Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2023 i Writing Magazine

By Annie Murray Sagas in popular fiction recount interwoven family stories set within a defined regional setting. One of the best-known modern saga authors is Annie Murray, whose Birmingham-based books include Chocolate Girls, The Narrowboat Girls and new title Wartime for the Chocolate Girls. For authors wanting to embark on their own saga, Annie sets out seven things to know before you start writing. Know your genre So what is a ‘Saga’? This genre was more traditionally called a Regional or Family Saga – set in a vividly realized place and about the challenges, loves and lives of a particular family, often over several generations. Subsequently there seem to be both narrower and wider definitions. The ‘Friendship’ saga is often restricted to relationships between three women, often in a specific…

Ready to have the first 300 words of your manuscript critiqued? Contact tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk for details Michael O’Hanlon took up writing to pass away the time when on patrol serving in Her Majesty’s Submarine service. On leaving the Royal Navy he completed a creative writing course, and has had short stories broadcast on local radio and published in magazines. Out is his first novel and he is already writing the sequel. At first glance1the prison cell seemed to be un-occupied. 2There were no photographs, pictures or pinups stuck to the walls. 3No letters from family or loved ones lying on the small table. 4 In the corner of the cell.5Not even a book to read to pass away the time. 6There was no sign of anyone trying to make it more…

Age ten, I wrote an essay, saying when I grew up, I would like to write GOOD books, that I know people will enjoy reading, but every time I write it ends up really muddled. Structure-mavens might recognise this as the introduction of the FLAWED HERO: Abigail, a muddle. At first I took writing achingly seriously. (THESIS) I wrote poetry. I wrote an English verse adaptation of a French philosophical novel called Gaspar, Balthazar et Melchior, by Michel Tournier. In iambic heptameter. I know. I also acted in some startlingly unfunny Heiner Muller plays, stuff like that. (STASIS=DEATH), if you’ve seen any Heiner Muller.) In my mid-twenties, I met Cicely Giddings – the funniest person in the world. (INCITING INCIDENT) Would I carry on writing pointy-headed verse or would I…

For the first outing of WM’s exciting new slot for creative writing submissions, we asked for fiction and poetry inspired by Ian Ayris’s brilliant three-part series on character and voice (WM Feb-April). Our inbox has been flooded with submissions and we’ve been thrilled to see the high quality of work that you’ve sent us. Picking pieces to showcase has been a hard task, but we’re delighted to present our selections! Highly commended Alan Brett; Debbie Casey; Gerard Cole; Catherine Davis; Manjit Dhillon; Ellen Evers; Sue Gregory; Wendy Hall; Sheena Hussain; Lesley Mason; Sue Moules; Peter Richardson; Helen Spiers; Liz Wilson. Next month, look out for the pieces we’ve selected from the WM May submissions call for work on ‘The Book That Made Me Want To Write’. POETRY Portrait of Mrs…

As an occupational therapist and a vicar’s wife, I come across people from every walk of life and in varied situations, writes subscriber Sally Nichol. I have discovered that everyone has a story, many holding surprises, and shocks, that could never be guessed. I began to create short stories based on characters inspired by the interesting people I meet, imagining a back story that might explain their present circumstances or behaviour. Many of the stories describe being at a crossroads in life, when the decision you make may change the course of your life forever. A woman posing for life drawing classes without her husband’s knowledge; a husband who has kept the secret from his wife of why their daughter left home 30 years ago; a teenage boy who drops…

FACTS Build on what you already know. First, take one of these topics. • The house where you grew up. • Aplant or flower that you love. • Afavourite author or musician. • An item of clothing. • Atown or city. Off the top of your head, write down five facts that you already know about the topic. Then, research and find out five facts on it that are new to you. Finally, write a passage or prose or poetry where you incorporate the new facts into your existing knowledge. EARLY MORNING Consider what makes the beginning of the day unique. Make a list of at least seven things that only occur first thing in the morning. They can be facts, observations, impressions, general, personal, whatever – but they must…

The John Jarrold Literary Agency specialises in science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels for the adult market, and now represents over forty authors. Prior to that, John worked as a senior fiction editor at Simon & Schuster, and was editorial director of Legend Books at Random House. Since opening your agency in 2004, have changes in the industry altered the way you work? Audio is a much bigger deal now, and self-publishing is a totally viable alternative to traditional – as long as you deal with it as a business. I receive far more diverse submissions in all terms now, which is a joy! And then there’s Amazon... What do you enjoy most about agenting? Since I started working in publishing in January 1988, I have loved working with authors…

