DEAR READER

Writing, as every one of us knows, is

SERIAL KILLERS: Sweat the small stuff

Your crime stories will live or die by the villains you come up with. Bestselling crime writer Helen Fields tells you how to create a convincing killer in fiction

Piracy, pillage & plunder

How do you create characters from the past, and the world they lived in? Francesca de Tores, author of Saltblood, describes how she evoked women pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, and offers advice to apply to your own historical writing

TIPS AND EXERCISES FOR WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION:

1. Get back to the body In writing

The missing woman

The trope of the missing women in crime fiction takes on an altogether different meaning when you’re a Black crime writer, says author Kellye Garrett

Storm warning

Cli-fi is how writers are responding to one of the most pressing issues of our times. Leading exponent Greg Mosse explains how he turns scientific predictions into thrilling action, and how you can write your own powerfully effective climate-change fiction

Advice for writing cli-fi

I’m often asked about how I devise and

Witness TO HISTORY

With a recent novel about women in Japanese POW camps published and as her bestselling The Tattooist of Auschwit z hits the screen, Heather Morris talks to Tina Jackson about bringing sur vivors’ experiences to life on the page

ANTHOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES

Nat 1 Publishing LLC Nat 1 Publishing LLC

POETRY COMPETITIONS

The Montreal International Poetr y Prize The Montreal

NICOLA TALLIS

The historian tells Lynne Hackles about balancing life in the here and now with exploring the past

NICOLAS PADAMSEE

The author describes the extreme reading experience that set him on the path to writing a debut novel about radicalisation

SHELF LIFE

HARRIET TYCE

REAL LIFE, great stories

You and the person you used to be: This month, Jenny Alexander advises you on how to think of yourself as a character in your life writing

Your writing critiqued

James McCreet applies his forensic criticism to the beginning of a reader’s science-fiction manuscript

SETTING PART TWO

Make your fictional settings effective by concentrating on how they influence the mood of the character and plot, advises author and tutor Ian Ayris

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

CREATIVE NON-FICTION

CREATIVE CLI-FI

I have been writing since I was 17

Bear truths

After publishing two fantasy novels, my first nonfiction

Get the write idea

Explore how characters relate to each other in these creative writing exercises with the theme of relationships and interactions

Novel Ideas A joy ride

Don’t believe everything you’re told about writing being hard, says Lynne Hackles

REWARDING bad behaviour

Alison Chisholm is delighted by the inventive ways the winners of WM’s Cautionary Tales competition show people getting their comeuppance in rhyme

WINNER

The Downfall of a Big-Head

RUNNER UP

Katrina

SHORTLISTED

Also shortlisted in WM’s Cautionary Tales Poetry Competition

OPEN FIRE

OPEN SHORT STORY WINNERS

RUNNER UP AND SHORTLISTED

The runner-up in WM’s Open Fire Short Story

Melanie Cantor

The bestselling author describes the set- up of her new comic novel, and how important it is to get the reader onside from the offset

Connect, communicate

Alison Chisholm is impressed with a well-crafted poem about an understanding that goes beyond words 

TAKE ME THERE

Margaret James looks at the way certain locations become associated with books set there

Ladies who lunch

Helen Walters explores ways of making the most of group dynamics in your fiction, with an example story by Edith Whar ton

KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY

In the first of a two-par ter on writing families in children’s fiction, Amy Sparkes looks at ways of setting up your family

SERIES INTENTIONS

The series is a cornerstone of sci-fi and fastasy writing. Alex Davis offers advice on building worlds and developing the overarching ‘big story’ over three books or more

CHANGE IT UP

After the loss of one client, Simon Whaley explores the way every writing business needs to evolve over time to stay successful

HOUSE history

Homes and houses are replete with stories. Research exper t Dr Tarja Moles tells you how to discover information about houses and the people who lived in them

Behind the tape

Exper t advice to get the details right in your crime fiction from ser ving police officer Lisa Cuttsts

Madeleine Milburn

Simon Whaley chats to Madeleine Milburn, one of the UK’s leading literary agents, about the literary fiction genre

Make the best impression

Cornerstones’ Monica Chakraver ty offers advice about writing compelling opening pages for a novel manuscript

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 oppor tunities to suit you and your writing in our easy-to-navigate news pages

Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition 2024

Win a £600 first prize in the contest

The Bread and Roses Poetry Award 2024

The competition is for poems with themes relevant

The Poetry Book Awards 2024

The annual international award is for books produced

The Frogmore Poetry Prize 2024

The annual Frogmore Poetry Prize invites entries of

Fiction Factory Poetry Competition 2024

For its Poetry Competition, Fiction Factory is inviting

Canterbury Festival’s Poet of the Year 2024

The 2024 Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year

Coverstory Books 2024 Poetry Competition

Coverstory Books are inviting entries of original, unpublished

GENERAL NEWS

Awards news By Gary Dalkin The Bookseller’s British

LITFEST COMPETITIONS

Hastings Book Festival 2024 Competitions The Hastings Book

SMALL PRESS OPPORTUNITIES

The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts The Journal

SHORT STORY COMPETITIONS

Fiction Factory Short Story Competition 2024 Win prizes

Shrinking margins

Increasing costs are making selling books less profitable, laments Patrick Forsyth

PRINT OPPORTUNITIES

Balestier Press Balestier Press is a UK imprint

Change in the air

Change can provide useful opportunities for the travel writer, says Patrick Forsyth

WHAT A ***!!!**!*

From the OTHE SIDE OF THE DESK