DEAR READER

As the old year draws to a close,

EDIT LIKE A PRO

Editing your early draft is where you get to make your writing work. James McCreet shows you how effective editing can be by workshopping original text into focussed writing that does what it needs to

TURN ON THE Christmas writes

In a seasonal special, Helen Stockton has rounded up some Christmas crackers in the form of festive fuel for your writing

SEEN ON SCREEN

Do you dream of seeing your words acted out on TV? Four top industry professionals of f er their advice on making the grade in the competitive world of screenwriting

Setting the scene

Conveying location and place are vital to the atmosphere of your fiction. Novelist Amanda Jennings offers advice on how to bring the places in your stories to life

BANG TO WRITES

Author T. Orr Monroe, a former CSI, looks at the challenge for crime writers to give their police procedurals a sense of authenticity

Opening the door

Award-winning crime writer Dreda Say Mitchell tells Tina Jackson about the importance of believing in yourself as a writer, and creating opportunities for other writers to get their unique voices heard

ROGER N MORRIS

The historical novelist tells Lynne Hackles that his routine involves falling into the research rabbit hole

PYAE MOE THET WAR

The debut rom-com writer describes how she dealt with rejection by writing a better book

SHELF LIFE

MANDY ROBOTHAM

REAL LIFE, great stories

This month, Jenny Alex and er invites you to try telling y our memoir stories in poetry

Your writing critiqued

James McCreet applies a forensic micro-critique to the beginning of a reader’s manuscript

Tense and point of view: PART ONE

This month, writer and tutor Ian Ayris turns his atttention to two vital choices that need to be made when you begin to write your stories

UNFORESEEN ENCOUNTER

As his gripping new thriller The Fortune Teller of Berlin hits the shelves, author JC Maetis looks at those all important opening pages

ALL RIGHT ON THE NIGHT

Alison Chisholm is entertained by a poem about the pre-performance chaos of a school Nativity play

Fit in or stand out?

Where might your book fit, in a book shop? Margaret James looks at genre and the way books are categorised, and has sound advice for writers whose books don’t fit neatly into boxes

SOMETHING MISSING

Helen Walters looks at the impact a character’s loss of faculties could have on your fiction, with an example

MAKE IT SHINE:

Five ways to polish your middle-grade manuscript

BEYOND fantasy creatures

Alex Davis invites you to get to grips with the less-explored beings in secondary worlds

Treat time

A writing success deserves a small celebration,

The world of writing

What goes through a writer’s brain? Readers’ letters and dispatches from the wide world of writing

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: YOUR WRITING

Supernatural

Subscribers’ news

To feature in Subscribers’ News contact: tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk

THE HYBRID APPROACH

Erin Larson-Burnett from Atmosphere Press explains how

SLEEPLESSIN SCARBOROUGH

In a small terraced house a short way

GAMES NIGHT

RUNNER UP

Telling the Bees

WINNER

CLARE CHASE

The mystery author talks to Margaret James about juggling three different series

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Copyright protects ever y writer, not just the professionals. Simon Whaley explains why ever y writer should know their rights

FAKE NEWS

Ensure you don’t fall victim to misinformation in your research process by following this advice fromTarja Moles

Behind the tape

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

Glittering prizes

Is it worth submitting your unpublished manuscript for high-profile awards? Cornerstone’s Monica Chakraverty looks at the potential advantages for emerging authors

GET PUBLISHED

You’ve read the advice – now get into print! Find the most up-to-date calls for submissions, writing competitions to enter and publishing opportunities to suit you and your writing in our easy-to-navigate news pages

SHORT STORY AND POETRY COMPETITIONS

The Bournemouth Writing Prize 2025 The annual contest

FICTION OPPORTUNITIES

Dracula Beyond Stoker Dracula Beyond Stoker is

SMALL PRESS OPPORTUNITIES

Riverfolk Publishing Riverfolk Publishing, a US small press,

INDIE MAGS AND WEBSITES

WestWord WestWord’s new ‘Story Sunday feature’ wants shorts

POETRY SUBMISSIONS

Acumen Celebrating its 40th, Acumen is a non-profit

NOVEL COMPETITIONS

Criminal Lines 2024 AM Heath’s competition is for

GENERAL NEWS

Awards round-up By Gary Dalkin The 2024 Booker

NON-FICTION COMP

The Nine Dots Prize 2024/2025 Now in its

NOVEL COMP

The Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize 2025 The major

SCRIPTWRITING PRIZE

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2025 The biennial

Sure of success

GET PUBLISHED GET

NON-FICTION OPPORTUNITIES

The Londoner The Londoner is a new

POETRY COMPETITIONS

Keats-Shelley Prize 2024 Enter poems on the theme

SHORT STORY COMPETITIONS

WriteTime Short Story Competition The next quarterly contest

THE CHANGING FACE OF SELF-PUBLISHING

Alex Thompson f rom T roub ad or P ub lishing looks at how attitud es and approach es have evolved

Changing sides

Literary agent Piers Blofeld gets a taste of life on the other side of the other side of the desk