• Never query until you’re sure that you are submitting the best possible version of your story. This usually means that you’ve edited your manuscript several times and had people (outside of your very proud best friend and adoring mom) read and crit

‘I was a features writer at my local newspaper, The Chester Chronicle, when I was contacted by Janet Holt from Derbyshire, asking if I could help her to write her life story,’ writes subscriber Helen Parker. ‘She sent me an initial lovely, light-hear

The 2021 Bristol Short Story Prize is open for entries. The competition, which is run in association with Tangent Books, has a first prize of £1,000. There is a second prize of £500, and a third prize of £250. Seventeen further shortlisted writers wi

Deep Overstock began simply as a journal to support booksellers who dreamed of writing. The editorial team, booksellers themselves, wanted to help their fellow frustrated writers. From this beginning grew the small press which now issues a quarterly

Laxfield Literary Associates, working in association with Blake Friedman Agency, represents Norfolk and Suffolk writers, authors from under-represented backgrounds, and of particular interest, authors based in Africa and the Middle East. At the time

‘When I read the submission draft of How the One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House, I was drawn by the immediacy of Lala’s story, the awful brutality that she, her mother and grandmother all endure in different ways, and their stoicism and honesty and ca

‘We (Anne Forrest and Judy Price), both left school at fifteen with little opportunity for further education until decades later when Judith studied for a BA, and Anne for a Masters, in English Literature with Creative Writing at Wales’ Bangor Univer

Bridgend Writers’ Circle Annual Open Competition offers £100, £50 and £30 prizes for short stories, 1,500-1,800 words. Entry fee is £5, £2.50 each additional, and the closing date is 1 March. Website: www.bridgendwriters.org Bloomsbury has acquired t

Welcoming unsolicited proposals for non-fiction and children’s books Gill Books work closely with new and more experienced writers to firstly discuss their project its viability and the develop of the manuscript. Their collaborative team will then co

‘As we enter a new year we all doubtless look back on a very different kind of year from what we expected and wanted,’ writes Patrick Forsyth. ‘As one of Writing Magazine’s regular contributors, I’ve certainly used some of my lockdown time constructi

Harriet Shephard is the editor of the online Women & Golf magazine. ‘Women & Golf is a thirty-year-old brand focused on women’s golf, from crowd level to amateur,’ said Harriet. ‘We cover tournaments, but also subjects that affect club golfers, inclu

If you are reading a book series over a long period of time as each new volume comes out, it is easy to forget what’s happened before. UK website Recaptains offer a solution, with a mission statement to ‘saving series one book at a time’. The site of

The Skyhorse Publishing editorial team call themselves ‘the fastest-growing small publisher in America’. They aim to ‘work hard, move fast, have fun, make money, and change lives for the better by publishing superior books on a wide range of topics f

In all my years writing these letters as my Last Job for the month, I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite as relieved as I am this month to be able to say Happy New Year. As usual for this first issue of the year, we’ve canvassed some of our industry in

‘The two highlights of my lockdown life have been: the arrival of my copy of Writing Magazine, welcomed like an old and trusted friend, and the publication of Fame & Fortune, the eighth book in The Victorian Detectives series, writes subscriber Carol

The Block describes itself as the leading research, analysis and news brand ‘in the digital asset space’. Founded in 2018 and based in NYC, The Block’s team is spread across seven time zones, covers global cryptocurrencies and stories about blockchai

London-based Anamot Press is looking for submissions for its first anthology on queer experiences across borders and other stories told with no shame. Submit original, unpublished poems (up to three) and essays and short stories up to 3,000 words. Se

The Cheshire Prize for Literature 2020 is inviting entries. This year’s competition for Cheshire writers is for writing themed around all aspects of the pandemic. There are four entry categories: short stories up to 1,500 words; poems up to 100 lines

‘I am very proud to announce the publication of my debut horror novel, Deep Level, and it’s all thanks to Writing Magazine,’ writes subscriber Rhydderch Wilson. ‘In April 2019 I wrote to WM asking if there was still a market for novellas. You publish

Spirit & Destiny magazine (Bauer) are currently closed to fiction submissions. Features editor, Tracie Couper said, ‘I have a fair few commissioned Spiritual Fictions still to use and therefore feel it wouldn’t be fair to commission any more right no