Mslexia, the magazine for women who write | www.mslexia.co.uk
Resources for writers
Survival kit
Whether you're a writer starting from scratch, looking for professional support or just lost in technical jargon, our Writers' Resources section aims to demystify the publishing industry and help get the ball rolling on your own projects. We have compiled a whole host of KEY RESOURCES (see left) - an invaluable resource for any writer.
Spotlight on…
Keep abreast of all things literary with our regular spotlight on literary magazines, publishers and websites/ blogs. You can also explore our extensive listings from here.
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Literary magazines
BRAND
‘Without danger there is no risk, without risk there is banal conformity.’ A magazine that is a self-proclaimed battlefield of literary invention, Brand uses its position as a commodity to diversify from the mainstream and question what it is to be an individual, an outsider.
Specialising in short form, the svelte journal – slightly larger than a paperback – is rich in surreal, poignant, dynamic bursts of new writing. Published twice a year and best consumed in bite-sized, digestible chunks, Brand’s 130-plus pages churn out enough ideas to make a six-month drought pass in a blink.
From Sean Burn’s lyrical play about escapism to an article plumbing the depths of theatre/audience interaction, the latest issue epitomises the many strands Brand is willing to follow. Jess Kidd’s apocalyptic story ‘Blackbird’ is an especially vivid narrative of loneliness; and Alev Adil’s interview of writer Rana Dasgupta is a genuinely open and penetrating journey into the world of the author.
While poetry and prose exercise their literary muscles, it is refreshing to see playwrights and creative nonfiction writers offered the very same platform to experiment with. Visually Brand is an unassuming, intriguing collage of thoughts – from vibrant, abstract shapes on the cover to the selection of black and white photographs inside: every inch of this magazine is purposeful. For readers seeking new writing with no artificial characters, plots or melodramatic additives, this publication is a tonic.
Check the website for submission guidelines and deadlines
www.brandliterarymagazine.co.uk
This article was originally published in issue 44 – for current information please visit Brand's website.
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Publishers
NOSY CROW
Kate Wilson has an enviable track record in children’s book publishing. As head of Macmillan Children’s Books, she published The Gruffalo in 1999, and has since headed Scholastic UK. So when she set up Nosy Crow in 2010, the trade took notice.
The company came before the iPad – just – and from inception interactive digital books were an essential component. Its two apps – The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella – gained huge publicity. Still, books outnumber apps 10-to-one because, says Kate, ‘it costs so much money to create good apps.’
Nosy Crow encourages submissions and has published several unsolicited manuscripts. At present Kate is looking for ‘great, funny, girl-skewed fiction for six-to-eight-year-olds and a brilliant girl-skewed fantasy depicting a really well-imagined, original world for eight-to-12-year-olds’. Run mainly by parents, Nosy Crow is proud of its ‘mum-friendly’ list, which is why winning Inspirational Business Mum of the Year in the Mumpreneur Awards 2011 means so much to Kate.
THEY SAY:
‘Nosy Crow aims to be creative, exciting, open to new ideas, not too bureaucratic. We offer a very personal approach. Every author on our list knows us personally and I like that.’
RECENT BOOK:
Penny Dale’s Dinosaur Dig! is a bright, noisy story about dinosaurs and diggers. It was picked up immediately because it had a clear market. ‘We could instantly imagine the child that the book was just right for.’ ■
Submission guidelines
DO SEND: Full text/concept for picture books and apps; for longer texts, a short synopsis plus first chapter. Include covering letter and large SAE for return of mss.
DON’T SEND: Anything ‘teen’ – sex, drugs or violence. Original artwork.
CONTACT: Adrian Soar, Nosy Crow, The Crow’s Nest, 10a Lant Street, London, SE1 1QR or email Adrian@nosycrow.com with ‘Submission to Nosy Crow’ in subject line | www.nosycrow.com
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On the web
HIVE
When you buy books via this website you continue to support your local independent bookshop too. The idea is that you can enjoy the convenience of ordering online as well as the pleasure of picking up the book from your local bookshop which, as part of the hive network, shares in the profit and helps keep indies afloat.
KEY RESOURCES
Why not get started with our list of Societies and Organisations, all of which have been set up to provide specialist support in their respective professions.
If you already have a finished project to sell, why not browse our list of Agents to submit your work to.
There are many publications designed to act as Reference Books to the writer; having at least one to refer to is a must for anybody serious about their work. Here we provide the details of a number of publications, most of which are available at competitive prices from your local bookshop.
Finally, if there's anything you think is missing, please get in touch to let us know.
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