘authors of colour, LGTB+ authors and differently abled authors from diverse backgrounds to make their voices heard’. The ‘favourite’ fiction genres liked by this independent publisher are crime fiction, mysteries, psychological thrillers, cosy crime, police procedurals, chillers, suspense and domestic noir. Women’s fiction, historical fiction and romance novels will also be considered. Submissions should be full length manuscripts emailed as an attached pdf, or a doc. Insert ‘submission’ in the subject line and in the body of the email include a three-paragraph synopsis mentioning the genre of your book and 100 words about yourself. If you don’t gain a response within three months you should to assume you have been unsuccessful. Email to: submissions@joffebooks.com…

Outdoor Swimmer, edited by Jonathan Cowie, is the world’s only magazine dedicated to open-water swimming. It aims to cover outdoor swimming in all its forms – from wild swimming to marathon swims. The magazine was originally aimed at experienced swimmers with a racing background but under my editorship we have extended that to encompass wild swimming and swimming for mental health as well as physical health benefits,’ said Jonathan. ‘We still have training and gear sections but we aren’t focussed on performance; we also cover nature, environmental issues, social history of swimming outdoors, nature writing and enabling the exploration of the world from the water. Outdoor swimming has become an increasingly popular pastime, which is reflected in the magazine’s readership. ‘Our typical reader might be a woman in her forties…

STAR WARS WARS In a long-running saga that dates back to a grievance by author Alan Dean Foster, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has launched the Disney Must Pay Joint Task Force. The matter began when Disney took over the rights to the Star Wars universe from LucasFilm in 2012, and then more recently acquired the Fox film library and associated rights, which included those to the Alien series and associated merchandising tie-ins. Foster claimed that Disney has withheld royalty payments for his novelisations of the original Star Wars and Alien films – he wrote the novelisation of Star Wars (though George Lucas had his name on the cover) and the tie-in novels for the first three Alien films, as well as Star Wars spin-off novel…

As we all emerge blinking from our respective Covid bunkers back out into a world of social contact and even hugging we are all trying to make sense of the new world we are in. The five-day office seems like a thing of the past for certain – office time is great for some things, particularly younger workers who are more likely to live in crowded, shared accommodation and also to need the training the sheer fact of proximity with colleagues gives you. Simply seeing how other people do things or overhearing chat about how a colleague dealt with a difficult situation is terrifically useful. It is also good for morale. Working from home can be a little swamping. But it also has its enormous upsides. In particular meetings that…

100 years ago: September 1921 • Explorer Ernest Shackleton set out on the ship Quest on the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition, his last Antarctic expedition • Welsh singer and comedian Harry Secombe was born. 80 years ago: September 1941 • Two great American singers, legendary soul singer Otis Redding, and Mamas and the Papas singer ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot, were born. • Linda McCartney – photographer, musician, animal rights campaigner and vegetarian food manufactuer - was born. 70 years ago: September 1951 • American swimmer Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. • Elia Kazan’s film of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando, was released. • Science-fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still was released. • US actors Michael…

SPOTLIGHT ON… Norwich Writers’ Circle Against expectations, Norwich Writers’ Circle increased membership during lockdown, writes chair Iain Andrews. The Circle, the second-oldest in the country following its inception in 1942, had already established an online membership. By using Zoom we completed our programme for 2020/21 with only minor changes. That we did so was to a great extent down to the willingness of our guest speakers to join in the virtual gatherings. It was unfortunate that some of our members living outside the city didn’t have access to fast broadband, but others joined us from holiday homes, and we welcomed several new online faces, so meeting numbers remained strong. We had to learn quickly. An early attempt to use Facebook for workshops wasn’t successful. One meeting was disrupted by ‘zoombombers’, even…

‘2020 was a very bad year for many people because of Covid 19, writes subscriber David Lawrence-Young. ‘However, for me, 2020 was a great year. Three of my books were published and I have to add that much of this was due to Writing Magazine. It was this magazine’s regular contributor, Gary Dalkin, who pointed me in the direction of James Essinger and the Conrad Press. They published the first two books listed below. However, please do not think that I was so industrious in 2019-2020, as one of these novels, Emma Hamilton – Mistress of Land and Sea, was actually written five years ago. However, owing to long delays and wrangles with publishers, it only appeared four months ago. ‘Before I retired from teaching in 2013, my pupils called…

