Beginners: The ABC of being a writer

Welcome...

How long does it take to write a novel? There’s

Star interview: Anne O’Brien

Getting the facts right is essential but it’s really all

How I got published: Debut author Nikki Owen

The debut author of The Spider in the Corner of

Henry Fielding

The ‘father of the English novel’ was Sir Walter Scott’s

New author profile: Catherine Hokin

A feminist retelling of medieval history snared a publishing deal

Subscriber spotlight

‘I was born in Battersea, London in 1923,’ writes subscriber

Circles’ roundup

If your writing group would like to feature here, whether

Crime file: Helen Giltrow

Carry readers through the breathless highs and suspenseful lows of

CRIME FILE

You’ve done all the hard work, spent hours poring over

SIMON KETTLEWELL

It’s often the case that debut novelists write stories loosely

My writing day: Julia Golding

With three author names and three writing styles, this author

The Month after the One Before

Many writers suffer from confusion when dragged out of their

Grumpy Old Bookman: Thrilling returns

A new publishing trend brings forgotten greats to new readers,

Technology for writers: Brave new words

The digital age has changed the way readers and writers

Writing online: Caught in the web

Lure readers into your website, and keep them there, with

Biography: Life lessons

A good biography demands attention to detail, good research skills

The business of writing: Press trip protocol

Travel writing is not all about sipping cocktails on sun-drenched

Write tight

Unless you only write flash fiction and the extent of

Research tips: One-to-one

Learn the techniques and etiquette of conducting in-depth interviews with

GLOBAL SHORT STORY MARKET

Liminal Stories is a new US biannual digital magazine edited

Papatango prize plus £6K for 2016

The Papatango New Writing Prize for theatre writing from new

Stories at Bath time

The 2016 Bath Short Story Award is now open for

Make a list

There is a place for lists. In my house and

FLASHES

The George Eliot Fellowship, founded in 1930, runs an annual

GLOBAL SPECFIC MARKET

Recompose is to be a ‘journal of interstitial short works’

An extra day, an extra story

Evesham Festival of Words, 1-3 July, is inviting entries for

Big winners this month

The books shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2016

UK CRIME MARKET

Leading independent Oneworld, which published Marlon James’ Booker-winning A Brief

Mystery explained

Mystery Weekly Magazine is a new magazine publishing crime and

The play’s the thing

The Windsor Fringe Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama Writing

