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July 2020
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Just a Kiss
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8 MIN READ TIME
Just a Kiss
by Terry Lowell
DIALOGUE-ONLY SHORT STORY COMPETITION
‘Gah! What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?’
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This article is from...
Writing Magazine
July 2020
VIEW IN STORE
Other Articles in this Issue
In This Issue
Dear Reader
We’re getting into the swing of production under lockdown now:
INTERVIEWS AND PROFILES
SELF STARTING
Rachel Abbott started late but quickly became one of the world’s biggest hybrid authors. Tina Jackson discovers how she did it
LAUREN H BRANDENBURG
The author tells Dolores Gordon Smith how she changed tack to land a publishing deal
BEHIND THE TAPE
Expert advice to get the details right in your crime fiction, from serving police officer Lisa Cutts
LESLEY PEARSE
The bestselling novelist shares her top five reads with Judith Spelman
The style & technique of JONATHAN COE
Tony Rossiter looks at a novelist whose humour has some unlikely inspirations
There seems to be a problem
Get your writing group to channel their inner grouches and start complaining in these writing group exercises from Julie Phillips
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
ALL OF US HERE
They weren’t like me. No, not even in the dark
Are you the 2020 £20k storyteller?
The 2020 Kindle Storyteller Award is open for entries of
A new dawn
The Aurora Prize 2020 from Writing East Midlands is a
Nature (writing) calls
The Moth Nature Writing Prize is open for entries until
A newsworthy competition
Norwich Writers’ Circle invite entries for the sixth Olga Sinclair
Troubadour revitalised
The Troubadour International Poetry Prize, for original, unpublished poems up
Bedford Prize launches new over-70s award
The Bedford Competition 2020 is inviting entries. Win £500 first
UK MAGAZINE MARKET
Beer here, now
Stories of the Commonwealth
Twenty writers are shortlisted in the various territories of the
Have you heard about these anthology opportunities?
Thirty submissions on the ‘lockdown’ theme and ten on the
FLASHES
The free Surrey Life short story competition – run by
GLOBAL BOOK MARKET
Regal House Publishing is run by a team of editors
One step closer to £30,000
American and Irish writers dominate the longlist for the world’s
UK FICTION MARKET
Avon calling
GLOBAL MAGAZINE MARKET
Sky’s the limit
From a given start
Offering inspiration and a jump start for the imagination, fiction
LIFE WRITERS TO WATCH
Spread the Word has announced the twelve longlisted unpublished writers
FLASHES
Win $750 and publication in the annual international Miami University
UK LITERARY MARKET
Open window for lucky beggars
GLOBAL BOOK MARKET
Black market
Booker backdated
Due to the difficulty in readers obtaining copies of the
On spiritual lines
There is a £500 first prize in the competition for
TONY BASSETT
Lynne Hackles talks to the former news reporter about his second career as an author of thrillers
CREATIVE WRITING
TO MAY TO, tomahto
Getting fretting about your story the differences to flow is more between important American English, says Adrian Magson
Under the Microscope
James McCreet applies his forensic criticism to the beginning of a reader’s novel
Crying time
Jane Wenham Jones has sound advice for a reader lamenting her difficulty in ramping up the emotional content of her novel
Under the covers A question of priorities
As her book launch is scuppered in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, new author Gillian Harvey reflects on what really matters
The past is tense
A story by Margaret Atwood illustrates how the past impacts on the present in your storytelling, says Helen W Walters
HEROES & VILLAINS: Part 2
Make sure the baddie in your children’s fiction fascinates as well as repels with this advice from Amy Sparkes
Eyes on the prize
Are your short story competition entries missing the mark? Improve your game plan with advice from experienced writing competition judge Margaret James
I wish I’d known…
‘I wish I’d known what I was capable of. As
PUNK IT UP
Steam, cyber, bio, nano? Alex Davis explores the ‘punk’ subgenres of science-fiction
MICHAEL SCANLON
The Irish crime and mystery author tells Margaret James about chipping away at his writing
WRITING LIFE
ON THE (VIRTUAL) ROAD
Author Paul Beatty talks about taking his books on a blog tour, and how it can introduce new readers to your work
GET in the HABIT
Write Every Day author Harriet Griffey explores the benefits of a regular writing practice
All roads lead to CHROME
CL Raven decided to combine their favourite things – writing and poledancing – in a specialist What the horror writers hadn’t bargained for was the impact of a real-life global pandemic
GETTING OVER slump time
“Eat a live frog first in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day”
OFFICE LOCATIONS
Virginia Woolf famously called for a ‘room of her own’ in which to write. Simon Whaley chats to three wordsmiths about where they work and why
Not just a shopping list
Publishing ‘fresh, original and intriguing’ ten-item lists on a daily
SOCIAL ANXIETY
A book launch throws Lorraine Mace into a spin
ASK THE EXPERTS
NDA or not?
