Tag Archives: lit mags

Fictive Dream Call for Submissions

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Fictive Dream is open to submissions and, as always, we’re interested in short stories with a contemporary feel (500 – 2,500 words). We especially like stories that give an insight into the human condition; stories that focus on those moments that change people’s lives. They may be on any subject. They may be challenging, dramatic, playful, exhilarating or cryptic. Above all, they must be well-crafted and compelling.

Check out the Fictive Dream website here.

See our submission guidelines here.

We’re looking forward to receiving your best work!

Laura Black
Editor

Website www.fictivedream.com
Twitter @fictivedream
Instagram fictive.dream

Fictive Dream Call for Submissions

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Fictive Dream is open to submissions and, as always, we’re interested in short stories with a contemporary feel (500 – 2,500 words). We especially like stories that give an insight into the human condition; stories that focus on those moments that change people’s lives. They may be on any subject. They may be challenging, dramatic, playful, exhilarating or cryptic. Above all, they must be well-crafted and compelling.

Check out the Fictive Dream website here.

Look at our submission guidelines here.

We’re looking forward to receiving your best work!

Laura Black
Editor

Website www.fictivedream.com
Twitter @fictivedream
Instagram fictive.dream

Fictive Dream Call for Submissions

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Fictive Dream is open to submissions and, as always, we’re interested in short stories with a contemporary feel (500 – 2,500 words). We especially like stories that give an insight into the human condition; stories that focus on those moments that change people’s lives. They may be on any subject. They may be challenging, dramatic, playful, exhilarating or cryptic. Above all, they must be well-crafted and compelling.

Check out the Fictive Dream website here.

Look at our submission guidelines here.

We’re looking forward to receiving your best work!

Laura Black
Editor

 

Submission opportunity Flash Fiction February 2019

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Four weeks left to get your story in for Fictive Dream’s Flash Fiction February 2019. Submissions close on midnight December 31 2018.

During Flash Fiction February we will feature a new piece of flash fiction throughout February 2019. That’s a new story, every day, starting on 1 February for the entire month. As always we’re interested in stories with a contemporary feel.

We’ve put a squeeze on our usual word count though, so only stories of between 200 – 750 words please.

Read our Flash Fiction February submission guidelines here.

Check out the Fictive Dream website here.

We’re looking forward to receiving your best work!

Laura Black
Editor

That Killer First page, Dublin, Oct 13

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That Killer First Page, Oct 13

Venue: Brooks Hotel, 62 Drury Street, Dublin 2.

Date: Oct 13    Time: 10.30-4.30

Places are limited. This event sold out in Adelaide, Bali, Bath, Belfast, Cork, Galway, Kuala Lumpur, Lancaster, London, Melbourne & Singapore.  

You’ll find out what competition judges and journal editors look for in a short story and how to avoid the rejection pile. You’ll write a short piece and get feedback on that crucial story opening. In a form where every word counts, get tips on staying focused on your story and where to start the action. You’ll also look at submission opportunities; how to find them and where you should be sending your stories.

Focus:
How to get the attention of competition judges and editors
Writing fiction with emotional impact
Writing that killer first page
How to edit your story
Where to send your work

Paul McVeigh’s short fiction has been published in anthologies and journals inc. The Stinging Fly and Faber’s ‘Modern Irish Writing’. Stories have been commissioned by BBC Radio 3, 4 & 5 and Sky Arts TV. He was shortlisted for Irish Short Story of the Year 2017 at the Irish Book Awards. His short story blog shares writing opportunities and advice and gets 40,000 hits a month and has had over 2 million views. He’s interviewed short story masters like Kevin Barry, Elizabeth McCracken and George Saunders for The Irish Times. Paul co-founded the London Short Story Festival and is Associate Director at Word Factory, the UK’s national centre for excellence in the short story. He is a judge for national and international short story competitions including, in 2018, the Sean O’Faolain Prize, the Edge Hill Prize and the International Dylan Thomas Prize. He is also the current fiction editor at Southword Journal where he recently commissioned Kit de Waal and twice Booker shortlisted Deborah Levy.                                                                                   

“I emerged from the sleepy hamlet of my writing infancy last Saturday and was sky-rocketed, hurricaned, tsunamied, autobahned and g-forced out of my head by Paul McVeigh’s “That Killer First Page” Masterclass at Waterstones, Piccadilly. He’s on top of his game, gives instinctive, constructive criticism and in a few short hours, had conveyed the essence of how to make a story compelling and unputdownable from the first few lines. Get on one of his courses if you can.”