‘An Unfashionable Cancer is my own story taken from notes written during hospitalisation for a sudden cancer diagnosis, writes subscriber Debbie Murphy. ‘This became a successful blog which in turn I transposed into the book following requests from followers. ‘Prior to my cancer discovery I was a fashion designer leading a fast paced, fun lifestyle when I went from catwalk shows to hospital wards. Cancer isn’t fashionable. It’s drips and drains, washed out gowns and unwashed hair. I was unprepared for the transformation it had on my health and appearance. I closed my fashion business and deleted social media whilst coming to terms with joining that other growing trend, cancer patients. From diagnosis through recovery and acceptance I tell how cancer took a vital organ and gave me perspective. ‘While…

‘When I was a teenager, I dreamt of writing a bestseller. The truth was, I didn’t have a story to tell. I also didn’t possess the skills. I hadn’t lived. I hadn’t seen anything to prompt the outpourings of ideas. The gap between my ability and actually getting the thing on the page was as wide as the Grand Canyon. ‘I had to earn a living. The dream slipped away. It was years before I came back to the page. I became a stay-at-home-dad looking after four children. I began to write again. At first it was rubbish. I eventually found an agent and my first book was published. It tanked. People weren’t clamouring to read my every word. I wrote another. It fared moderately better. The third did well…

The Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award is a £20,000 literary prize recognising outstanding writing. It is open to writers publishing in English in any genre who publish their work through Kindle Direct Publishing. To enter the competition your book must be published on Amazon.co.uk between 1 May and 31 August 2021, be available as a paperback and an ebook and be enrolled in Amazon’s KDP Select programme. It is essential to enter the term ‘StorytellerUK2021’ in the keywords metadata field when publishing. There is no limit to the number of books you can enter for the Award. When last year’s winner, Anna McNuff, author of Llama Drama, heard she had won she said, ‘I’m just in shock. I’m so honoured to win. Some of the best things in life have come…

Poetry, non genre fiction, book reviews and non fiction including reportage, historical and political analysis, travel essays and literary, art and cultural criticism, are all invited by the Virginia Quarterly Review during its submissions period of 1-31 July. It is suggested you read the online content of the magazine to familiarise yourself with the magazine’s editorial focus. Poetry may be any type or length. The word count for fiction is 3,500-8,000 words, 3,500-9,000 for non fiction and 2,000-2,400 for book reviews. Submit no more four poems as a single submission or one prose piece per reading period. Simultaneous submissions are permitted with the usual proviso. No submission should have been previously published, including anthology, chapbook or online publication. Submit a doc, docx, rtf or txt document through the website. Payments…

The first prize in both categories, story and poem, is £1,000 in the international Bedford Competition 2021. There are also second and third prizes of £200 and £100, with a local Bedford Short Story and Poetry Prizes of £100, and Cygnature Short Story and Poetry Prizes of £100 for writers under 25. Prizewinning and shortlisted stories and poems will be published in an anthology. The competition is for original, unpublished short stories up to 3,000 words and poems up to 40 lines. The entry fee is £7.50 for the first story or poem, or three for £15. The closing date is 31 October. Website: https://bedfordwritingcompetition.co.uk/…

Alternating Current is a boutique, independent press with an editorial team who like work with ‘an innate sense of self, timelessness, and atmosphere’. They ‘love science, history, homebound roots, rural landscapes, poetic literary fiction, diverse voices, and all that is electric in the literary world.’ They are open for submissions of novels and novellas, and have a long list of anthologies needing submissions as well as a literary magazine, The Coil. Submissions are currently wanted for their annual literary journal of history, Footnote: A Literary Journal of History, ‘a print journal that features authors’ personal and non-scholarly viewpoints on historical people, places, events, and ideas in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.’ They also run six literary competitions, one of which is the Charter Oak Award for Best Historical and submissions…