Eat yourself richer

The Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing 2016, worth

The long and the Short of it

The Short Fiction Prize 2016, run by visual literary journal

On writing: Paul Scott

Yes, writing is a lonely business. You have to shut

Editorial calendar

1 June 70 years ago, in 1946, television licences were

Inspiring words

Pick a card. Any card.’ We’ve all heard this said

Novel Ideas

James McCreet, in a recent issue of this magazine, advised

Short story masterclass: Character study

Improve your characterisation by learning from the greats, with classic

THE GHOST OF ST CADOC’S

Michael Callaghan is a lawyer living and working in Glasgow

Under the microscope

It is 19842 and near the Somerset village of Cheddar3

Talk it over: A fine polish

What’s the best way to proceed when a friend asks

Good Googling

I wear two ‘job hats’ – chartered librarian and writer

Fiction focus: Appealing to the senses

Get in touch with all the senses to add dramatic

Excuse me officer

Q My beta readers have all responded with similar feedback

Fantastic realms: Shut the crypt door

A new generation of horror carries the scares out of

LINES FOR THE CHILDREN

The suggestion that writing for children should be approached with

Poetry workshop: On such a day

A poem linking a personal event to one of the

Poetry from A to Z

GEORGICS are poems about the countryside and particularly about farming

Poetry in practice

There are different ways to structure a poem and sometimes

Pace yourself

If we laid as many unrealistic expectations on any other

Don’t suffer for your art

We all have the odd day where we step away

Avoid these writing risks

Staying in any position for an extended period of time

Ten top tips: Spring into action

Juggle your writing time to make the most of every

I wish I’d known…

‘As I set out on the long writing journey that

Writing for children: 10 ways to grow as a children’s writer

Concluding the two-parter started last month, author Amy Sparkes suggests

Pen pushers: Do something different

Shake up your writing routine and see what happens, suggests

Red Editing Pen

Each month, we give you a few sentences which would

Circles’ roundup: Sell it to me

Enlist your writers’ group to help improve your sales skills,

A girl, Frank Burnside and Haile Selassie

Wishes don’t usually come true. I’ve learned that by wishing

Miscellany

Things could be looking up for the many writers who

Letters

Write to: Letters to the editor, Writing Magazine, Warners Group

WRITERS’ WEB WATCH

E mail, which in internet terms has been around forever

THE RIGHT PUBLISHER

S omehow this column always returns to Microsoft and this

Helpline

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

Pullman spearheads fair pay for authors campaign

Philip Pullman’s resignation as patron of the Oxford Literary Festival

GLOBAL MAGAZINE MARKET

First published in 1850, Harper’s Magazine (not to be confused

UK MAGAZINE MARKET Hit the road with Cyclist

Edited by Pete Muir, Cyclist monthly magazine is aimed at

Win big bucks with the BBC

The BBC National Short Story Award is now accepting submissions

Treelion press

Treelion Press’ editors love all forms of speculative fiction. They

Develop an unusual origin story

Small press Fighting Monkey Press, which specialises in anthologies, needs

FLASHES

Young adult mysteries are required for the Poisoned Pencil, a

GLOBAL MYSTERY MARKET

Being a magazine devoted to the genre, all stories must

Fear of Msing out

Mslexia Women’s Short Story Competition is open for entries for

Creativate your novel

The Creativate National Writing Competition is a new national creative

Remember Oluwale

The Remember Oluwale Writing Prize is a new creative writing

UK BOOK MARKET

Thistle Publishing is a successful London-based imprint run by literary

Get involved in writing about the arts

Covering arts, culture and politics from Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol,

It’s a Funny Old World

Hilarious language mishaps revealed by Buzzfeed staffer Andy Neuenschwander included

FLASHES

Alexander Chancellor edits The Oldie, and welcomes submissions of articles

UK SPECFIC MARKET

Currently 262 issues strong, Interzone has been the UK’s leading

Rewarding short stories

The Edge Hill Prize, awarded annually by Edge Hill University,

Write a haunting tale

The Fiction Desk Ghost Story Competition 2016 is open for

Organised crime

Crime Syndicate is a new US crime magazine with editors

City planning

The Eurocities organisation – a network for around 130 of

GLOBAL CHILDREN’S MARKETS

AQUILA is a UK print magazine aiming to be ‘Intelligent

A good fit for lit-fic

Sequestrum is a US webzine which began as a collaborative

FLASHES

Yours magazine pays £50 for a review of a place

GLOBAL ROMANCE MARKET

Books to Go Now (BTGN) is a traditional US romance

Double bubble at Bath time

The Bath Novel Award 2016 is open to entries. For

Comp honours Colm

The Colm Tóibín International Short Story Award is a new

Still time to enter Exeter

The Exeter Writers Short Story Competition 2016 is open for

GLOBAL SHORT STORY MARKET

The Australian version of that’s life! weekly magazine is in

Plant a creative seed

Sycamore Review is the well-established literary biannual of Purdue University,

And another thing...

‘I believe everyone can write. That’s not to put down

FLASHES

Little London Magazine is a parenting lifestyle magazine aimed at

GLOBAL NOVELLA MARKET

The Book Smugglers is a young US small press looking

Orbit widens

Science fiction and fantasy imprint Orbit US, part of the

Join the club

The Scottish Arts Club Short Story Competition, which has Alexander

Book Talk

INTRODUCTIONS

Antique Collecting, edited by Georgina Wroe, is the authoritative magazine

GLOBAL FICTION MARKET

Although having a magazine or other publication track record is

FLASHES

Now Then, a free magazine published by Opus Independent Limited

GLOBAL CRIME MARKET

280 Steps is a US publishing house specialising in crime

Hear a Pin Drop

The Royal Academy & Pin Drop Short Story Award 2016

Creative to the core

Silver Apples Magazine is an unusual Irish magazine claiming to

New mag, new subs

Blyant Publishing is currently accepting applications for blÆkk, a new

Bubbling under

Triangulation: Beneath The Surface will be the fourteenth in the

UK TEEN MARKET

Pioneer Teens is an imprint of Fygleaves Ltd, an independent

Get the judges laughing

The fifteenth free-to-enter Wergle Flomp Poetry Competition is now open

Verse time for Wenlock

The Wenlock International Poetry Competition 2016 will be judged by

Strat’s write

Stratford-upon-Avon Literary Festival is running its third residential creative writing

Golden opportunity

Golden Fleece Press is a small press which likes to

FLASHES

Reader’s Digest pays £50 for letter of the month and

UK TRUE CRIME MARKET

Real Crime magazine was launched in July last year, with

Flash fiction on the syllabus

Having published the work of writers from over 37 countries

Theme essential

The theme for the next issue of Thema literary quarterly,

INTERNATIONAL ZINE SCENE

The Adroit Journal is a literary zine, now with a

ONLINE SPECFIC MARKET

The editorial team at sub-Q Magazine is looking for speculative

FLASHES

WI Life, the national magazine for Britain’s Women’s Institutes, regularly

GLOBAL SMALL PRESS MARKET

Tayen Lane Publishing is a small press started in 2012

Fly with this magazine

An online journal of literature and the arts, Blackbird is

Cast your net for this competition

The humble mussel is not so humble in Connemara, Co

Poet slammed

Scandal struck the rarified world of poetry translation when Nederlandse