‘Fairy Tale Review’ ‘Fairy Tale Review’ is published by the Journals Division of Wayne State University Press, Detroit, USA, and is part of their Series in Fairy Tale Studies. Founding editor, Kate Bernheimer, will edit this current twentieth annual issue. Writers may submit one prose piece of no more than 6,000 words or up to three prose pieces under 1,000 words each. Writers may submit translations of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. please include the translated work in its source language, along with documentation of any permissions necessary to publish the work in both languages (original and English). Work that is part of a forthcoming book such as a story collection is eligible for consideration as long as the book in which it will appear has a publication date later than…

Q I’ve been submitting my novel to agents for over a year and not one agent has got back to me. I’m left wondering if I’m doing something wrong in the way I present my novel or if it’s the novel itself that is the problem? AYou may not be doing anything incorrect and there may be nothing wrong with your novel or in the way you’re presenting it. In most cases, submitting requires perseverance and self-belief, which is hard! But it’s also prudent to check your submission package to see if it’s representing you and your novel in the best way. The most pressing question is whether it’s ready to present to the trade. With my publisher/editor hat on, I hope I can shed some light on the submission…

It’s all laughs Daily literary humour magazine Points in Case is looking for previously unpublished comedy articles, funny lists and jokes. Comedy articles should be a preferred 600-1,000 words and can be satire, parody, observational humour, open letters or humorous guides or essays. Editors will be looking for comedy that is ‘smart, fun and eloquent comedy writing with personality or pizzazz, a strong premise and a clear throughline’. Shorter, punchier funny lists of a preferred 200-600 words can be quizzes, reviews and other styles. They should have a catchy title and strong premise. Jokes of a maximum 250 characters may be one liners, observations, deep thoughts or anecdotes on topics such as arts and entertainment, business and technology, life and culture, politics and religion, sex and dating. Late night ‘monologue-style…

A glowing light UK-based print and digital literary magazine Neon invites poetry and fiction that is ‘fantastic or surreal and which crosses the boundaries between science fiction, horror and literary fiction’. Darker pieces with a surreal or speculative element are preferred. It is advised you read the magazine to assess its content fully. Some stories can be read online and you can set your own price for a download of the digital edition. The theme for the next issue is Childhood with a deadline of 15 June 2023. Fiction should be no more than 5,000 words and up to six poems may be submitted. Payment rates are £0.02 per word for prose and £0.20 per line for poetry, all payable by Paypal. The magazine is considered to be one of…

Whenever advice to writers is listed, the saying ‘read aandread lots’ is high on the list. What’s important here isn’t copying – slavishly copying another writer is best avoided, though there is no reason not to adopt small elements from elsewhere and merge them with your own writing. The usefulness of wide reading is primarily the process of observing and gradually taking on board what makes for good writing. I’ve been reading the latest book by Tim Parks, an English writer long resident in Italy and best known for his travel writing about that country, a series starting with Italian Neighbours (though he is a novelist as well). His latest is The Hero’s Way. In 1849, Guiseppe Garibaldi fled Rome leading his army hundreds of miles northwards towards the Venetian…

One morning, whilst eating breakfast, I had an idea for a short story. What happened? I couldn’t come up with a good opening line and that’s what prevented me from going any further. What should I have done? Looking back, I remember telling myself to think about it a little more, for a little longer, a little later, by which time the idea was forgotten.  Perhaps, instead of procrastinating, I wish I had acted but, back then, I hadn’t seen this question James Clear (of Atomic Habits) asked. ‘Is it better to delay getting started by weeks or months so I can be fully prepared? Or is it better to start right now with little to no preparation?’ This is the quote that, once read, gave me the impetus to…

