Welcome…

Dear Reader

THE WORLD OF WRITING

The wide world of writing is a curious place where fonts get fan mail, Poet Laureates play pub gigs and bookshop burglars get boozed up

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We want to hear your news and views on the writing world, your advice for fellow writers – and don’t forget to tell us what you would like to see featured in a future issue…

STAR LETTER

Psyching yourself up

Cuttings book

My husband bought me a subscription to Writing Magazine

Gatekeepers of opinion

Writing as an agent, Piers Blofeld (From the other

Horse’s mouth

I could not but agree with the points made by the article

Writing to the finishing line

New Year brings yet again the same resolve – that I

Words, unleashed

For years writing a book had been an ambition of mine

Free your mind

As a busy single parent I must confess to usually skipping

COMPETITION OVERLOAD

I approach my desktop with sweating brow and nervous

Words for a friend

I read Philip Simon’s letter (Time To _ ink, WM, Mar)

With you in a jiffy

Small, specific things can make a difference, says Piers Blofeld, wishing publishers would consider making agents’ lives (just a little bit) easier when it comes to publicity

Ask a Literary Consultant

A debut writer planning to attend the London Book Fair gets sound advice on making the most of their visit from Helen Corner-Bryant

Literary legacy

Sarah Baxter, who handles literary estates at the Society of Authors, explains the work they do to keep an author’s work alive for years after their death

Think outside the box

Unorthodox approaches can be very effective in getting the word out about your book, says Simon Hall in the second instalment of his two-parter on promotion

Fish for a writing gig…

Could you make money writing for a niche magazine about a specialised interest? Practical Fishkeeping editor Nathan Hill explains what he wants from new writers.

In the frame

Author, screenwriter and director Andrew David Barker tells Gary Dalkin how writers can turn into filmmakers

BONING UP

As you might expect from a forensic scientist, crime author Kathy Reichs takes a practical approach to her bestselling Bones series, she tells Tina Jackson

JULIE SHACKMAN

Scottish romance author Julie Shackman, tells Dolores Gordon Smith how she found an Australian agent.

ADAM MACQUEEN

The journalist and now novelist shares his top fi ve

The style & technique of MACINTYRE technique ofBEN

Tony Rossiter examines a writer whose true stories read like fiction

Away _ om your desk

your desk Get out of your garret for some upcoming activities and places to visit

TESTING times

Have your characters got themselves stuck in a situation? Julie Phillips suggests testing what they’re capable of by placing them in alternative realities in this group exercise

CIRCLES’ ROUNDUP

If your writing group would like to feature here, whether you need new members, have an event to publicise or to suggest tips for other groups, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk

SUBSCRIBER SPOTLIGHT

Share your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing Magazine and would like to feature here, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk

TIME & PLACE

Alison Chisholm explores the way a poem can capture a particular moment in time

Poetry in practice

Plan a new poem round the months of the year with Doris Corti

UK MAGAZINE MARKET

Finding new ways of being a Lady

ANA JOHNS

The US writer tells Lynne Hackles how a life-changing diagnosis led to a novel inspired by real-life events linked to a little-known era in US and Japanese history

Male order

Writers often fall unwittingly into creating gender stereotypes, says Lorraine Mace, as she gives them - and herself - a dressing down

Animal spirit Animal spirit

Think about connections with the animals that live

Loft conversion

Jeanette Lowe is a southerner now resident in South

T he Game

Also shortlisted in the 500-word short story competition

The finishing line

Finish what you started, says Adrian Magson. It’s the only way to find out if it’s got legs.

Under the Microscope

James McCreet applies his forensic criticism to the beginning of a reader’s memoir

Being different

Author Joseph Elliott talks to Amy Sparkes about the importance of representing children with additional needs in books

Spring cleaning

I t’s not only our houses that could usually do with

I wish I’d known…

with Morton S Gray

On a grand scale

Epic fantasy requires a particular kind of input from the writer. Get skilled up to write a longer book by following advice from Alex Davis

Lost for words

Jane Wenham Jones advises a recently retired writer whose creative flow has dried up to give herself the time she needs to adjust to a big life change

Under the covers Diamond shoes

New author Gillian Harvey can’t believe her luck… now that she’s got Book Two Blues to contend with

You can bank on it

Simon Whaley looks at the pros and cons of having a business bank account for your writing

Crime and punishment

Writing a crime novel? Tarja Moles gives you the clues and leads you need to research the criminal underworld and the forces of the law. Writing a crime novel? Tarja Moles gives you the clues and leads you need

BEHIND THE TAPE

Expert advice to get the details right in your crime fiction, from serving police officer Lisa Cutts

Editorial calendar

Strong forward planning will greatly improve your chances with freelance submissions. Here are some themes to consider for the coming months.

AMY MCLELLAN

Adrian Magson learns a new word from the debut psychological thriller writer

WRITERS’NEWS

Your essential monthly round-up of competitions, paying markets, opportunities to get into print and publishing industry news.

