Table of contents for September 2025 in Writing Magazine

Getting to the page and staying there can be tough for any writer, whether you are an academic, novelist, poet or freelancer. If you are neurodivergent (or think you might be), it can be even tougher, and there are good reasons for that. Join Amanda Marples for a comprehensive walk through all the common areas of difficulty-from problems with focus and time management to rejection sensitivity, sensory overwhelm and avoidance. In this series of workshops you will learn why you are like you are, why your brain seems to be conspiring against you, and what you can do about it. You do not need a diagnosis to attend these sessions. Sessions are designed to stand alone, so you can just attend the ones you think might be most helpful. You…

Writing a novel is a massive achievement, and yet the creation of two short documents to sit alongside it – the pitch letter and synopsis – seem to cause more terror and self-doubt for new writers than the mighty novel itself! When you’re gearing up to send your work to literary agents, how do you nail the perfect pitch letter? And how do you tame that tricky beast, the synopsis? Here are my top tips for both: The pitch letter ADAPT YOUR LETTER FOR EACH SPECIFIC AGENT Each letter you write should be tailored for the specific agent you’re writing to. This may sound laborious but it’s worth taking the time to make sure each letter lands as effectively as possible. I suggest addressing the agent by their first name…

Plot is the story, the sequence of events; theme is the meaning, what the story is about. Plot is particular; theme is universal. For example, coming-of-age stories, in which the events are unique to every individual, are always about identity and self-discovery. An individual reader may be drawn to pick up a book because they like the sound of the characters or plot, or they know it will have a strong sense of place – for example, I read Elizabeth Strout because I like her characters, and I love the books of Ellie Griffiths and Ann Cleeves for their strong evocative settings. But the big themes can appeal to everyone–because everyone knows and has views about things like justice, romantic love, class or our relationship with the natural world. Donald…

A lifelong fan of Golden Age detective fiction, John Curran is one of Ireland’s foremost experts on classic crime. He gets up early and starts working. ‘As an early riser, it makes sense to me to work until early afternoon and then clock off and read some crime fiction,’ he says. ‘I’m a firm believer in the maxim – you don’t find time, you make time. This applies to most tasks but especially to writing a book. Although a deadline helps focus the mind. ‘My earliest reading was always around crime and mystery but, as soon as I could apply for a ticket for the adult library, I began a lifelong affair with Agatha Christie and when I exhausted the library’s stock of Christie, I moved on to Ngaio Marsh,…

In a recent newsletter from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, he said, ‘Not everything blooms in spring. Your season might be autumn. Keep going.’ Not everyone can find time to write when they are younger. It takes a lot of discipline to make that time if you also have a family and a full-time job. The writing dream keeps getting postponed until, one day, you wake up in a child-free home or you’re retired. Now is the time to pursue that dream. It’s never too late. Your season to bloom could be autumn. We are not all waiting to bloom. Unlike flowers that have their season, with determination writers can bloom for many seasons, many years. A 94-year-old friend of mine, let’s call her Margaret, is very frail now.…

From the County of Gloucester Lunatic Asylum Admission Records Eighteenth day of September 1885 The patient Joseph Stokes was admitted into Gloucester Lunatic Asylum suffering from acute mania, numerous delusions and a firm belief that if he prayed to God he would be given a pair of wings. Nearly a year since they hauled our Joehollering off the streets,took him off to Wotton where the mad folk go. Broke my heart it did.Him with his fits and fancies,raucous songs, japes and jigs. My poor, sad, singing clown,begging his old God for wingsup on the rooftops of Gloucester town. Him’s chained up all day for his own safety.Rants all day, wails all night.Best off dead, love, they told me. Told me one night his heart gave outfrom all them screaming rages.Well,…

COURAGE IN THE DARKEST TIMES Having released The Thirteenth Child in 2024 as the first instalment of the Rachael Kisch Trilogy, I was thrilled to launch its The Heroine of Auschwitz is a work of historical fiction which is very much based upon my own ancestors. In the 19th century, my extended family lived in Amsterdam. At the turn of the century, my branch emigrated to the UK. Eleven of the deMezas who were left behind were caught up in the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in 1940 and were transported to Auschwitz in 1943, where they were murdered. I always look to research my books in depth so that my fiction is set against a background that reflects reality. My visit to Auschwitz and the discovery of my eleven…