Reviews for his short stories:
“Beautiful and very moving.” Booker shortlisted Alison Moore
“How moving and stunning that story is. It’s so raw and incredibly human.” Costa shortlisted Jess Richards
“(one of) Ireland’s most exciting and talented writers.  Incredibly moving; poignant but utterly real, funny and beautifully observant.” BBC Radio 4
“Paul McVeigh’s story stands out. Funny, moving, poignant. Brilliant.” Metro Newspaper

Paul’s debut novel The Good Son’ won 2 awards and was shortlisted for a further 5.

‘A work of genius…’ Pulitzer Prize-winning Robert Olen Butler

“Both dancing and disquieting, complex and vivid, I devoured it in a day, but I’ve thought about it for many, many more.” Bailey Prize-winner Lisa McInerney The Glorious Heresies                                       ‘

‘A triumph of storytelling. An absolute gem.’ Donal Ryan

Places are limited to 15

FOR CONCESSIONS PLEASE EMAIL: paulmcveighwriter@live.co.uk

Brooks are offering a special lunch deal – two tapas plus a glass of house wine at €18.50 per person.

PaulMcVeigh short story

Fictive Dream Special Call for Submissions

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New from Fictive Dream is September Slam in which we will feature seven new short stories, one for each day of the week, from Monday 24th to Sunday 30th September 2018.

As always we’re interested in stories with a contemporary feel on any subject that gives an insight into the human condition. But here’s the twist. Your story must include two sentences courtesy of short story writer, novelist and publisher, Nicholas Royle.

Nicholas Royle is the author of three short story collections—Mortality (Serpent’s Tail), Ornithology (Confingo Publishing), The Dummy and Other Uncanny Stories (Swan River Press)—and seven novels, most recently First Novel (Vintage). He has edited more than twenty anthologies and is series editor of Best British Short Stories (Salt). Reader in Creative Writing at the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University, he also runs Nightjar Press and is head judge of the Manchester Fiction Prize.

Check out the Fictive Dream website here.

See our September Slam 2018 submission guidelines here.

For standard submissions (500–2,500 words) we remain open as usual.

We’re looking forward to receiving your best!

Laura Black
Editor

 

Issue 8 and a New Press, Perhaps

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Issue 8 coverWe’ve been thinking that it could be fun to set up a small press. The A3 Press. Same kind of format as The A3 Review and Writing Maps, a place for writers and artists to publish short work. We’re imagining these beautifully designed chapbooks that fold out. Let us know what you think! If you click here, you’ll be taken to the survey.

We’re almost ready to start compiling Issue 8, The Gold Issue. This month is the last opportunity to be included in our next issue. The theme is brief encounters and the deadline is Saturday, 24th February. Quickies, chance meetings, a brief exchange that changes a life. Click here for all the details and some further suggestions. You can also pre-order a copy of Issue 8 here.

For all our future contest themes, check out our Submittable page.

Happy Writing!

The Birth of flash & cinder

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flash & cinder is a new literary magazine dedicated to flash fiction and poetry encircling a single idea. Our first issue, Spirit, is due to be formally released in July 2018 to start of our summer/winter alternation. We love writing that pushes boundaries and dares to experiment.

We’ve already received bounties of wonderful flash fiction and poetry, but we’re always interested in reading more. We love literary magazines such as Smokelong Quarterly Magazine, New Flash Fiction Review and Magma Poetry, and want to build something that will eventually stand proudly among them.
twitter 2

We are open for submissions for our very first issue now! If you have flash fiction or poetry on the theme of Spirit, we’d love to read it. Poems may be up to and including 32 lines long, while flash fiction can only be up to 750 words.

If you’re interested, please submit up to three pieces to flashandcinder@gmail.com. Submissions close March 31st 2018.