SHARE YOUR SUCCESS To feature in subscribers’ news contact: tjackson@ warnersgroup.co.uk A life in writing I graduated in 1991 with a Modern Languages degree then after some travelling worked as a bookseller, writes subscriber Brooke Adams. Over the years, I have worked as a kindergarten teacher, library assistant, antiquarian bookseller, and foreign languages tutor. I started out writing poetry at 14 which led to writing my first children’s fantasy short story at 23. Over the next couple of years, I wrote my first two children’s fantasy novellas. It was a fascinating process to transport myself and hopefully my readers to a different time and space. After several submissions followed by rejections, I reverted to plan B and trained and worked as a teacher for a while. Eventually my thirties loomed,…

I cried when I wrote about the deaths of the people I’d come to know as I created this memoir, writes subscriber Vanessa Holburn. Writing Surviving the Holocaust and Stalin: The Amazing Story of the Seiler Family, I found I’d become truly invested in Lajos and Izabella’s determination to rebuild their lives. The book draws on a cache of recently rediscovered family letters and the childhood memories of Jewish Hungarian Marta Seiler. It describes the experiences of Marta’s parents and grandparents at the hands of the Nazis, and the Russian occupiers after 1945. The work covers Auschwitz, Bergen-Belson and labour camps, as well as the hardship of life under Communist rule. Marta and I were introduced by her daughter, and our relationship was forged through weekly telephone calls during the…

What does summer mean to you? A welcome break from routine in the form of a much-anticipated holiday doing something you love? A chance to let your arms and legs catch a few rays? Or hay fever, insect bites, prickly heat rashes, and more freckles than ever before? My own Celtic-Anglo-Saxon-and-a-bit-of-Eastern-European complexion doesn’t respond well to even the UK’s sporadic summer sunshine. I’m insanely jealous of friends whose summer skin takes on golden honey tones, while my own burns and blisters. Love it or hate it, whatever you feel about summer, there’s plenty of seasonal fiction out there for you to enjoy, ranging from upbeat romance to spine-tingling mystery. What would encourage you to write a summery story? As you toughed out our last British winter, did you recall the…

To be in with a chance of becoming the 2023 Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year, submit original, unpublished poems up to 60 lines. The winner will receive £200 and be named Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year, and there are second and third prizes of £100 and £50. A longlist of poems will be included in the 2023 Festival’s Poet of the Year anthology. The entry fee is £5 per poem. The closing date is 2 June. Website: https://canterburyfestival. co.uk/ Fool not to enter Entries open on 1 June for the Poetry International Chapbook Competition which is open to chapbooks of 16-24 pages from all poets around the world, writes Jenny Roche. Plenty of time for you to get this together as the closing date is 31 August. Poems…

Bookstores buck the trend In encouraging news for writers, Forbes Advisor has concluded that bookstores are the single number one most recessionproof business in the USA, writes Gary Dalkin. The leading business magazine analysed 60 types of small business drawing on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and combining this with Google search data to give an idea of the popularity of various enterprises, and concluded that bookshops are the most likely of all businesses to survive the current difficult economic climate. Forbes found that the number of bookstores in the US rose by 43% during the latter, post-lockdown part of the pandemic, while wages for bookstore staff had increased by an average of 16%. This ties in with the New York Times reporting over 300 new bookstores…

Grist Grist is published by graduate students in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Tennessee. It includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, and craft essays. The magazine is published annually every spring and Grist Online, is published throughout the year featuring emerging and established writers. Open for submissions between 15 May and 15 August. Send three to five poems, fiction up to 7,000 words, or nonfiction no more than 7,000 words. Flash pieces are accepted up to a total of 7000 words. Payment is US$10 per poem or 1 cent per word for prose (up to US$50), plus a contributor copy. Website: https://gristjournal.com 3rd Wednesday 3rd Wednesday is an independent quarterly journal of literary and visual arts. All types of poetry are welcome, from formal to experimental. Submit one…

Gasher Press Gasher Press is a nonprofit publisher founded by Whitney Koo in 2018. It publishes full-length poetry collections and poetry chapbooks, and ‘hybrid/genre-lessness/experimental’ chapbooks. Currently they are open until until 30 July for poetry chapbooks. All poetry books – hybrid works are welcome – should be 48 to 80 pages. Sections previously published as a chapbook or individual poems are acceptable as previously published, but the manuscript as a whole should be unpublished. Self-published work is considered published. Payment is royalties and 20 free copies upon publication. Website: https://www.gasherpress.com Erro Press Erro Press is a new publisher aiming to publish writers with original, literary voices who have found mainstream publishing – and wider arts opportunities – inaccessible. Erro Press publishes ‘original, high-quality fiction, novella and short fiction, poetry pamphlets,…