…and they all lived happily ever after? It’s such a great feeling, isn’t it, when we are able to type The End after the last sentence of even the very first draft of a novel? We’ll start to hope that when the published version finally reaches readers, they will share that same great feeling of – what, exactly? I looked up synonyms of happiness and found, among others: satisfaction, contentment, gladness and joy. So let’s unpick those synonyms in relation to fiction, and think about what we should be offering our readers to ensure that as they reach the end of a novel they will hopefully buy, borrow or order the next. Satisfaction – this is a constant demand from readers who, consciously or subconsciously, always want a story to…

Middle-grade protagonists are usually aged between 11 and 13 years old – an age when they are testing their limits, pushing their boundaries and learning about independence. In many middle-grade novels, the main character needs a fair amount of independence in order to discover more about themselves, and not only achieve the external goal, but – crucially – resolve the internal conflict and help them to become a more mature, developed and happier version of themselves. Most children have some kind of caregiver in the real world, even if that caregiver is not a parent, although sadly there are some children who do not have anyone. It should also be acknowledged that caregivers can range widely in their ability to look after a child. Not every child has the privilege…

It took only seven minutes for ProWritingAid’s Manuscript Analysis Tool to read, digest, and then produce a 23-page analysis of my 100,000-word cosy crime novel. Wow! That was quick. It made me wonder if AI could become an author’s developmental editor? Having undertaken five editorial passes of my manuscript myself, I was at that stage when I needed a third-party overview. So, before passing my manuscript across to some beta-readers, I thought I’d test out ProWritingAid’s new AI Manuscript Analysis Tool. My ProWritingAid Lifetime Premium account entitled me to one free analysis. Using the service again will cost me £35 per assessment, whereas writers using ProWritingAid’s free account will pay £50 per report and ProWritingAid’s Premium Pro users will pay £25. Timely transaction I’m a discovery writer, not a plotter,…

I went to a fascinating talk on this topic at the London Book Fair this year and thought I’d share some of the key ideas for keen authors. Profit can be seen as a dirty word – a somewhat grubby alternative to hearing the muse and having an old-school publishing deal. Yet, if you can make enough money to keep writing, doing something you truly love, why not try earning as an author on your own terms? I’ve discussed self-publishing in the past, which touches on this topic, but have been asked by several emerging authors about next steps down this route. I’ll drill into the findings that several successful authors shared at the book fair, and which I’ve discussed as a mentor at Cornerstones. By self-publishing your own book,…

Brother Mockingbird Brother Mockingbird is a small, US independent publisher committed to the discovery of talented writers with original stories, writes Gary Dalkin. Editor Melissa Carrigee is looking for previously unpublished novels in most commercial genres, from action, adventure, suspense and thrillers, through YA, contemporary and historical fiction, chick lit and romance, speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy and horror), crime and detective (including cosy mysteries), as well as multicultural novels and literary fiction. No erotica, novellas, poetry, stage or screenplays, coming of age, middle grade, or picture books. Brother Mockingbird accepts direct unagented submissions from writers via the form at https://www.brothermockingbird.net/submissions The company has frequent but irregular short reading periods, and the best way to find out when they are is to follow announcements on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/brothermockingbird or other social…

The Caledonia Novel Award 2026 The Caledonia Novel Award is an international prize given for the best novel manuscript in any genre for adults and young adults. All entries must be original novel manuscripts at least 50,000 words long by unpublished or self-published writers. Enter the first 20 pages and a 200-word synopsis. Longlisted writers will be invited to submit their full manuscript by 8 December. The first prize is £1,500. There is a second prize of £500 and a special prize of a free place on a creative writing course at Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre for the best novel from the UK and Ireland. The judge is Alice Lutyens from Curtis Brown and the associate judge is Rosie Pierce. The entry fee is £28 per novel manuscript. A…

Books by Hippocampus Books by Hippocampus publishes creative nonfiction, including memoirs, essay collections, or other personal narratives which ‘may not yet have found a home because they don’t conform to traditional publishing standards,’ writes PDR Lindsay-Salmon. Hippocampus Magazine sets out to entertain, educate and engage writers and readers of creative nonfiction. It publishes memoir excerpts, personal essays, reviews, interviews and craft articles, and look for ‘fresh, enjoyable creative nonfiction’. Submit personal essays, under 4,000 words and flash creative nonfiction, under 800 words. No reprints, multiple subs, AI but the team accept simultaneous submissions. Keep name and contact details off the work, put those details on the form provided Website: https://hippocampusmagazine.com Workers Write! Workers Write! invites stories for issue 22, Tales from the Concourse, writes PDR Lindsay-Salmon. Submit stories 500 to…