We look forward to reading your work.
flash & cinder

Bunbury Issue 18…in your hands?

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Well hello to you all from Bunbury Magazine, and a (possibly slightly late) Happy New Year 2019 because by golly that January was a long one! We hope you are all well and sticking to your resolution like the good ones that you are.

 

We’re back to let you know that WE’RE BACK! Bunbury has landed with a brand new issue. Number 18. Bunbury is now officially able to vote and drink. It’s applying to university and revising for A Levels. It’s a busy time at Bunbury HQ.

 

To the important part. The issue is available for you now and, for the very first time, you can literally get your hands on a copy! That’s right, we’re in print! You would not believe how excited we are about this. Bunbury 18 now comes in both physical and digital formats: the physical features all of the poetry, short stories and flash fiction. The digital comes with bonus content, including the Art & Photography section, Serials and Our Edinburgh Fringe 2017 feature! It’s a corker.

The physical copy is £5 and comes with an activation code to download the bonus content for free OR you can get the full digital version downloaded to your gadgets for £5. Choose your destiny below.

Bunbury Issue 18: The Hunt Physical Edition

Bunbury Issue 18: The Hunt Digital Edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went with the theme of ‘The Hunt’ because Editor Keri was the loudest in the meeting room that day and started pretending to hunt everyone around the office. We don’t know why… We were afraid to ask.
Still, she’s stopped now and that’s the main thing.
We also thought it would be a darn good prompt. We hope it was.

This issue is another very special one, from the words, to the people, to the art, it’s just splendid from cover to cover.

As always, we’re bringing you excellent short stories, poetry, flash fiction and more alongside the usual stunning art work and in this one, we present for your delectation and delight, our adventures at the Edinburgh Fringe festival through our annual interviews. Also, allow me to take this opportunity to say that if you’ve never been to the Fringe, you really should. It’s a month of mayhem and wonder. Plus, haggis! What more could you ask for?

 

OTHER NEWS

Bunbury Issue 19 is now open for submissions. The theme for this one, you ask? Infinity we answer. As always, a big concept for you lovely, talented people to get your creative chops in to. For all of our guidelines for submitting to us, click on the submissions poster below. There’s lots of lovely info there!

 

Some of you may also know that we run spoken word events in our home town of Bury. If you didn’t know, you do now! They are also back up and running for 2018. The first one of the year was an absolute belter and we’re ramping up for the next one. It’s on 27th February in The Old White Lion in Bury. Our headliners are the absurdly talented Benjamin Guilfoyle and Fiona Nuttall. If you’re in the area (or even if you aren’t) come along. We have open mic spots available. For all the information, you know what to do (click the poster which will take you to a Facebook event where you can tell us you are coming!)

 

That’s all for now folks! As usual, come and find us on Facebook (Bunbury Magazine), Twitter (@BunburyPublish) and wherever they are serving a fine gin.

 

Tah-tah for now, dear Bunburyists!

Christopher and Keri.

Windows and Reminders

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stamp windowWe’d like to remind you that Issue 7 of The A3 Review is here. Click here to order a copy. We’d also like to remind you that the November deadline for our monthly contest is just a few days away. November the 25th is when we start reading submissions for our WINDOWS-themed contest.

Click here for inspiration and prompts, and for submission details. You could write about windows you’ve looked into and windows you’ve looked out of. Or write about a character standing at a hotel window, witnessing something they’ll never forget, or something that makes them laugh. Look into the metafictional potential of the window…

You could write about broken windows and throwing pebbles at a lover’s window. Write about glasshouses. Write about a particular type of window, anything from a witch window to a bay window. Write about eyes, for they are the window to the soul. Write about a character who loves to window shop, or a day in the life of a window dresser.

You could write about the windows in your day, or a character’s day and call it “All the Day’s Windows” or “A Day of Windows.” You could write a piece and start with the words: “The tiny window in his cell…” or “From the hospital bed she could see…” or, to steal the opening lines of a famous song: “Looking out on the pouring rain…”

This month’s contest is inspired by the Write Around the House Writing Map. As always, we welcome short stories, flash fiction, poetry, comics, graphic stories, a snippet of memoir, photographs, illustrations, and any combination of the above. The only restriction is a word-limit of 150 and images should fit well into an A6 panel.

