Letter from the Editor

A question we are asked again and again at Writing

A hero for our time

Like his irrepressible man-mountain hero, Lee Child just keeps coming

How I got published: Thriller writer James Silvester

Author James Silvester, whose debut Escape to Perdition is a

Beat the bestsellers

The style and technique of JOHN BRAINE

Shelf life: Kate Furnivall

Historical novelist Kate Furnival shares her five favourite books with

Subscriber spotlight

Share your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing

Hospital notes

A sudden, life-threatening illness had a transformative effect on a

Circles’ Roundup

If your writing group would like to feature here, whether

Crime file: Michael Koryta

Michael Koryta draws on his journalistic background for his punchy

New author profile: Su Bristow

Margaret James meets the debut author bringing new life to

My writing day: Marsali Taylor

Shetland crime writer Marsali Taylor shares her writing routine with

Join the dots

The new Nine Dots Prize is for creative thinking that

Go on a writing adventure

The Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation is inviting entries to

Live like Robert Louis

The Scottish Book Trust is inviting applications for the Robert

UK MAGAZINE MARKET

Lady like

Comp for new voices in SF

An annual short story competition in memory of one of

Win £20 per word

The Reader’s Digest 100-word-story Competition 2016 offers a prize of

Funny women win

Winners of the Women in Comedy Festival competition were Rachel

FLASHES

Your Life is the magazine from Schär, producer of gluten-free

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

New home for new talent

Chip away at your story for this comp

The competition, which is sponsored by short story site www.pennyshorts.com

Food for thought for new writers

Nottingham Writers’ Club is inviting entries for its National Short

UK NON-FICTION MARKET

Mirror mirror on the wall

It’s a Funny Old World

A jump in culinary book sales is expected when instructions

FLASHES

The Burton & Bransgore Bulletin, a sister publication to The

UK MAGAZINE MARKET

Celebrate beautiful music

Pageturner please

The biennial Tibor Jones Pageturner Prize is open for entries

UK ARTS MARKET

A sense of Wundor

Pen something Pre-Raphaelite

The Pre-Raphaelite Society has two competitions open for entries: the

A fresher approach to writing prizes

The Fresher Writing Prize 2017 from Bournemouth University’s Fresher Publishing

FLASHES

Japanese photojournalism magazine Days Japan has an international competition for

GLOBAL SPECFIC MARKET

Zombies Need Brains needs writers

A selfish story for Jane Austen 200

2017 marks the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death and

Get creative for Bridgend Writers

Bridgend Writers’ Circle invites entries for its Short Story Open

Play time for Drip Action

Drip Action Theatre’s writing competition invites entries of short plays

UK CHILDREN’S MARKET

A tree of many colours

And another thing...

‘When someone says to me, “I’ve got this great idea

FLASHES

The Cadet Review, a quarterly magazine for sea, land and

GLOBAL MAGAZINE MARKET

Unearthing history

A right royal affair

The Katherine Swynford Society runs quarterly writing competitions for short

Reborn reborn

While comics and graphic novels are often made into films,

Mithila goes quarterly

Originally published monthly, globally minded speculative arts and culture magazine

INTRODUCTIONS

Writing Magazine presents a selection of military publishers currently accepting contributions. We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with their guidelines before submitting and check websites, where given, for submission details

FLASHES

The editor of Yours magazine, Sharon Reid, invites readers’ stories

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

Get fired up for AGNI

Think BLYNKT

Blynkt is a new website, magazine and podcast multimedia market

Writers’ production line

Fiction Factory is inviting entries for a new short story

Charity wins at non-fiction prizegiving

The 2016 Baillie Gifford Prize (formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize),