There are two factors about writing successfully that have been referred to in this column in a variety of ways. First, you never stop learning – indeed an active approach to the process is both necessary and helpful. Linked to this is the idea that an understanding of the way publishers and editors work helps you adopt an appropriate attitude and approach to them. For example, editors are busy; they do not want their working with a writer they commission to be time-consuming or difficult. Aiming to be nil-hassle should be a prime aim. Any sort of understanding of the publishing world and process quickly shows the need to be realistic. We all know the odds against being published are high, and action taken to secure work needs to be…

Digital Frontier Digital Frontier is a UK online and print magazine (now up to its fifth issue) that explores the intersection of technology and humanity, writes Gary Dalkin. Editor Sophia Epstein says the editorial team are always looking for features exploring unusual trends or observations within the digital world, as well as in-depth profiles of the founders of tech companies. For example, one feature covered interviewed Chris Pedregal, co-founder of note-taking app Granola, while another looked at whether blockchain technology can be usefully integrated into governmental systems. She cites other examples of recent features, including why in an age of touchscreens people still like real buttons, and if AI domain names are a good idea. She is also interested in profiles of innovative startups, including how they go about solving…

The yard of the coaching inn is lit by the moon. The mud-splattered stagecoach creaks as passengers climb from the roof and out of the stale interior. The horses are unharnessed and stabled; the passengers reach for ale or claret-and-water. The journey takes days; they are cold and bone-sore. But change is coming. Even now a phalanx of men is marching down the street with the dawn behind them, hardened and whiskered, the tools of their trade slung about them. The navvies level the land and dig the cutting and bridge the valley. They drink and swear and riot and randy, but each has the strength of ten, and the line is built. They lay the iron roads. When the line is finished, the strangers move on. A station is…

Writing, as every one of us knows, is even more about process than it is about presentation, publication or public acclaim. When we write, the passion that brings us to the page is the start of a journey of creative exploration where our own words are leading us down paths of self-discovery. In the process of becoming the best writer we can be, we learn about ourselves too, and nowhere more than when we draw upon our own experiences in our writing. Writing from lived experience is one of the most popular and growing literary fields, and for very good reasons: it foregrounds raw, authentic, messy human experience in an increasingly homogenous world where individual creativity is being squeezed out by the relentless march of AI. This month we’re putting…

When asked for my top tip about how to edit a novel, my answer is simple: don’t waste time line editing until you’ve solved any overall issues of plot, subplot, character arcs and theme. The more you polish your rough draft the less likely you will be to make big and necessary cuts. In my last article we discussed why you feel compelled to write your novel and why you are the only one who can write it. You must keep your answers to these big questions at the heart of your revision. Having a clear vision for your story will help you shape the reader’s experience in the structural edit. I’ve spent the last 20 years developing my systematic approach to editing a novel and have shared this step-by-step…

When I was six or seven, I passionately wanted to be a saint. (I was charmed by the animals that followed St Francis around in paintings; I also admired his robes.) Then I learned about martyrdom and changed my mind. Story-telling seemed the next best thing; I started my first novel when I was ten and have been writing fiction ever since. There have been setbacks on the path to publication – several, some serious. I have many novels sitting in drawers which will never see the light of day. Long periods have passed where I haven’t written a word; realising how unhappy this made me was a spur to carry on. It took me years to find my voice. The Hounding was my first attempt at historical fiction, and…

STAR LETTER PREDICTING THE READER! When August’s magazine popped through the letter box I was thrilled. I love the research (almost too much) so gobbled down Rebecca Wait’s hilarious Research Skills for Novelists piece on p10. I (try to) write dual narratives so naturally read Monica Chakraverty’s Ask a Literary Consultant column next. And I’m very prone to a soggy middle or two so had to read Margaret James’s tips on Getting Unstuck (Fiction focus). Currently deep in copy edits, I then read Editing Your Novel by Sara Grant with interest. Sadly still agent-less, I turned to Sheila M. Averbuch and her advice on how best to submit, and achieve the holy grail of representation (p8). But Writing Magazine still wasn’t finished with me. Even though I don’t write crime,…