One more reminder… our Brief Critique option is still only $15 (that’s about £11, depending on the state of the world on any specific day!). More and more writers are taking us up on the offer, and this is what some have said: “Very constructive. Good level of detail… Intelligent, direct, and useful suggestions for improvement.” For just $15 we’ll provide a line edit of your submission and feedback on ways to take your work to the next level. Choose the Brief Critique add-on, and you’ll be able to pay together with your entry fee. Critiques are provided after the month’s winning entries have been announced.

And one fnal reminder… Write! Write Write! Write wherever you are. Here’s some suggestions from The A3 Review‘s editor, Shaun Levin.

Bunbury is back with Fallout.

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So here we are again with Bunbury Magazine, dear Bunburyists. Issue seventeen. It feels like seventeen should the unlucky number, not thirteen. Thirteen gets a bad rap, probably because it got caught in the fallout of those Friday the Thirteenth films.

Oh, fallout! That’s why we’re here. It’s not often we get that distracted that early on. This is our fallout themed issue. We thought it timely going with this theme given everything going on in the world right now. As you know, we here at Bunbury towers try to stay non-partisan in all things outside of creativity but there are some things – some big things lurking around the world – that just cannot be ignored.

Our suggestion? Hunker down with plenty of water, canned food and ride out the fallout with this new issue. As usual, it’s packed to the reinforced-steel rafters with poetry, short stories, art and all of the nice things to help you escape from the outside world (REMAIN INDOORS). We also have a superb feature and interview with the very talented Aaron Kent, curator of Poetic Interviews, one of the most exciting projects happening in the poetry at the moment.

You can get this brand new issue but clicking the gorgeous front cover below (very expertly created by Amy Telfer). It is on pay-what-you-like but we suggest £3 for something so lovingly put together. Alternatively, if you pay £15 for this or any other issue, we will send you a copy of the Bunbury Creative Anthology Vol. 1, which contains the best bits from the first 12 issues. Come on, that’s a bargain!

Speaking of exciting, there are exciting times afoot here at Bunbury. Last issue, we introduced Dean Rhetoric to you, our new poetry editor, who has also put together amazing features for us and you (The Best Kept Secrets in Poetry last time)!

Well our team has expanded evermore. We would now like you all to welcome Malika M Street, who has joined us as poetry editor (and also helps us run our spoken word sister event Just Write). We also have Fiona Nuttall, who will be editing the short story section from here on in. We are so thrilled to have these three beautiful humans on board. We have no doubt that each section will be full to the brim with the highest quality you can find!

In other OTHER news, our doors are once again open for submissions. The theme is THE HUNT for issue 18. You can find our submissions guidelines and more how to get in touch on our website (just click the thing below!)

With all that, enough of the dillying and dallying. We must away to put on our tin hats and crouch under a rickety, match-stick table. Keep calm and Bunbury.

Much love and keep scribbling!

Christopher and Keri.

Fictive Dream Special Call for Submissions

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New from Fictive Dream is Flash Fiction February in which we will feature a new piece of flash fiction throughout February 2018. That’s a new story every day starting on 1 February for the entire month.

As always we’re interested in stories with a contemporary feel but for Flash Fiction February we’re putting a squeeze on the word count so only stories between 250 – 750 words please. Deadline December 31 2017.

Check out the Fictive Dream website here.

See out Flash Fiction February submission guidelines here.

For standard submissions we remain open as usual.

We’re looking forward to receiving your best!

Laura Black
Editor

 

Agatha Christie in the Bath and Two Online Courses

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The A3 Review hosts a monthly writing contest, and this month’s theme is Naked and Nude. We read here that Agatha Christie wrote in the bath while eating apples. We googled for images, but there weren’t any, so we’re wondering: Who’ll write the story of the bathing novelist who said she specialised in “murders of quiet, domestic interest”? We like a good title, so how about: “Agatha Christie in the Bath”? Click here for more naked inspiration.