UK FICTION MARKET

A dark cloud with a silver lining for daring writers

Fantastical poetry wanted

Poetry magazine Goblin Fruit is looking for poetry that approaches,

On the buses

There are three categories: open, Channel Islands’ poetry and young

FLASHES

Nick Trott is the new editor of Motor Sport magazine

UK FICTION MARKET

Fiction Desk opens the money drawer

The bureau of spooky stories

The Fiction Desk Ghost Story Competition 2017 is open for

Wisdom on wit

A gift for writers with a comic bent, Splitsider is

The Story of a New Name

The true identity of international bestselling author Elena Ferrante (The

INTERNATIONAL ZINE SCENE

50-Word Story is a Canadian zine publishing fifty-word flash fiction

A godly endeavour

Pantheon Magazine publishes fiction, art, photography, arts reviews and poetry,

FLASHES

Spain’s Premio Planeta de Novela, the single most valuable literary

UK BOOK MARKET

Get ready to Impress

Poems for Prole

The Prole Laureate Poetry Competition is open for entries for

Fantastic Beasts ubiquitous

The Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find

UK TRAVEL MARKET

A destination for special interest travel

FLASHES

Bognor Regis Post is a free weekly independent newspaper edited

GLOBAL FICTION MARKET

A new light in the dark

Excellence for Exeter

The competition is for all writers, published and unpublished, writing

Double Daggers for Bill Beverly

The Crime Writers’ Association’s Gold Dagger for the best crime

Book Talk

Our literary group recently held a poetry competition: 'One A4

List-en to this

Compose a top ten list on a particular topic and

Baen exploring?

Leading US science fiction publisher Baen Books has launched the

Try your luck for Teignmouth

Teignmouth Poetry Festival Competition 2017 is open for entries. The

Grumpy Old Bookman: Earnings warnings

Aspiring authors continue to ignore the financial facts, as Michael

Ask a literary consultant

In the first of a new series, literary consultant Helen Corner-Bryant answers your queries about writing and publishing

From the other side of the desk

Literary agent Piers Blofeld explains the mysterious role of the

Technology for writers: Ditch the rejections

Dig out your rejected manuscripts. Chris Glithero highlights alternative ways

Fiction: People power

How do you create irresistible lead characters that will keep

Style: Swear where?

Some writers pepper their fiction, especially dialogue, with expletives. Others

On writing

An adjective is a word that qualifies, modifies or describes

Historical fiction: Rewriting the past

Certain periods of history are already well explored by other

Writing style: Words from the wise

Writing advice from the ancient Greeks stands the test of

Competition winners

COOL OR WHAT?

The Break

Julie lives with her husband in Pembrokeshire, overlooking the Preseli

Under the microscope

Author and lecturer James McCreet puts a reader’s first 300

Fiction focus: Staying power

Keep readers on the hook for your next book and

I wish I’d known…

Novelists tell us what they wished they’d known right at the start of their careers

JACOB STANLEY

Jacob Stanley, who, at the age of just six, is

Short story masterclass: You can trust me

Whip unreliable narrators into line by studying the masters with

Writing for children: A winter’s tale

Set the scene for a magical children’s winter’s tale with

Fantastic realms: What’s in a name?

Finding plausible names for your characters and settings can be

Get writing: Writer’s day off

Reward and inspire yourself at the same time by taking

Beginners: Courting success

Dig beneath the skin of most writers and you’ll find

Away from your desk

Get out of your garret for some upcoming activities and

Talk it over: Read to write

Don’t be afraid of other books influencing your writing style,

Novel ideas

Don’t let the ominous old To Do list get you

Writing life: Food for thought

Don’t let festive overindulgence leave you feeling creatively sluggish. Simon

Grandma, WHAT BAD BOOKS YOU WRITE!

Lorraine Mace became a Wicked Stepmother when her family started

Poetry competition: Holly jolly winners

Judge Alison Chisholm highlights the winning entries from our Christmas

Poetry workshop: Lure of the lighthouse

A memorable poem began its life with a haunting phrase,

Poetry in practice

Let your senses suggest themes for your poems, advises Doris

Poetry from A to Z

A METAPHOR is a powerful device of poetry that expresses

Pen pushers: Say it with letters

An epistolary novel is written as a series of documents

Red Editing Pen

Each month, we give you a few sentences which would

Circles’ roundup: Get cracking

Warm up your logical faculties and look at writing problems

Miscellany: The World of Writing

Snobby accusations, brolly revelations, sexy celebrations, hacks down, cosying up

Letters

We want to hear your news and views on the

Editorial calendar

Strong forward planning will greatly improve your chances with freelance

Webbo

WRITERS' WEB WATCH

STAYING IN THE GAME

Which online skills do writers need to hone to keep

Helpline: Your writing problems solved

Email your queries to Diana (please include home-town details) at:

Article writing: The magazine sleuth - a study in detection for article writers

The pages of a magazine tell you exactly what its

Going to market

We see the Sun as it was eight minutes ago

Research tips: Ask the experts

Find the right sources to back up your story with

Chicken or egg?

Should you arrange the trip first, or try to get