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Cloying rhymes, not enough time, inspiration to chew on and subs getting stuck in – anything goes in the wonderful world of writing
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Writing Magazine
October 2021
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Welcome
TAP HERE TO WATCH A WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR
Welcome to one of the biggest Writing Magazine
Regulars
HEADLINE BOMBING
The world of news media has been revolutionised
THOUGHT BUBBLES
With very necessary conversations going on around diversity
LETTERS
Money well spent I’ve been writing novels for
Editorial calendar
Strong forward planning will greatly improve your chances with freelance submissions. Here are some themes to consider for the coming months
BEASTLY WRITING
Your writing group won’t want to weasel out of these animal-themed exercises from
Novel Ideas
A simple KISS
Close to home
Patrick Forsyth looks for travel-writing opportunities in the UK
Writing Magazine
Folder foibles
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Lorraine
PRONOUNCED DIFFERENCES
I opened up the latest copy of my
In the public eye
Articles by Patrick Forsyth and Lorraine Mace in
Bricking it
‘I have had over 600 stories published in
A learning curve
‘I first wrote about my Rainbow School books
Creative Writing
LOVE RULES: How to write contemporary romance
Author Sandy Barker looks at writing modern love
Time-travelling through stories
Children’s author Sophie Kirtley looks at how to bring history to life for young readers
Your writing critiqued
James McCreet applies his forensic criticism to the first 300 words of a reader’s thriller
Voice: Inside your mind
Author James McCreet offers some technical insights into the free-indirect address form of narrative perspective
STA RT RIGHT
Amy Sparkes launches the Writing Magazine Picture Book Prize 2021 with a look at how to make the beginning of your picture book work
The roots of science fiction
Alex Davis explores what writers can learn from the genesis of the genre
Ask the Experts
Mind the age gap
It makes commercial sense for publishers to get better at catering for older readers, says literary agent Piers Blofeld
Pay your way?
Helen Corner-Bryant answers a writer worried about paying agents and publishers to get a manuscript read
News and current affairs
Advice from Tarja Moles about researching news you can use
Behind the tape
Expert advice to get the details right in your crime fiction, from police officer Lisa Cutts
Interviews and Profiles
WORDS OF WISDOM
These Foolish Things author Deborah Moggach always gives older characters a new lease of life, as Tina Jackson discovers
MY PATH TO PUBLICATION
The thriller writer describes how his belief in a book no-one wanted paid off when he won a major prize
Shelf life
The bestselling and award-winning literary novelist Sebastian Faulks shares fi ve books that have left a lasting impression on him
SEBASTIAN FAULKS
‘My new book, Snow Country, is published this
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
Pens Around the World
Pens Around the World is a peer group
SUBSCRIBER NEWS
The story takeover
Crafting The Curse
‘I began writing my debut novel in 2015,’
Cathy Hayward
The debut novelist tells Adrian Magson how writing helped her process her own family history
Susannah Wise
The debut novelist tells Lynne Hackles how she fits in writing around family life and her acting job
Writing Life
A class apart
Author Phoebe Wy nne describes how she took writing classes in the US and the UK – and found they affected her writing process in drastically different ways
Feline fascinated
Totally under the paw herself, Rosalind Moody wonders why we writers love cats so much
The write site
Find times and places that suit you to write, says Adrian Magson
Marketing matters
Indie author DJ Bowman-Smith helps you get to grips with basics of marketing your book
With a little help from my (writer) friends
Tough times are part of the writing life, but we can find ways to get through, says Margaret James
I wish I’d known
‘The first thing I wish I’d known when
A WORLDWIDE PRESENCE
With so many social media channels, do writers still need a website? Simon Whaley discovers how writers’ websites meet their needs.