Deadline is 23rd September. 150 words max, or if you’re sending us artwork, it should fit nicely into an A6-sized panel. Click here to see all the new themes for Issue 8, The Gold Issue.

In the meantime, Issue 7 is almost here. The Silver Issue. We have 12 contributors, plus a story from flash fiction writer extraordinaire, Kathy Fish. There’s a maritime theme running through the new issue. Flowing through it! Whales and shrimp, to be precise. As well as stories and poems about a nun who steals a cross, a boy scout who’s unprepared, a teacher who learns, and some people who revel in their own dirt! From the depths of the ocean to the moon and space, with some complicated earthly relationships in between. If you haven’t pre-ordered already, you can do that by clicking here.

Some details about the two online courses… New dates are up for The A3 Review editor, Shaun Levin’s How to Map Your Book online course. The current one filled up pretty quickly, so you might want to grab a place for the course starting in November. If you’re eager to join a course now, there are still a few places on the Write Around Town online course that starts next week. Both courses are practical and focused on your own writing. It’s a great chance to get detailed feedback on your work, too. Check out both courses by clicking here.

Any questions about the courses or The A3 Review, please contact maps [at] writingmaps [dot] com

Bunbury Magazine in the flesh.

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Hello to you all from Bunbury Magazine. We hope you are well and enjoying what passes for summer! The clouds may be filling the sky but we are here with news that will help the sun shine strong on your day.

For the very first time, Bunbury Magazine can be yours in physical form! We have been working tirelessly to get our back catalogue of issues into print and we are so proud to be able to bring you the very first issue. You can get your actual hands on the actual magazine by actually clicking on the beautiful front cover below.

In other news, our inbox is still open to submissions for our ‘Fallout’ themed issue. We are looking for your poetry, short stories and flash fiction. The deadline is 16th August and we still have plenty of room for your work. Find out more about our submission guidelines below:

We will be back in September with more news, themes and a new issue!

Much love,

Christopher and Keri.

How can you #resist a new Bunbury? Issue 16 is here!

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WELCOME

Roll up! Roll up!

Welcome one and all, to this, the 16th issue of Bunbury Magazine.

The theme of this issue was #resist and, unlike Trump around the ladies, we just couldn’t. We wanted to shake it up a little this time as we usually don’t dabble in the greasy world of politics and the wonderful people who submitted did not disappoint.
We hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed editing and yes, I know we say it every time but every time it is a genuine pleasure and honour to be taken on such fabulous journeys.

You can get your virtual hands on this new piece of loveliness by clicking on the gorgeous front cover below (artwork provided by Marina Iks/Semina Arts). We run the magazine on a Pay-What-You-Feel basis. We recommend £3 which we can put back into the magazine and other projects we have in the pipeline. It also goes to thank those people that help us put it all together. Click now, follks!

 

INTRODUCING

We’re growing and changing at Bunbury. We are very proud to welcome into the fold a long term friend, respected writer and editor and now, colleague, Dean Rhetoric!
He will be on the editing team for poetry and will be out and about spreading the good word of Bunbury throughout, well wherever he goes really. He has also put together a phenomenal feature for this issue entitled The Best Kept Secrets in Poetry. His finger is on the pulse of what is up-and-coming in the poetry world and this is well worth a read.

SUBMISSIONS

Our inbox is now open for submissions. The theme is for issue 17 is Fallout. As always, we are looking for short stories, poetry, flash fiction, art, photography and basically any form of creativity.

Please send your submissions to submissions@bunburymagazine.com.

You can find all of our guidelines at https://bunburymagazine.com/submit-to-us/.

INTREGUE

As we’ve already said, we’re growing and changing so over the next few months, look out for exciting announcements, opportunities and other fun stuff.
But where will you be announcing these amazingly awesome things?! We hear you cry! Well you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the buttons below.

 

SUPPORT

We now have a Patreon too. As we have said, everything we do for the magazine, our events and the support we give to grass-roots creativity comes out of our own pockets. In order to make this support even better, we are looking for YOUR support. We are on the verge of getting the magazine into print and we want to launch more anthologies and a podcast. None of this can be done for free. With your donations, we can expand our network and put more resources into Bunbury Magazine. You can get to our Patreon page by clicking our logo below. There are fabulous incentives and the chance to get involved in the magazine.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this,
We’ll leave you to it. Much love,

Christopher and Keri.