The infinite monkey theorem, the idea that an infinite number of monkeys tapping at an infinite number of typewriters would eventually result in one of them writing Hamlet has penetrated deep into our collective consciousness. It’s a standard bit of mind bending fare which until recently meant nothing very much at all, because after all, so what? Chat GPT has changed all of that. We are on the verge of having if not an infinite number of monkeys then a very, very large number of semi intelligent AIs tapping away at keyboards. These will range from the useful: low-level medical and accountancy services for instance, through to the cultural. The games world is excited by the possible ways in which players can tweak their game to match their particular aesthetic.…

The use of mixed media in novels isn’t new. Even a hundred and thirty years ago, Bram Stoker wrote an epistolary novel in Dracula, including ships logs, journal entries and newspaper clippings to heighten the impact of the story. But in recent years, the use of mixed media in fiction has been on the rise. Taylor Jenkins Reid had phenomenal success with Daisy Jones & The Six – an entire novel told through interview transcripts. Beth O’Leary used the ingenious form of Post-it note messages in The Flatshare, and who can forget Jane Hallet’s The Appeal – another novel told exclusively through emails, texts and voice notes where the reader is asked to piece together evidence and solve a murder. It’s easy to see why mixed media is growing in…

Heroes, eh? Many of us are familiar with the hero of Jason and the Argonauts – the clue’s in the name. Just as male superheroes abound in contemporary popular culture, so too in classical Greek mythology. This is one of the reasons why Atalanta, Jennifer Saint’s new novel and third to rework a Greek myth from a feminist perspective, is so exciting. Narrated in Atalanta’s own voice, it brings to life a barely-known heroine from Greek mythology – the sole woman amongst the Argonauts and a person who could outrun, and outhunt, any challenger. The fact that Atalanta is so little-known was what piqued Jennifer’s interest. ‘I’ve written about much better-known women but so few people knew Atalanta’s name,’ she says.’ Everyone knows Jason and the Argonauts. In one account…

I’ve always loved ghost stories, as a reader and as a writer. And I’ve always loved playing with ideas of what you can do with them, creating them in writing as nuances and possibilities and the occupants of liminal spaces and the borderlands between reality and the imagination. My first novel, the theatre-set The Beloved Children, plays with ghostly presences. So when the opportunity came up to attend a ghost story writing workshop in my area with Adam Z. Robinson – awriter, performer and theatre-maker who brings classic ghost stories to life on stage – for Halloween in October 2019, it had my name on it. I signed up straight away. It was a brilliant workshop. And in one of the exercises, along came this voice. Bitch has only gone…

ROCKING RACCOON For some time now, for reasons too complex and surreal (and probably incomprehensible) Florida-based author and environmentalist Jeff VanderMeer (The Southern Reach Trilogy) has on social media jokingly pretended to be a baby raccoon. Taking the jest to its illogical conclusion, on 1 April Jeff VanderMeer released a preview of the cover of his new memoir, I, Baby Raccoon, certainly one of the most amusing and elaborate literary April Fools’ pranks of the year. STA R LETTER BODY WORK Writing can be a very solitary hobby/occupation which at times can have a negative effect on your writing. If you don’t have much interaction with people and spend all of your time within the four walls of your home it can make you depressed and make your inspiration for…

I had the idea for The Moon and Stars, my debut novel, at a writing workshop way back in 2012, writes subscriber Jenna Warren. I wrote the opening chapters of a very rough first draft, and then shelved it for several years while I concentrated on starting my own business. I run Book Corner, an independent bookshop in Saltburn, North Yorkshire. When the shop was more established, I started returning to the novel. By the summer of 2019, I thought it was ready (spoiler alert: it wasn’t), so I sent it off to several agents. I received some kind feedback, but ultimately it didn’t find a home. When the pandemic hit and I was forced to temporarily close the bookshop, I decided to spend some time really focusing on the…

