Saturday, 22 August 2026

Just a couple

Everything seems very quiet at the moment. Or maybe I've been so busy concentrating on my novel that I've not noticed what's going on?


Free to enter writing competitions

On the Premises have another mini competition. They want just three sentences - beginning, middle and end. First prize is $35.

This short story competition from Horrortree is for up to 500 words about what happens after you take the last exit. The prize is a print copy of the publication the piece appears in, and a social media feature.

18 comments:

Sharon at A Quick Read said...

Marian Myers- you have story in the September monthly issue of Take a break. Well done!
Nothing to report. As you say Patsy, it's very quiet. I've been sending stuff out but I'm awaiting decisions.
By the way, if there's any Corrie fans out there who'd like to swap email chat, let me know. I find the fan FB groups overwhelming .
I used to write for the Corrie st blog. Sadly, the comments section has been removed from it.

Marian said...

That’s really strange, Sharon. I’ve never submitted to them. Do they use reprints? I did have a couple published by Yours? I’ll have to get a copy.

Sharon at A Quick Read said...

Yes, it'll probably be a reprint, taken from Yours. TAB and Yours are both Bauer.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the information, Sharon.

Marguerite said...

Thank you for those, Patsy. Horror... maybe :) Congratulations, Marian: a surprise, eh :) Is that (little) mallow, Patsy? Whatever it is, it looks lovely.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Marian!
Thank you, Patsy - I may have a go at ‘On the Premises’.
Flowers - Possibly sweet peas?
Dee

Fiona said...

Congratualations Marian and thanks for the

Fiona said...

Whoops! sorry. Thanks for the links and the flower pic, Patsy. My only news is I’ve had two poems accepted for a literary mag - out later this year. No payment, but as well as publishing online they send all contributors a beautifully produced book at the end of the year.

Marian said...

Thank you everyone for the congratulations - I've seen the story now! After a very quiet time, I've actually had a very good week, with acceptances from TPF, so that's really given me a boost.

Sharon at A Quick Read said...

Just a note - I'm getting back to writing fillers, now FF have halted their submissions. Bauer take all rights to letters and photos sent in. This includes TAB, That's life and Yours mags. Yours are asking people to send in photos of your pets and if published, they award £10. But you'd be giving away the photo of your pet. Just something to consider.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Patsy. Congratulations to Marian and Fiona.
My submission to The Simple Things Magazine has been rejected. But I had a nice email letting me know which is better than not hearing anything back.
HB

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Fiona, and you can look forward to seeing a lovely book on your bookshelf!
Dee

Anonymous said...

Have you recovered from your cataract op?
Dee

Anonymous said...

Yes, thank you. It's amazing how much better I can see!
Lovely of you to ask x

Anonymous said...

Oh, that’s good 😊
Dee

Linda Casper said...

Competition at wwww.thefirstline.com either a story with their first line or last line.
Winter:
Lawrence was the last to arrive.
Due date: November 1, 2026
Notification: We don't make decisions about submissions until after each issue closes. We typically send notices four to five weeks after the issue's deadline to everyone who submitted. You can also check the website's home page for each issue's production status.

Payment: We pay on publication: $25.00 - $50.00 for fiction, $10.00 for poetry, and $25.00 for nonfiction (all U.S. dollars). We also send you a copy of the issue in which your piece appears. You'll receive your money and issue at the same time.

Patsy Collins said...

@ Sharon - Good luck with what you've sent out.

@ Marguerite - Those are my perennial peas. They're like sweet peas, but come back each year and make big plants which flower for ages. Sadly they're not very fragrant.

I'm too wimpy to try horror myself!

@ Fiona - congrats re the poetry. Mabe you can claim ALCS / plr?

@ Marian - great news! Well done.

@ Sharon - thanks for the info.

Photos are a little different from stories with regards copyright. It would only apply to that exact photo. You could still sell another photo of the same pet elsewhere, if you found an opportunity.

@ HB - yes, a polite rejection is much better than no response.

I'm glad you've recovered well from the op.

@ Linda - thank you. I'll copy that into the next post.

Sheelagh said...

Thanks Patsy. Well done all who have received some good news this week. Love the look of the perennial sweetpea but their lack of scent is a problem for me - I adore the scent of sweetpea and love that I can have a fresh vase every day and that they keep producing more flowers to keep up with me.