OKTHANKSLOVEYOUBYE!!!

Behave Yourself and Submit!

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Sit up straight, face the front, and no chewing in class! Yes, all you well-behaved andschool naughty people, this month’s A3 Review contest is on the theme of Teachers.

Inspired by the Write Through School Writing Map, we’re looking for short fiction, poetry and artwork on tutors, instructors, professors, mentors, personal trainers… any type of teacher. We’ve all had them and many of us are them!

Write about a memorable moment with a memorable teacher. Frustrated teachers, inspirational teachers, nervous newbies or those who’ve seen it all. Create something that delves into the heart of the teacher/student relationship. Explore different setting where teaching takes place: a farmer passing on knowledge to a child; an experienced soldier guiding a raw recruit; a chance meeting in a remote, dusty town that results in a lesson learned.

The only restriction is a word-limit of 150 and images should fit well into an A6 panel. To find out more about what kind of work we like at The A3 Review, check out the latest issue here, and see our submission guidelines here. This month’s deadline is Saturday, the 27th of May. Send us your work. It’s not compulsory, but it is for your own good!

Good luck and keep writing!

Bunbury is back with Issue 15 and some exciting news!

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Well, hello from all of us at Bunbury Magazine to you, Dear Bunburyists,

We’re not quite sure on the etiquette for how late we can wish you all a Happy New Year. We think after about 15th January it becomes a little awkward but, you know what? This is the first issue of 2017 so you’re getting it…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We hope your 2017 has gotten off to a rollicking start. Ours has been a nice peaceful affair here so far. That’s what we’re going with anyway. In reality, we have been running around like blue-proverbialled flies getting this next nugget of loveliness together for you! We make it sound like a chore, don’t we? It really is not!

Once again, we have been blessed with some of the finest writing from around the world. It has been an honour to read all the words sent in to us. Not only that, but we have some wonderful art to bring to you (the front cover is more than a little spiffy, we’re sure you’ll agree!)

Without further ado, you can download this new issue for the (not so) new year by clicking on the gorgeous link picture below, kindly given to us by Vincent Davis.

As always, we recommend a £3 donation, which is really good value for all the joy we are bringing to your Kindles/Laptops/Eyes. However, if you would like to donate £15 to our support network for grass-roots creativity, we will send you a copy of The Bunbury Creative Anthology. Simply email us on bunburymagazine@gmail.com with your details when you have paid and we will put it in the post for you.

As well as all this, last year we had the pleasure of putting together two incredible features for you. As usual, we took our annual trip up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. As usual, we spent five days legging it from one venue to the next, making sure we caught up with the very best shows at the Fringe and boy, did we see some utter crackers! This issue’s feature brings you the very best of The Fringe 2016.

As well as this, we are thrilled to bring you a feature on Evidently, one of Manchester’s premier spoken word nights. Honestly, if you love performance poetry, get down to this bad boy. We don’t care that you don’t live in the area. Travel! We interviewed the headliners and open mic guests to give you a flavour of what Kieren King and Ella Gainsborough, the eminent creators of Evidently, organise.

  Last but not least, the exciting news! We’ve been short-listed for Best Magazine in this year’s Saboteur Awards. Thank you so much to all those who voted for us to get to the short-list. Last year, we came third. This year, we want to win. We want to win for all the writers, artists, comedians, performers and all round magnificent people we have featured in all 15 issues. To vote for us, click on the picture below. (While you’re there, please vote for Evidently, stars of this issue, for Best Regular Spoken Word Show!) We’d really appreciate it.

            Anyway, happy new year again. Yeah, yeah, we know it’s too late for all that. Just go and read the magazine, will you?

Much love and keep scribbling,

Christopher and Keri.

Vote Bunbury for Saboteur Awards 2017

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As you remember, last year, Bunbury Magazine had the great honour to be short-listed for Best Magazine at the Saboteur Awards.

This year, we want to go one better and win!