Theo Jones of The Society of Authors lays out how non-disclosure agreements work and whether you need one to protect your work
Future book
Piers Blofeld reflects on the ways Covid-19 will change the publishing industry
ASK A LITERARY CONSULTANT
Part I of a two-parter on editing fundamentals from Helen Corner-Bryant looks at plot, structure and character conflict
Interviews
Make the most of your research interviews by following expert advice from Tarja Moles
POETRY
Finding new form
Alison Chisholm explores a poem that recycles material from a writer’s previous short story
Poetry in practice
Use imagery to give your poem individuality with Doris Corti’s advice
COMPETITIONS AND EXERCISES
Holiday from home
Go imaginative journey in these creative writing exercise from Jenny Alexander
REGULARS
THE WORLD OF WRITING
Vampires vs pirates vs cooks and virus vs everyone. Feeling the stress? Time to settle down with a good read
The joy of (writing) sex
‘While I resist drawing lines between pornography and art, if
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
Editorial calendar
Strong forward planning will greatly improve your chances with freelance submissions. Here are some themes to consider for the coming months
GLOBAL MAGAZINE MARKET
Pro pay for feline fanciers
ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY MARKET
Get your writing snapped up
Last call for The Weekly News
After 165 years in print, DC Thomson have ceased production
The follow-up
Patrick Forsyth suggests what to do after an intial commission
FLASHES
Win $4,000 for the best short story by a new
GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET
Be committed before approaching Rhino
GLOBAL HORROR MARKET
Terror Tract Publishing deals only in horror. Their goal is
No interruption to finding new plays
The coronavirus situation caused London’s Royal Court to close its
UK BOOK MARKET
Don’t lose the plot in this marketplace
Proud win
Juno Dawson’s Proud, an anthology of stories and poetry by
FLASHES
Generation Lockdown is a new competition for young writers aged
GLOBAL MEDIA MARKET
Words on fi lm
Be love sick at sea
Paper Angel Press are inviting submissions of true and semi-true
Get reading, get silly!
The Reading Agency has launched its Digital Summer Reading Challenge
INTRODUCTIONS
Writing Magazine presents a selection of educational/childern’s magazines 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
FLASHES
Writer Shed Press want fi ction, personal essays or poetry,
UK AGENCY MARKET
Open agency doors at Soho
Prize for young writers celebrating The Mayflower
Devon Family History Society is inviting children aged 5-16 and
Leading lights of horror
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) 2019 Bram Stoker Awards for
GLOBAL CRIME MARKET
Criminal plea, please
Fuse with this theatre company
An award winning New York theatre company, Nylon Fusion develops
Get buzzy
The competition is run by the Cheltenham-based poetry organisation Buzzwords,
Novel Ideas
Lynne Hackles dips into her archive of inspiration
FLASHES
Win £1,000 in the Globe Soup Summer 2020 Short Story
GLOBAL SOCIOLOGY MARKET
Get new chances at NewStart
Chew on this
Previously known as The New Food Economy, the award-winning The
Prize for A Portable Paradise
Poet Roger Robinson won the £10,000 Royal Society of Literature
INTERNATIONAL ZINE SCENE
The Furious Gazelle is an American zine, ‘furious because we
FLASHES
Green Stories have extended the deadline for their Adult Novel
UK MAGAZINE MARKET
Birdwatch magazine covers all aspects of birding, from in-depth identification
GLOBAL BOOK MARKET
Vine Leaves Press is an American publisher specialising in ‘book-length
Podcast from Poppins
Julie’s Library is a new book podcast for children aged
Extreme version
Patrick Forsyth looks at writing opportunities when things go right
FLASHES
Green-themed children’s stories are wanted for the latest of University
GLOBAL FICTION MARKET
Tiny Fox needs
Writing history
Five of the six books shortlisted for the UK’s Wolfson
Why kids ‘why?’
If you write for younger children, a new study by
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