UK MAGAZINE MARKET

FlyPast magazine explores aviation history, vintage

Write till times are done

Silver Apples Magazine is a lively American magazine

Big win for unsung hero

Jack Fairweather’s The Volunteer wins Costa Book of

FLASHES

Win $50 for a short spec fi c story between 500 and

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

Based in California, the quarterly Threepenny Review

UK FICTION MARKET

One More Chapter launched in 2019 as a new digital-first

Poets get ready to emerge

Win €1,000 for the best poem written for children in

Stories to make a meal of

After Dinner Conversation is a fascinating concept.

UK HORROR MARKET

For 30 years Tartarus Press have produced beautiful

Quiet man, impressive prize

The 2020 QuietManDave Prize is a new award in honour

Diversity paramount

Plays written in either English or Italian on topics

A call to action

Stelliform Press is a new Canadian small indie for

FLASHES

Bitesize Stories runs a monthly flash fiction contest

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

Southword Journal is an Irish print literary journal

Welsh poetry and a new award

The International Welsh Poetry Competition 2020 is

Go for the big win

The Bridport Prize 2020 is inviting international entries

Sharpen your pencils

The BPA First Novel Award 2020 is inviting entries.

ONLINE ARTICLE MARKET

Established in 1997, ThoughtCo contains over 40,000

Stimulate the memory

Hippocampus is an online press for books, and associated

FLASHES

Sharon Reid, editor of Yours fortnightly, needs treasured

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

The Southampton Review is a US literary journal with

Ware it’s at

There is a prize pot totalling £1,050 on offer in the

Be seen at your best

The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award is open for entries.

Gateway for magical realism

The Gateway Review: aJournal of Magical Realism is

UK QUEER MARKET

Cipher Press is a new independent publisher of queer

Enter the Corpus

Submissions are open for two anthologies from Corpus

Poetry from wise women

Believing older women ‘have a lot to say, and they

Exciting voices for Brick Lane

The 2020 Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize is looking

FLASHES

Farnham Flash Fiction Competition has a first prize

GLOBAL SPECFIC MARKET

A bimonthly lifestyle magazine ‘promoting physical

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

Based in Asheville, North Carolina, The Black Mountain

Bathtime rota

The Bath Short Story Award 2020 is inviting entries.

INTRODUCTIONS

Writing Magazine presents a selection of pet publications currently accepting contributions. We strongly recommend that you read back issues, familiarise yourself with their guidelines before submitting and check websites for submission details.

The mystery of travel

The Globe Soup Spring 2020 Travel Writing Competition

FLASHES

Woman’s Weekly women’s magazine lifestyle director

GLOBAL HISTORY MARKET

Based in North America and published six times a year

CHRONIC CONDITIONS

The Barbellion Prize is a literary new prize dedicated

Nature poets take flight

The Rialto Nature and Place Poetry Competition 2020

POEMS IN PRINT

The Rialto Open Pamphlet Competition 2020 is inviting

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

Clare Songbirds publishes work by poets and writers

Dearly anticipated

Margaret Atwood’s first poetry collection in 13 years

FOR RAZOR SHARP NOIR CRIME

Switchblade has an editor who loves ‘punk noir.’ he

Comic line up

The next BBC Script Room submission window will be

Novel Ideas

Surpriseyourself

FLASHES

Rosie Nixon is editor in chief of weekly Hello! magazine

UK NON-FICTION MARKET

Hero Press is a new imprint from Legend Press that

Grow your own collection

erbacce-press is inviting entries for the erbacce prize

Test the climate

The Everything Change Climate Fiction Contest 2020

Get in with the outsiders

The theme for the Momaya Short Story Competition 2020

INTERNATIONAL ZINE SCENE

US website McSweeney’s InternetTendency provides ‘Daily

FLASHES

A new Australian literary award offers an Aus$15,000

GLOBAL BIZARRO MARKET

Founded in 1999 in Portland, Oregon, Eraserhead Press

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

Persea Books is a New York-based publisher of literary

GLOBAL TRAVEL MARKET

Aiming to ‘uncover the best, the funniest, the freshest

Fine words in four categories

The 2020 Segora creative writing competitions are open

Long smoke, quick flash

The SmokeLong Quarterly Award for Flash Fiction is

How are youfeeling?

Patrick Forsyth suggests going beyond facts to bring your travel writing to life

FLASHES

Autosport, subtitled Britain’s best motorsport magazine

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

Book*hug Press call themselves ‘a radically optimistic

Be part of the poetry canon

Live poetry organisation Live Canon has three competitions

Find your voice for Frome

The 2020 Frome Festival Short Story Competition is

Encouraging emerging writers

The Belfast Book Festival is inviting entries for the

Find new words for Wasafiri

The Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize 2020 is open

T he great Romantic

There is much, much more to William Wordsworth than daffodils, says Alison Chisholm as she launches WM’s poetry competition in his honour

Getting festive

The WM poets really captured a sense of seasonal magic in their Christmas Poetry competition entries, says judge Alison Chisholm

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Helen M Walters looks at a short story by Charles Dickens as a starting point to exploring the importance of names in fiction

Competition Special2020

Dear Readar

COMPETITIONGUIDE 2020

Pick your favourites and start scheduling your entries with over 750 competitions to enter. This could be the year you win big!