To do this, we need your help. We would love to have your vote for best magazine. A vote for us is a vote for every poet, writer, artist, comedian, every beautiful creative we have featured in our pages.

It has been our great pleasure and joy to bring you the finest writing and art & photography from around the world for the past 4 years. We want this recognition not just for us but for everyone that has made doing Bunbury as amazing as it is. In case you need more encouragement, here are some of the gorgeous front covers we have had:

You have to vote in three categories this year in order for your vote to count so while you are there, could you please vote for our anthology, The Bunbury Creative Anthology, as Best Anthology, and our Editor Christopher Moriarty’s book Lightspeed as Best Short Story Collection? It would mean an awful lot to us!

The Anthology is the best of the first 12 issues of Bunbury Magazine. We had so much fun reading everything again and making the editorial decisions. It was out first foray into physical publishing and having recognition for this would be amazing.

So just to remind you, please, please vote for:

Best Magazine – Bunbury Magazine

Best Anthology – Bunbury Creative Anthlogy

Best Short Story Collection – Lightspeed by Christopher Moriarty

You can find the link for voting right here:

The Woods, the Trees, and The A3

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We’re busy as beavers here aTree Map SIDE B NEWt The A3 Review, assembling Issue #6 and choosing the overall cash-prize winners. The issue will be out in early April, and we’re wild about the fact that ShortStops’ own Tania Hershman will be our Guest Writer!

Meanwhile, talking about wildness, Issue #7 is already, ahem, logging up entries for our March contest on the theme of Forests and Woods (deadline is March 25th).

Woodlands have inspired writers and artists for hundreds of years – now it’s your turn. Submit stories, poems and art inspired by the arboreal! Whether it’s tropical, mystical, tundral (is that even a word?!), or your own backyard. So many folktales and fairytales happen in forests. Find a story you love and update it. Think “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Hansel and Gretel”, and Baba Yaga. Think: Robin Hood or Tarzan. Be outrageous. Be controversial. Surprise us with new takes on old stories.

For more inspiring prompts, check out the Writing with Fabulous Trees Writing Map (see pic).

And for even more ideas and inspiration, and details about prizes, visit The A3 Review’s Submittable page. You can also purchase all back issues on The A3 Review‘s site.

We welcome short stories, flash fiction, poetry, comics, graphic stories, a snippet of memoir, photographs, illustrations, and any combination of the above. The only restriction is a word-limit of 150 and images should fit well into an A6 panel.

Good luck and keep writing!

PS. The A3 Review‘s editor, Shaun Levin, is running an online writing course, starting on the 24th of April. Click here for all the details.

Having a Lovely Time in The A3 Review

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wish-you-were-hereYes, the theme for our February Contest is: Postcards. This month’s contest is your last chance to be part of The A3 Review‘s Issue 6, so don’t be left feeling “Wish I was there!”

Deadline is February 25th.

Write about postcards you’ve written and ones you’ve received, that particular postcard you’ve kept since the 80s. Tell the story of a postcard you wish you’d written, or one (from your gran?) that you wish you’d saved. Write about a character who communicates through postcards. What would their last postcard sound like? For inspiration, read Charles Simic’s “The Lost Art of Postcard Writing.”

Read here about the language of stamps, and how they were positioned on postcards to convey a secret message. Write about stamps. Read Craig Raine’s “A Martian Sends A Postcard Home”, then write your own version, updated for the 21st Century.

Think about postcards from the edge. Postcards from the future. Postcards as propaganda and protest. Postcards which say one thing but mean another. Study a picture postcard and use the image to inspire a story.

For more inspiration, visit our Submittable page and follow us on Twitter at @TheA3Review. You can also get special offers and news by signing up to our newsletter.

For full contest details click here. Each month we choose two winning pieces for publication (The A3 Review is published twice a year). All winning entries receive Writing Maps and contributor copies, while three overall winners in each issue receive cash prizes: 1st = £150, 2nd = £75, 3rd = £50 (approx $190, $95, $65).

The new themes for Issue 7 (The Silver Issue) are now up on our page, so click here to see all six themes.

Happy writing! We look forward ro reading your work.