Welcome to one of the biggest Writing Magazine issues of the year. Long-term readers will no doubt already have found the biannual competition supplement. If you haven’t, turn to the pull-out section in the middle of the mag for details of 800 competitions to enter over the next few months.
Elsewhere we’ve got the usual blend of information, advice and, especially this month, encouragement. I particularly enjoyed hearing how Jake Avila navigated a long and winding road of rejections and disappointments before securing two prize shortlistings and a £15k book deal (p24), and the valuable advice from Sophie Kirtley on writing historical fiction for young readers (p12, and don’t think it just applies to children’s books!) Sophie was the first winner of our annual Picture Book Prize (p52) and has just had her second middle grade book published. Beyond the advice in the articles, learn from their example and don’t be in any doubt that a competition win can lay the foundation for further writing successes. Good luck!