At midnight, under the soft amber glow of the streetlamp, Zia runs her palm over the cold concrete wall. It’s dry. Perfect. The city is asleep, or at least it seems, but she knows from experience that watching eyes are never far away. There’s silence, but not peace. The government now rules with an iron fist, emergency laws slowly bringing a nation to its knees. Control established… so they think. Discussion, or at least dissension, regarding the ruling party is forbidden but Zia has no intentions of using her voice tonight. Instead, she’ll speak with written words. She’s spent the week perfecting her poem and plans to unveil it tomorrow morning at the weekly councillor rally where the people of the city are expected to line the streets and proclaim…

1. When and where did your journey as an author begin? I started writing when I was nine years old, after a kindly librarian gave me a notebook and pen and encouraged me to write a short story. When I was finished, she put it on the shelf alongside the other books. When I saw my ‘book’ up there with the others, I knew I wanted to be a writer, and I’ve written almost every day since. 2. What is (or has been) your proudest moment as a writer? A woman emailed me to say my book had made her laugh out loud – the first time she’d done so since her daughter passed away a year previously. Nothing tops that. 3. Who or what is your greatest inspiration? I’m…

FAILING MEMORY Published in 2018, The Salt Path by Raynor Winn won the inaugural RSL Christopher Bland Prize and became a massive hit, reportedly selling with its two sequels, The Wild Silence and Landlines, well over a million copies, writes Gary Dalkin. A feature film adaptation starring Gillian Anderson as Winn and Jason Isaacs as her husband, ‘Moth’, was released in cinemas in May. Now according to a major investigative feature by Chloe Hadjimatheou published in the Observer in July, the autobiographical story of a couple losing their home only to have the husband diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration, a terminal neurological condition, then walk the 630 mile South West Coastal Path, is in several key areas, completely fabricated. The untruths are not of the nature of small liberties with the…

New Pooh Marking the 99th anniversary of A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh, which made its debut on bookshop shelves on 14 October 1926, this October will see the publication of two new books from Farshore, an imprint of HarperCollins, about the famous bear and his friends. Winnie-the-Pooh: TheBest Bear in all the World, will feature new stories by Paul Bright, Brian Sibley, Kate Saunders and Jeanne Willis, while Winnie-the-Pooh: Tales from the Forest, is a collection of seven stories by Jane Riordan, and introduces a new character, a brave little dog called Carmen. Riordan also wrote last year’s Pooh book, Winter in the Wood. In addition there will be a new hardback of Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus. All four books are illustrated by Mark Burgess. Meanwhile Farshore…

Wetherby Festival Comedy Poetry Competition 2025 The Wetherby Festival Comedy Poetry Competition is inviting entries of humorous poetry. Poems may be text or video. There are prize categories of Funniest Poem in the World, Funniest Poem ages 12-16, Funniest Poem aged 11 and under, and Funniest Poem Performance. Winners in each category will receive a £25 book token. Entry is free. The closing date is 14 September. Website: https://www.wetherbyfestival.co.uk/festivalpoetry The Edward Thomas Fellowship Poetry Competition 2026 The Edward Thomas Fellowship is inviting entries for the Edward Cawston Thomas Prize. Enter original, unpublished poems on any subject, no longer than 40 lines. The winner will receive £250. There are two runner-up prizes of £100 and up to six highly commended. Winners will be invited to read at the AGM in Hampshire…

Intrepid Times Writing Competition 2025 Enter non-fiction travel writing on the theme of ‘A Book Led Me There’. For its tenth travel-writing contest, Intrepid Times is inviting entries of true-life, fact-based first-person travel tales no longer than 2,000 words on the theme. The first prize is $300. The winner and up to four runners up will be published on Intrepid Times and the runners up will be paid a standard fee. Entry is free. Writers may enter one piece only. The closing date is 31 August. Website: https://intrepidtimes.com/writing-competition-a-book-led-me-there/…

Tourist boards can often be a good source of information for travel writers, and they may also save you money. Their very reason for existence is to put whatever place they represent – from a country to a town – in the spotlight. This means they’re disposed to listen to writers who want assistance, but who can put something about the place they represent into print. Perhaps one should add that they are more likely to engage if the mention is to be positive. As travel costs spiral – and this is something that affects more distant, and perhaps more desirable, places to write about most – then any cost saving is helpful. It might make the difference between being able to make a particular visit or not. Quoting your…

So if someone was to ask me what the best pitch letter I have ever read was, I wouldn’t have a clue how to answer. The internet is full of earnest advice on the do’s and don’ts of pitch letters, but the truth is there are no hard and fast rules. In the age of the internet the old advice that you should address your letters to specific agents doesn’t have anything like the cut through it once did: it is too easy to find out who is who and who’s done what. Much of what I represent comes to me from my network, but I genuinely enjoy looking at the unsolicited manuscript submissions that come through to the agency. It can be a daunting task, whittling away at the…

