Letter from the Editor

Faced with a blank page, or the prospect of finally

On writing: William Golding

If you want to become a published novelist – or,

The £1m self-publisher

Teaching himself the process from scratch, Adam Croft has grown

How I got published

Scottish author Martin Stewart’s debut novel, Riverkeep, was published by

Beat the bestsellers

The style and technique of Katie Fforde

Shelf life: Dinah Jefferies

The bestselling novelist shares her five favourite reads with Judith

Crime file: Laura McHugh

Laura McHugh tells Chris High how setting takes on a

Author profile: Robert Bryndza

WM subscriber Robert Bryndza tells Margaret James what’s behind the

My writing day: Victoria Fox

The bestselling bonkbuster author conjures sultry scenarios as an antidote

Grumpy Old Bookman

Litmags live on

From the OTHE SIDER OF THE DESK

It’s time writers took off the rose-tinted spectacles, says agent

The business of writing: Agent attraction

Attracting an agent can be the start of a long

Technology for writers: Write your own adventure

> A runaway success in the early days of home

Beginners: Burning up with ideas

There are times when a radical clear-out can be just

Writing life: Unplugged

Do you hanker for distraction-free writing but still need text

Talk it over: Food for thought

Bad eating habits and snacking are constant risks for home

Get writing: And now for something completely different

Step back to see things differently and reinvigorate your writing,

Writing life: Hell is other people

Some writers’ groups are better than others, but most (hopefully)

Notes from the margin

Romance can be MURDER

The starting line

Get yourself off to a great start as a writer,

Pick and mix

Help yourself at the writer’s buffet and find the flavour

Novel foundations

Start solidly, or your story will collapse later, says author

Feature writing: The front line

Immersing readers in breaking news, uncovering behind-the-scenes drama or illuminating

Going to market

Follow the law

Research tips: Take note

Make your research easier with note-taking software, advises research expert

Handle with care

Patrick Forsyth considers how the times we live in affect

Poetry winners

Judge Alison Chisholm highlights the winners from our Midsummer Night’s

Poetry workshop: Skeletons in the cupboard

Alison Chisholm explores two poems – one classic and one

Poetry workout

Be aware of how punctuation affects your poems, suggests Doris

Poetry from A-Z

LITOTES is a figure of speech in which a positive

Subscriber spotlight

Share your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing

Circles’ roundup

If your writing group would like to feature here, whether

Time shift

Shifting her setting by just a decade brought subscriber Fiona

Under the microscope

Author and lecturer James McCreet puts a reader’s first 300

Fiction focus: The big picture

When you write fiction, do you like to confine your

I wish I’d known…

Novelists tell us what they wished they’d known right at

Short story masterclass: The masters’ point of view

Handle narrative viewpoint in your fiction by learning from the

Writing for children: Mistakes to avoid

You’ve poured your heart into your children’s book so don’t

Fantastic realms: Feel the fear

Understand how fear works to keep your readers on the

Get away from your desk

Get out of your garret for some upcoming activities and

Pen pushers: What you don’t say

Try these exercises from Lizzie Enfield to discover that what

Train your brain: Red editing pen

Each month, we give you a few sentences which would

Competition winner

WHERE’S MURIEL?

Circles’ roundup: Game, set and match

Playing board games can enhance group members’ writing skills, suggests

Competition winner

Loretta Smith loves writing stories and the excitement of wondering

Miscellany

THE WORLD OF WRITING

Letters

We want to hear your news and views on the

Editorial calendar

Strong forward planning will greatly improve your chances with freelance

Novel ideas

Don’t be like Joan

Writer’s web watch

Writers are not, always, gifted with sociable natures, which is

Computer clinic

PAGE PERFECT

Helpline

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

Love this competition

Your essential monthly round-up of competitions, paying markets, opportunities to

Write an entry, plant a tree!

MOLP3 invites entries of short stories and poems. The theme

Free and easy to enter

This year, the creative writing competition run annually by Writer’s

UK LITERARY MARKET

W & N Weidenfeld & Nicolson has a submission window

Get independently booked

Entries are now being accepted for the 2017 International Rubery

Aeons of time

Albedo One magazine, Ireland’s leading spec-fic journal, is accepting entries

Animal spirit

Wild Words is inviting entries for its Winter Solstice Writing

FLASHES

Canadian literary speculative fiction magazine Lackington’s opens to submissions on

GLOBAL PARENTING MAGAZINE

Claiming to be America’s number one magazine for families with

A literary payer

A weekly US literary magazine aiming to showcase emerging writers

Bookemon go!