STRANGER THAN FICTION
No-one would believe it if Lorraine Mace peopled her next series with the oddballs she’s met in real life
Competitions And Exercises
HUMAN SPIRIT
FIRST PLACE £200
The art of writing
Think visually in these drawingbased creative writing exercises from
Poetry
A child’s playground of verses
Look back to playing when you were young, suggests Alison Chisholm as she introduces WM’s Childhood Games poetry competition
Takes the cake
Alison Chisholm finds a winner with a sweet spot in WM’s Humorous Poetry Competition
Imagined histories
Alison Chisholm explores a poem that reveals the poetic possibilities of people watching
Poetry in practice
Evoke a place that means something to you in a poem, urges Doris Corti
Writers’ News
Accessible entry
The Perito Prize 2021 is inviting entries. The
Grand prizes for poems
The National Poetry Competition, the world’s most prestigious
Small story, big prize
Win an overall first prize of $20,000 for
New novelists take note
The Caledonia Novel Award 2022 for unpublished and
Beggars will be choosers
Your essential monthly round-up of competitions, paying markets, opportunities to get into print and publishing industry news
GLOBAL ARTS MARKET
The Believer wants long reads
Freedom of thought
The annual Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize for
An excellent end
Chris Whitaker has won the 2021 Theakston Old
Flights of genius for The Moth
The Moth Poetry Prize is inviting entries. The
Poems for peace
The Ayramati Poetry Prize from Fly on the
All about Hip Hop
An online community hub which pays for contributions,
GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET
Masters Review for new and emerging writers
FLASHES
Win mentoring, book bundles and anthology publication in
Giant tales wanted
Editor Angela Watts likes to publish the occasional
GLOBAL NON-FICTION MARKET
Times for an opinion
UK NON-FICTION MARKET
Have a good mardle about books
A grand flash
Win a £1,000 first prize in the next
UK MAGAZINE MARKET
Motorhomers ride here
Hughes earnings
A large collection of items formerly belonging to
FLASHES
Alice Little, writer in residence at Wytham Woods,
Accuracy is everything
Meticulous checking can help smooth the path to publication, says Patrick Forsyth
GLOBAL NON-FICTION MARKET
Find a place in Brick
ONLINE NON-FICTION MARKET
Share your earning insights
Prole away the poems
The winning pamphlet in the The Prole Pamphlet
GLOBAL MUSIC MARKET
Half Mystic is an unusual specialist publishing house,
Crone Girls want specfic
Crone Girls Press originally began as a Facebook
FLASHES
The next quarterly Henshaw Short Story Competition is
UK BOOK MARKET
A platform for debate
Snap this prize up
The Snapshot Press Book Awards 2021 are given
FLASHES
The next quarterly Cranked Anvil Short Story Competition
UK MAGAZINE MARKET
West Wales writers wanted
Explore grey areas
A monthly London based website for horror and
UK BOOK MARKET
Disruptive publishing
INTRODUCTIONS
Writing Magazine presents a selection of current submission calls from craft textiles publishers. We strongly recommend that you read back issues, familiarise yourself with their guidelines before submitting and check websites for submission details
UK AGENCY MARKET
Worldwide agency
FLASHES
The Waltham Forest Poetry Competition 2021 has prizes
UK ROMANCE MARKET
Start writing purple
Keep the faith poems
There are ten prizes of £100 to be
GLOBAL FOOD MARKET
Worldwide food writers wanted
GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET
Bottlecap opening
Saint reborn
Simon Templar, aka The Saint, hero of forty
FLASHES
Win a $1,000 first prize in the Dream
UK JOURNALISM MARKET
Metro call
UK SCRIPT MARKET
Get your script idea on a global platform
Let your play take flight
New plays are invited by Dragonfly Theatre for
INTERNATIONAL
ZINE SCENE
FLASHES
Sunspot Literary Journal is inviting submissions of advice
GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET
Enter the Meetinghouse
Survival horror wanted
Dark Peninsula Press is a small US independent
Crime comp for Comma
The theme for this year’s Dinesh Allirajah Prize
Flash book
The Bath Novella in Flash Award is inviting
Reviewing the arts situation
The Observer/Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism has
GLOBAL MAGAZINE MARKET
Dance around the world
Get into the Devil’s Party
Devil’s Party Press is in favour of older
Poems for prizes
The Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition is inviting
FLASHES
The Hedgehog Poetry Press is holding a poetry
UK NON-FICTION MARKET
Get ahead press