So you’ve finished the first draft. The story lies ‘finished’ before you, though you know it needs improvement. Perhaps there are a few bare patches. Some themes may have emerged that you hadn’t planned. Some characters may have stepped forward whose roles you hadn’t imagined. Now you face the rewrite. How do you go about that? A good first step is to create a plot diagram. Previously, it’s possible you’ve been entirely inside your story. Now you need to see it from an aerial view, from a reader’s view. Create a chapter breakdown detailing what happens in each chapter: story development, which characters feature (and their arcs), themes, key scenes and mid-point (in terms of word count). Use different colours if necessary. This way, you will see at a glance…

Each month in WM, we feature creative writing by our subscribers. Selected pieces will be published in WM and we pay £50 for prose and £25 for poetry, and provide a mini-critique explaining what made the pieces stand out to us. This month, with features on life writing and autofiction encouraging you to draw on your own experience, we're inviting submissions on the theme of 'A Moment That Changed Me.' Submit prose (fiction and non-fiction) up to 500 words and poetry up to 40 lines to wmsubmissions@warnersgroup.co.uk. Include your subscriber number. The closing date is 31 August.…

The Big Book of Quantum Fiction The Big Book of Quantum Fiction is the dream child of editor Tracy Shew, writes PDR Lindsay-Salmon. She regards quantum fiction as ‘a world where the past, present and future co-exist.’ Her guidelines suggest that horror, science fiction, urban fantasy, literary fiction, experimental fiction, all kinds of poetry, surrealism are accepted. Submit stories between 100 to 10,000 words/one to three poems. Deadline is 30 September. Payment: US$24, plus 1 free author’s copy Website: https://www.tracyshew.com/blog/the-big-book-of-quantum-fiction Dark Holme Publishing Dark Holme Publishing is home to indie horror and original micro-fiction, writes PDR Lindsay-Salmon. Currently stories are invited for the anthology, The 13th Floor, which is a psychological horror anthology ‘rooted in the idea of a floor that was never meant to be there – and never truly…

Brief Wilderness Press Under the Shoe Music Press imprint, Brief Wilderness Press publishes ‘fine books of poetry and prose,’ writes PDR Lindsay-Salmon. Queries can be sent to Gordon Purkis, editor-in-chief, by email or by using the Submissions page. Work is published online and poets will be asked to record poems as well for the podcast. Include some introductory material, biographical information, etc. Website: https://briefwilderness.com/books Hiraeth Publishing Hiraeth Publishing publishes what they consider the very best in speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal, anything out of the ordinary in the form of novels, novellas, chapbooks, colouring books, anthologies, collections, even short stories online, writes PDR Lindsay-Salmon. Currently open to novels, novellas, and collections of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, or in one of the related subgenres, such as paranormal or…

SmokeLong SmokeLong publishes flash narratives and will also consider reviews of flash collections, essays on craft, and articles on teaching flash for the blog. Payment is US$100 to US$150 with audio. Website: https://www.smokelong.com The Metropolitan Review The Metropolitan Review publishes book reviews, literary criticism, essays, and reviews of film and television. Submit short stories and novel excerpts under 5,000 words. Website: https://metropolitanreview.com Rainy Weather Days Rainy Weather Days literary magazine want to ‘focus on polished works of prose and poetry which are works of defiance.’ Submit resistance literature: fictional prose of any genre or poetry or nonfiction essays: 1,500 to 15,000 words/one to five poems. Payment: US$25 for prose and US$10 for poetry. Website:https://rainyweatherdays.com Bullet Points Bullet Points publishes speculative military fiction which is sensitive to the complexity, tragedy, and…

Eyelands Book Awards 2025 Now in their eighth year, the Eyelands Book Awards from Eyelands and Strange Days Books in Greece are given annually in the following categories: • Published books and writers’ choice: The winner in these two categories receives a five-day stay in Athens in November to attend the prize ceremony (air tickets not included) and a handmade ceramic. • Unpublished books: The winning book will be translated into Greek and published by Strange Days Books. 14 further prizewinners will each receive a handmade ceramic and their poetry and short stories will be published in a collection by Strange Days Books. International entries are welcomed. Enter books and manuscripts in English in any of the following: novels, novellas, short story collections, poetry, children’s books, historical fiction, memoir, graphic…