‘Chasseurs de livres’ (Book hunters) is a game played though

Challenging deities

A Murder of Storytellers is a US small press which

UK HEALTH MARKET

Outdoor Fitness magazine is aimed at getting outside and using

It’s a Funny Old World

Emojis, those funny little chaps who pop up in text

FLASHES

Pulpcore is a German magazine which will pay €20 for

GLOBAL ONLINE MARKET

Founded in 1995, the US based Salon.com was one of

Write your best for HE Bates

Northamptonshire Writers Group is inviting entries for the H.E. Bates

Interactive intelligence

Now in its seventh year, Bournemouth University’s international prize for

Prize for London postcodes

The London Short Story Prize is inviting entries of short

Flash through the fence

Tears in the Fence independent literary magazine is inviting entries

For imperfect parents

There are many sensible, useful and reliable parenting magazines. Then

UK PARENTING MAGAZINE

A bimonthly magazine with a main objective to ‘provide information

Manc spec fic subs

Manchester Speculative Fiction is inviting submissions for its forthcoming anthology,

FLASHES

Autocar general interest motoring weekly has been relaunched with a

GLOBAL GENRE MARKET

Gamut Magazine is a new US subscription-based website and monthly

Level pegging for indies in Booker race

Novels from independent presses make up half of the six-strong

A new angle on literary merit

The biennial New Angle Prize for Literature is inviting entries

Going underground

The New York subway system has just completed an eight

UK HISTORY MARKET

Amberley Publishing publishes over 500 books on history and heritage

Like the sound of this?

Soundwork, which is a not-for-profit online resource for free-to-listen-to short

And another thing...

‘I’m very fortunate that I began my writing career proper

FLASHES

He will consider suggestions for relevant articles up to 2,200

GLOBAL FICTION MARKET

Since summer, Mocha Memoirs Press has started publishing its titles

Master your mythology

Irish Imbas Books is inviting international entries for its Celtic

Win a residency in Wales

Stiwdio Maelor artists’ community in North Wales has announced a

UK SMALL PRESS MARKET

New small press Artificium, which aims to showcase new talent

INTRODUCTIONS

Writing Magazine presents a selection of outdoors titles currently accepting

FLASHES

Fieldsports editor Marcus Janssen will consider article pitches from writers

GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET

With a mission to ‘bring new talent to light in

Poets on fire

Entries are invited for the Fire River Poets Open Poetry

Fantastic in every sense

Fantasia Divinity Magazine is a new and unusual magazine publishing

Beyond the stars

Martian Migraine Press is a ‘small independent Canadian press with

UK ACADEMIC MARKET

The Mediated Cities series is produced by Intellect Books in

A flash start

Now in its fourth year, the Flash 500 Novel Opening

Rialto’s first pamphlet prize

For the first time, The Rialto poetry magazine is holding

FLASHES

Squash Player is a bimonthly magazine edited by Ian McKenzie

GLOBAL SPECFIC MARKET

Three-Lobed Burning Eye Magazine is a US-based speculative fiction magazine

Everybody loves Tchaikovsky’s spiders

The UK’s most prestigious award for science fiction literature has

INTERNATIONAL ZINE SCENE

Duende is the online literary journal of the BFA in

GLOBAL SF MARKET

Published every two months, Compelling Science Fiction aims to ‘find,

FLASHES

The Spark magazine was founded in 1993 as an ethical

GLOBAL FICTION MARKET

One Story is an award-winning, not-for-profit literary publisher committed to

Library records

Since 2005 the Department of Culture, Media and Sport has

The Four Quarters Magazine

The Four Quarters Magazine is published in India by a

Brilliant Flash Fiction

Brilliant Flash Fiction is an Irish zine devoted to flash

Travel writing know-how

UK SMALL PRESS MARKET

High five for haiku

Presence haiku magazine is inviting entries for the Martin Lucas

FLASHES

Lara Dunn has succeeded Carolyn Boyd as editor of France

GLOBAL FICTION MARKET

Wildwood Publishing is an Australian publishing company which has a

Five line up for story prize

The five-strong shortlist for the BBC National Short Story Award,

Picture the horror

The Creative Competitor is running a seasonal Spine Chilling Fiction

UK MAGAZINE MARKET

Practical Photography is a magazine for anyone who’s passionate about

Book Talk

Like Hemingway I do my thinking and writing in my