It's summer!

Gosh, it's warm, isn't it? I'm so lucky to have the sea so close. We've walked down and chucked ourselves in several times this week.

I'll sprinkle this posts with refreshing glimpses of cool water for anyone who might benefit. (Not all taken on my daily walks!)

A quick reminder - this is how this blog works.

Free entry writing competition

Thanks to Alyson for sending the link to this haiku competition. The theme is sight, and the prize is $25 sent via Paypal.

Call for Submissions

Thanks to whoever told me about Poplar and Prose. Was it Fiona? Sorry, my memory isn't great even when it isn't melting! I got in touch, and was sent this –  I’m looking for 100-word stories that celebrate summer — inspired by nature and rich in imagery. This could include stories about family, relationships, vacations, and summer memories to give you a few examples of what I’m especially interested in. 

This is for Poplar & Prose, a literary lifestyle brand, featuring pieces that make the ordinary moments feel a little richer, inspired by good books and the outdoors. I’d love to highlight one or two amazing writers in August through a featured Journal post.

Authors always retain the rights to their work. I simply ask for non-exclusive permission to publish the piece on Poplar & Prose. Contributors are also free to publish elsewhere.

While I’m only able to provide a token .03/word payment, contributors will be credited alongside a short author blurb and linked work/socials if desired.

To get a feel for the brand, you can visit PoplarandProse.com.

By July 15 8pm EST, submissions, along with a 2–3 sentence bio, can be sent to: contact@poplarandprose.com

Thanks so much for your interest, and I look forward to reading about your summers!

Womag news

There will be July and August issues of TABFF. I don't know about after that.

A good excuse

That big block of text below gives me an excuse to break it up with lots of photos! In the hope it's warm and sunny when you read this, I've chosen cooling water and ferns.

Free entry writing competitions

Thanks to Alyson for this 100 word competition. First prize is $100, with smaller runner up prizes. As it's American, try not to put too much colour into it. ;-)

I found the following writing competition. I couldn't manage to find something to link to, so have copied the details below. No prize is mentioned, but there is a prize for another competition connected to this event (shared in last week's post) so there might be.

The Highclere Castle Book Festival Writing Prize 2026 To mark the inaugural year of the Writing Prize, budding writers are challenged to inhabit the mind and spirit of a famed author of the past. Whether inspired by the quiet intensity of a governess, the wit of a social observer, or the brooding sensibilities of a romantic poet, entrants must compose a diary entry as though they themselves were that writer, capturing not only their voice, but their time. 

Each submission, no more than 1,000 words, should unfold as a private reflection: intimate, immediate, and true to the era in which the chosen writer lived. Consider the concerns of the day, the constraints of society, and the inner life that shaped their work. What would they confide to the page, when no one else was listening? We are not looking for imitation alone, but imagination, writing that breathes with authenticity while revealing something new. Entries will be judged on originality, voice, historical sensitivity, and emotional depth. 

The winner will be announced at the Highclere Castle Book Festival in October. Take up your pen. Assume another life. And write as though history itself were watching. Entries to both competitions close on Friday 18th September and winners will be notified before the prize giving on Sunday 4th October at the Highclere Castle Book Festival. 

Prizes will be presented by Lady Carnarvon and Elizabeth Kirby from Hampshire Life.  Terms and conditions for entrants can be found at: www.highclerecastle/bookreadersawards.  

It's done!

It's taken many more weeks than it should have been days, and been ludicrously stressful – but the office is done! 

Concentrating on my writing whilst it's all been going on hasn't been easy, so I've used the time to sort out more of the photos from our recent trip. These were taken near the end on the Farne Islands.

Free entry writing competitions

Thanks to Alyson for this short story competition. The theme is titles, max word count 1,500 and the prize £100, plus a book.

Do you like writing book reviews? (If so, please review one of mine!) There's £500 on offer for a review of books in various categories in this competition. It does look as though they expect winners to attend their event.

Womag news

The TABFF rejections continue! I got 10 all at once - all of them submitted in 2024. Some of them previously rejected. Some previously published in the magazine. Some given up on after the period the guidelines told us we were to do that, subbed and published elsewhere. 

I asked what would happen with stories accepted but not yet published ad got this reply - "Any stories we publish will be paid for in the normal way. Any unpublished submissions can be sold elsewhere. If you need any further information let me know." 