Dread Stone Press is a publisher of horror and other dark speculative fiction, aiming to publish twice-monthly ‘tales of dread’ on the website and in speciality anthologies. • Stories are currently wanted for an anthology, Field Notes from a Nightmare, on the topic of ‘environmental and ecological horrors.’ The team want ‘tales and observations’ on the horrors of ‘Climate change, pollution, suburban sprawl, deforestation, etc.’ Think about ‘How will Mother Nature fight back in a struggle for survival?’ and remember that the stories are for an anthology of ecological horror. As long as the stories are based on ‘nature/environmental/ecological and horror, it’s good.’ Do note that as the anthology is ‘about our earth so…the story should be rooted in our reality.’ This means that ‘Happy endings are…a hard sell, but…a…

Hay Festival’s Write for Change is inviting submissions of writing on the theme of the opportunity for renewal. During the countdown to the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP-26 in November, Hay Festival is inviting writers to Write for Change to create an anthology of public works to inspire a better world. Submit short fiction, non-fiction and poetry (100 to 500 words). Submissions will be showcased on the Write for Change digital map and in a digital anthology. Everyone who submits will be entered into a prize draw to win a bundle of twenty Green Ideas books from Penguin. The closing date is 21 August. Website: http://writ.rs/writeforchange…

The Mystery Writers of America have announced the winners of the 2001 Edgar Awards for crime fiction, America’s most prestigious awards in the genre. The winners were: Best Novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, Deepa Anappara; Best First Novel by an American Author, Please See Us, Caitlin Mullen; Best Paperback Original, When No One is Watching, Alyssa Cole; Best Fact Crime, Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight Against the Drug Companies that Delivered the Opioid Epidemic, Eric Eyre; Best Critical/Biographical, Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock, Christina Lane; Best Short Story, Dust, Ash, Flight, Maaza Mengiste (Addis Ababa Noir); Best Juvenile, Premeditated Myrtle, Elizabeth C Bunce; Best YA, The Companion, Katie Alender. Other awards given included the Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins…

Bluemoose Books is an award winning independent publisher based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. this family firm is highly selective and chooses its authors with care. The ‘aim is to publish cracking stories that engage and inspire’. They believe that ‘Stories are transformative and as publishers we delight in finding great new talent’. They pride themselves on their authors being part of the family, and the innovative marketing they use to get their books into high street bookstores and reviewed in the best places. The team see themselves as ‘a delicatessen as opposed to a supermarket. We don’t stack them high and sell them (books) cheap but put them at the front of the store with a big bow on each one because we’re passionate about what we’re doing and…

Planet Mindful, edited by Holly Johnson, is a bimonthly magazine that encourages a mainly female readership aged between twenty and sixty to take time for hobby pastimes including cooking, crafting, gardening, colouring and yoga. The magazine promotes mindful living in all its aspects, and features friendly, informative articles that provide practical tips on ‘me time’ hobbies. Holly welcomes brief, relevant pitches from writers with a high level of experience in their subject matter. Website: http://writ.rs/planetmindful Caravan magazine, which is edited by Clare Kelly, covers everything of interest to people whose hobby is owning, or who are interested in buying, a caravan. Articles emphasise the fun and enjoyment of caravanning, and cover touring articles, kit features, DIY advice and travel features. Caravan written by real-life caravanners with first-hand knowledge, and provides…

The Moths to a Flame poetry competition is inviting entries. Finalists in the Art and Energy Collective’s poetry competition for 2021 will be invited to a Zoom slam to decide the winner. The Moths to a Flame poetry contest invites original, unpublished poems of any length on the theme of moths and/or energy. Poems must be able to be read or performed for a maximum of two minutes. The winner will be decided at a Zoom poetry slam and will receive £250. Ten shortlisted poets will receive a Moth Kit which is part of the Moths to a Flame project, and three hard copies of the resulting published book. Entry is free. Each writer may submit one poem. The closing date is 2 July. Website: www.mothstoaflame.art…

Auburn University in the US is accepting pitches for a special issue of the journal Post45 Contemporaries, a forum for writers to talk with one another more directly and informally than in traditional academic publications. Guest editor Dr Emily C Friedman is looking for pieces on the current state of tabletop roleplaying games from ‘as many parts of the tabletop community as possible’. This can be in the form of articles, or actual informal conversations between players, designers, producers, and others involved in the world of tabletop roleplaying games – think Dungeons & Dragons for the classic example. Proposals should be for pieces around 2,000-3,000 words, though longer and shorter submissions will be considered. Payment is $300 per piece. Submit your proposal to De Emily C Friedman by 1 October…