Tim Sullivan had established careers as a film director and screenwriter before fulling his ambition to be a published crime writer. ‘Now you are a novelist will you have time to direct films and write screenplays? Or is your plan now to write novels full-time?’ I ask him. ‘I’m still writing screenplays and will continue to do so,’ he says. ‘I’ve a couple of long-term projects I’m working on and a new animated feature I hope will find its way into production in the not too distant future.’ Tim’s film credits include A Handful of Dust, Jack and Sarah and Cold Feet. His passion for crime fiction began when he directed Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. Tim’s own detective is DS Cross. ‘I’m…

Got i-D? You’re coming in By Gary Dalkin i-D is a UK fashion and style magazine which is ‘always on the lookout for new writers and voices’. Contributing editor Douglas Greenwood is specifically looking for pitches for the magazine’s website. He says, ‘Spotted a cool trend? Keen to write about a film or TV show coming out from an off-kilter angle?’ He is also looking for ‘op-eds, listicles and reported features’. i-D online covers not only fashion, beauty and photography, but: art, culture, film, TV, activism, news, music and opinion pieces. Check out the site at https://i-d.vice.com, and the guide to pitching: https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/wxqd44/how-to-pitch-toi-d. Short version, format your subject heading ‘PITCH: Your Clear and Concise Headline Here.’ Then give a three- or four-paragraph outline of your proposed piece, making it really…

Propagule Propagule is an independentlyrun convergence of the arts, interested in the aesthetically novel, experimental, transgressive, and uncategorisable. Editors William Dempsey, David Reichek and Nick Siviter seek submissions of intrepid, experimental short stories 500 to 10,000 words in length. Deadline is 5 June. Payment is US$5 per 1,000 words up to a maximum of US$20. Work may also be published on ‘Motif ’, an upcoming mobile app for literature. Website: https://www.propagule.co Suspended Suspended likes work which is ‘complete, yet seems unfinished.’ Send subs of poems or short fiction with suspenseful endings or ambiguous content: one to four poems or submit one or two short fiction pieces each no longer than 15 pages. Visual artists may submit up to 6 pieces of art. Deadline is 30 June. Payment is US$25 for…

The Jenny Brown Associates Debut Writers Over 50 Award Win £1,000 and a residential writing course in the new award for unpublished novelists. The Jenny Brown Associates Debut Writers Over 50 Award has been created to address the lack of literary opportunities available to older writers. ‘We’re hugely excited to be starting the Award and we’re looking forward to discovering those writers who have great stories to tell,’ said associate agent Lisa Highton. ‘Older readers are significant purchasers of books and a hugely important demographic, and increasingly they want to see themselves represented in books. The publishing world can seem mysterious and impenetrable – we’re offering a way in for writers who, up to now, haven’t thought this was the time for them. It is!’ The winner will receive £1,000…

I am not a great writer of fan letters, but I have from time to time written to well-known authors and I have always had a reply – indeed sometimes a lengthy one. One letter I sent simply addressed the name, famous author, and the town got through safely and prompted a useful reply. All sorts of writing can prompt communication to the author. It is not just books, articles too may do so and some even encourage responses by ending with an email address or link of some sort. The same with talks at an event or on radio. You may ask why writers bother to reply to an individual reader, certainly at any length (though such replies may be partly standard if the same question is raised regularly).…

The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition 2023 The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition is a contest for unpublished and unagented writers for children. To enter, writers must have completed a full-length manuscript of a novel aimed at children and young adults between 7 and 18. Novels may be in any genre of children’s fiction, and between 30,000 and 80,000 words. The winner will receive a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a royalty advance of £10,000 and an offer of representation by literary agent Davina Andrew-Lynch of Curtis Brown. The second prize, which will be awarded to a novel that shows promise for TV and film development, is the Lime Pictures New Storyteller Award of £7,500 and an offer of representation from Davina Andrew-Lynch. Enter the full manuscript, a…

Monday 4 July 2022 Doreen Saunders Age: 89 It was as if Doreen Saunders had been waiting for me, passing the time until my arrival. She might as well have been sitting in a rocking chair, knitting needles clicking, jam tarts cooling on the side, the door wide open, waiting for the next visitor. She was all white hair like a bowl of cotton wool balls, her skin distressed leather, and a mouth like a dried-up creek. I introduced myself like I always do. “I’m Nell, pleased to meet you.” Her memories were easy to conjure, nostalgia hanging in the air like a fine mist. I could see her as a young girl helping Elsa Warren rescue an injured bird that had flown into the living room window or cutting…