That didn't come from Alice. Neither have any of the mass rejections, as far as I'm aware. If you have questions you'd like me to raise, please put them in the comments and I'll pass them all on together.

Thanks to Maisie Bishop for forwarding these guidelines, recently sent out by The Simple Things. They used to take unsolicited submissions, then went to commissions only. It looks as though they've had a rethink about that!

The Simple Things

Fiction submissions

National, monthly, lifestyle magazine The Simple Things is proud to run a piece of flash fiction every month. We are always delighted to receive submissions, provided they fit the below criteria.

TONE: Please take a look at our latest issue
(available from newsagents, larger supermarkets, WHS, M&S, Barnes & Noble in the US, and as a digital version) to familiarise yourself with our overall content.

As you’ll see, we’re rather obsessed with nature/food/family/friends/home/crafts/nostalgia/simple pleasures. Stories should ideally refer to at least one of these obsessions in some way – but please don’t cram too many in, or feel obliged to deliver, for example, the tale of a middle-class family reconciled through crochet, chickens or a home-cooked dinner (we’ve had quite a lot of those recently…). Feel free to approach things from a new, oblique angle.

Sex and death are best avoided.

Humour is very welcome (though not essential). Melancholy is fine, but the story should ultimately strike – and this is probably the most important thing to bear in mind - an upbeat (though not cheesy) note.

Please keep titles 3-6 words long if possible.

WORD COUNT: 600 words.

FEE: £100

EMAIL AS WORD DOC TO: eithne.farry@gmail.com

HEARING BACK FROM US: If we decide a story is just right, we’ll be in touch as soon as possible. However, due to time constraints and heavy submissions it may not always be possible to reply personally to every unsuccessful submission. We’ll try, but if we can’t - please forgive us, and know that we are very grateful to you for sharing your words with us.

Thanks! We look forward to reading you.

The Simple Things.

The little things

We're now back home (which doesn't mean the travel photos will stop!) and appreciating those little things which you take for granted until you spend a few weeks in a campervan – unlimited water, hot water without advance planning, a bed which is always level and ... I'd like to say a proper office, but we have to wait a little longer for that.

We had an amazing time, probably helped by being very lucky with the weather, and definitely picked a good time of year to visit Scotland.

Free to enter writing competitions

Thanks to Suzan Lindsay for the link to this competition from The Welkin Press. They want up to 100 words. There are 5 themes and the best in each will win £30.

And thanks to Fiona for this one from Curtis Brown on the theme of landmarks. They want a few more words - up to 300, and offer a potentially bigger prize of a Curtis Brown gift voucher valued at £300, and a year's membership to The Writing Studio.

Other publication opportunities

If you write short literary fiction (3,000 to 8,000 words) you might be interested in submitting to One Story. They pay $5,000.

Thanks to Fiona for pointing out that Myslexia "have lots of submission opportunities and for most you don’t have to subscribe to the magazines."

You might be interested in...

The latest issue of Writing Magazine has, amongst many other things, 'tips on writing for the womag market'. It includes alternative markets and uses for womag type fiction. In case you missed it, last week Liz Filluel wrote a post about using work originally written for womags in a completely different way.

Here, here and here, are examples of how I've re-homed some of the stories I've had published in magazines over the years.

Reply from TAB FF

Just after eight this morning, I received a response to my request for information about the future of the magazine.  As I'd said I was asking on behalf of my blog readers, I'm sure it's OK to share it.

      Hi Patsy

 

Thank you for your email. We hugely value the relationships we have with all our contributors and your continued support of Fiction Feast over the years.

As part of an ongoing review of Fiction Feast to ensure its long-term sustainability, we are exploring new ways of producing the magazine. As a result, we are pausing external commissioning of fiction stories for the time being.

 

We want to emphasise how much we value your work and the contribution you’ve made to the magazine. We are not closing the door to commissioning in the future and will be in contact should opportunities arise.

 

Thank you again for your support.

 

The Fiction Feast Team

 That's a little vague, but does suggest the magazine will continue. I've asked a further question. If I learn more, I'll share it in this post.

Take a Break's Fiction Feast

I've had a few questions, and seen some rumours about the future of TAB FF. Sorry, I don't know anything!

I've emailed asking for a statement for the blog and will share anything I receive. So far, that's just the automatic response for fiction submissions.

Update - I've had a response which I've copied into a new post.