Levine Querido is a new independent publisher of ‘the finest children’s books in the world.’ They want to ‘give voice to a uniquely talented, exceptionally diverse group of authors and artists whose books will inspire a true LOVE of reading in young people while offering them a sense of their (and others’) rightful place in the world.’ The company specialising in ‘publishing the writing and artwork of authors and creators from underrepresented backgrounds, including people of colour, members of the LGBTQ community, Latinx creators, indigenous artists and writers, creators with disabilities, members of minority religions, and more’. They want books which ‘are characterised by great storytelling, undeniably powerful and beautiful artwork, and a fearless commitment to telling deep truths’. They want ‘authentic emotion and ideas or perspectives we haven’t seen…

What if history had gone a different way? What if a lighthouse at the edge of the world was the portal to a parallel world – or worlds – where historical events had very different outcomes? These are key premises explored in The Kingdoms, the new novel by Natasha Pulley that takes her lead character Joe Tournier on mind-warping voyages of discovery as it asks what might have happened if the French, not the English, had won the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The beginning of The Kingdoms throws the reader into an alternative version of history where England had been defeated by the French in the Napoleonic Wars and is a French colony. Joe Tournier is a British slave, arriving in Londres in 1898 by train. Having lost his…

‘The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle is a novel in the “uplit” genre about a shy, lonely and secretly gay postman, who’s served notice of compulsory retirement and is prompted to delve back into his past to confront an unresolved trauma and track down his lost love – in the process learning to love his true self, engage with his community, and finally experience happiness. One of the things that inspired me to write it was the joy I felt at seeing gay men like myself being embraced by British society. I think you’d be hard-pushed to find any other minority community in the UK that was as hated and feared as gay men were fifty years ago and is now as warmly embraced and loved. I wanted to write…

Life After LOCKS ‘Liverpool Literary Agency (LLA), registered in 2020, are the first literary agency Liverpool has ever had,’ writes subscriber Ashleigh Nugent. ‘I am proud to announce that I am the latest author on to be taken under their wing. Moreover, to our knowledge, no major publisher has ever signed a fiction deal with a black male author from Liverpool. And LLA are working hard to make me the first. ‘My book, LOCKS, is currently published through my own company, RiseUp CIC. We deliver projects in prisons which combine creative writing and mindset techniques. As you read on you will understand why this work is so important to me. ‘LOCKS is based on a true story. When I left school, in 1992, I had already been arrested three times.…

‘Is it possible to write a nonfiction book in a month and get it out to publication?’ writes subscribe VC Ward. ‘Yes – if you are able to write without interruption. A little longer if you are also trying to hold down a day-job. It’s about making the best use of technology to boost your writing output. Not just books. Also business reports; magazinearticles; newsletters; treatises. Just as if you had your own personal secretary. But you’ll have to get used to new ways of working. This book focuses on the mechanics of getting your ideas down on paper and out to publication in the shortest possible time.’ Website: http://writ.rs/writequick…

This month’s story is full of verbal fun. In The Girl And The Habit by O Henry the playful use of language stands out above any other element of the story. As usual, you’ll get the most out of the story if you read it for yourself: http://writ.rs/ohenry. Let’s look at how O Henry really gets the most out of language in crafting this tale. Firstly, note how the story starts in an unusual way with a dictionary definition of the word ‘habit’ and how this ties in with the title. This is significant because the concept of habit will be important later on. Notice also that the main character is called Miss Merriam, a name that is associated with dictionary publication. But that’s only the start of the verbal…

Sometimes stories begin with a character, or a concept, but sometimes they can start with a theme, or an issue. This can be an interesting way to kick-start a story. If you take this approach, once you’ve decided which issue you would like to explore, you need to think about how you would like to incorporate this into your story. There are different ways to write about big issues in writing, and different levels at which you can explore them. • Main plotline or main theme or main character Sometimes the story will revolve around the question you want to explore with the issue you have chosen. When you develop a story in this way, you usually have the theme or question in mind before anything else. The main character,…

One of the UK publisher Bookouture’s most recent signings is the bestselling African American novelist Suzette D Harrison, whose heart-wrenching family saga The Girl at the Back of the Bus is sure to be a hit with British readers. ‘I come from a long line of hardworking people who are also creatives,’ says Suzette, when I ask her to tell me a little about her own family’s background. ‘African Americans have always had to be multi-faceted with many irons in the fire. My great-grandfather was a cook on the railroads, but he also sang in quartets on the weekends. My cousins are musicians, they craft jewellery, create body care products, and make the best gourmet caramel corn. My uncle was a pastry chef, and my grandmother and aunt were phenomenal…

The annual What Kids Are Reading report, authored by Professor Keith Topping of the University of Dundee for Renaissance Learning, has concluded that children, especially those in primary school and year seven, have been reading more challenging books during lockdown. The report, which covers the period August 2019 to July 2020, found that although there was a decline by 17% in the number of books read, ‘During the lockdown overall, pupils were tending to read longer books of greater difficulty and with greater comprehension. Having more time to read gave children the chance to immerse themselves in literature. Schools should encourage more reading time now that they are open again.’ Meanwhile the National Literacy Trust added that at the start of 2020 47.8% of children (from a survey of 58,000…

The international Grindstone Short Story Prize 2021 has prizes of £500, £200 and four £50 for shortlisted entries, for original, unpublished short fiction in any genre for adult readers between 1,000 and 3,000 words. The top twenty entries will appear in Grindstone’s annual anthology. The entry fee is £12. The closing date is 1 August. Website: www.grindstoneliterary.com The shortlist for the Women’s Prize For Fiction, for the best novel published in the UK between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, has been announced as The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett; Piranesi, Suzanna Clarke; Unsettled Ground, Claire Fuller; Transcendent Kingdom, Yaa Gyasi; How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps, Cherie Jones; No One is Talking About This, Patricia Lockwood. 2021 marks the 25th anniversary of the award formerly known as the Baileys Women’s…

Runner’s World is a US magazine and website devoted to ‘stories about every aspect of running, from tips on how to get started to human interest pieces to training plans for competitive runners aiming for a new PR, and everything in between’. The readership includes all kinds of runners, from beginners to experienced competitive athletes, sprinters to ultra-distance runners and casual runners. Readership is 50/50 male/female. The editorial team are always open to working with new writers and freelancers, and you don’t need to be a runner to contribute. They are committed to working more frequently with writers and experts in running who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, or belong to other marginalised identities. Runner’s World has the following sections you can pitch to: Service (Training-Health-Nutrition): Pitch to hmdrwservice@hearst.com News/Human Interest/Culture: hmdrwnews@hearst.com…

The content of the quarterly 2MillionBlossoms magazine aims to ‘awaken readers to the vast diversity of pollinating insects and animals’ and to ‘delight, entertain and name those well adapted creatures buzzing through our world’. Submissions of articles written for the lay person are invited on pollinator profiles and projects, the people involved with pollinators, smart agricultural and science advances, improving garden habitats and bee keeping for environmental stewards. Short form articles of 300-800 words and long form articles of 1,200-2,500 words are wanted. It is preferred that articles be accompanied by photographs/graphics. Submit articles as a doc, rtf or pdf document with your name and contact details, the proposed title and the pollinator or country your article addresses. Payment on publication for first time serial rights and six months’ exclusivity…

100-word entries are invited on the theme ‘Revealed’ for Southam Book Festival’s Flash Fiction Competition 2021. All entries in the 100-word story competition must be flash fiction with a title, which must be included in the 100-word wordcount. The title should not be the word ‘revealed’ or any word related to it such as ‘revelation’, ‘revealing’ etc. There are prizes of £50, £30 and £20. The entry fee is £2 per flash fiction, or up to six for £8. The closing date is 4 September. Website: southambookfest.co.uk…

Billing itself as ‘a literary journal that takes you dark places’, 34 Orchard is an international journal published biannually which can be read free online. Welcome from writers around the world are short stories and poems of terror, unrest and sadness. Poetry can be any style or length, fiction must be 1,000-7,500 words long. Simultaneous submissions will be considered with the usual proviso. Reprints will not be considered. Use a standard manuscript format in a doc file. The reading period for the next issue is 1-31 July. Submit only one piece of fiction or up to three poems in three separate documents in one email. Include a cover letter with your name and contact details, story/poem title, word count, a third person bio of less than 100 words and a…

Polygon, a US media and gaming website run by Vox Media, is increasing its reporting on tabletop games and editor Charlie L Hall is accepting pitches for features, opinion pieces, reviews, news and previews for the tabletop section of Polygon at www.polygon.com/tabletop-games Payment is $150 for short posts and $300 for longer, reported features. Email him at charlie@polygon.com or message on Twitter @Charlie_L_Hall Polygon also accept pitches for stories about digital/video games, movies and TV. Pitch feature ideas to Matt Leone: matt.leone@ polygon.com; Opinion pieces to opinionpitches@polygon.com; and original videogame/TV/movie reporting, reviews, op-eds and essays to pitches@polygon.com. It is essential to follow the very extensive guidelines at: www.polygon.com/2019/2/28/18244873/polygon-pitching-guidelines-how-to-pitch…

Vernacular Books is a small press specialising in ‘awesome SF/F in a wide variety of forms’, currently open to submissions of novels, novellas, and short stories. Open to all subgenres, the editorial team ask writers to query by email for novels and novellas with a short cover letter, synopsis, bio, and the first five pages in the body of an email to: vernacularbookssubmissions@gmail.com For short stories again email the story, pasted into the body. Response time is around three months. Payment for short stories is $25 for first, web, and audio rights. Payment for novels and novella is ‘competitive royalties and modest advance for ebook, print, and audio rights.’ Details: Vernacular Books, website: https://vernacularbooks.com…

The Novel London 2021 Literary Competition is an international contest that invites the first chapter and a synopsis. The entry must be part of a complete work of fiction, which may be unpublished, self-published or newly published. The winner will receive £500 and six months of mentoring from Nadine Matheson. The second prize is £300 and an assessment of the first three chapters and synopsis. The third prize is £100 and two coaching sessions. Submit the opening chapter (up to 3,000 words), a short synopsis and a one-page biography. The entry fee is £11. The closing date is 31 July. Website: www.novellondon.co.uk…

Wargamer is a UK website that focuses on both traditional tabletop and board games and digital games. Editor Alex Evans is currently looking for new tabletop games freelancers, particularly BIPOC writers. The site publishes reviews, in-depth guides and gaming news – recent posts have included a guide to the best board games for two players, news that Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive fantasy novel series is being adapted into a board game, and a review of the game Victory At Sea. Payment is £150 for a 1000 word feature, including images. Find our more at www.wargamer.com/about-us then pitch your idea for a review, news item or guide to alex.evans@wargamer.com…

The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2021 is inviting entries in two categories: fiction and poetry The international competition awards a £2,500 prize to the winner in each category. Both winners will be published in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual. The fiction winner will also receive a consultation with Redhammer Management. The poetry winner will receive a year’s full membership of The Poetry Society. Both winners will receive a year’s subscription to Granta and a selection of books from Vintage. Submit fiction up to 2,000 words and poetry up to 40 lines. Work on any theme may be submitted, and it may have been published elsewhere. The entry fee is £12 per poem and £18 for short fiction. The closing date is 31 August. Website: https://aestheticamagazine.com/creative-writing-award/…

DL Russell Books specialises in horror and erotic anthologies. Editor in chief DL Russell seeks good stories with clever twists and genuine scary plots for The Big Man Selling Calendars And Other Terrifying People horror anthology. He wants tales about those people you meet ‘and come to wonder if there’s something wrong with them?’ Those people who ‘make us ask if they’re demented, dangerous, or even human?’ Think dark and strange. Well written, character driven horror, between 1,500 and 3,500 words in the genres of horror, dark fantasy, paranormal are what’s wanted. Payment is $25 and three copies. Email subs to dlrussellbooks@gmail.com with Calendar People Submission in the subject line. • A second anthology, Payin 2 Play also needs stories. Think of all the tales from ‘the World’s Oldest Profession’…