EDITORIAL

IN the last three months we’ve discovered more about Mslexia readers than in three and a half years of publishing the magazine. Until now our insight has had to come from those of you who write in because they love the magazine – or because we’ve irritated them for some reason.

Now we have information from 2,000 of you to digest. As a result the next issue of Mslexia will be very different to this one. The items you value will stay, of course, but those you were iffy about have already been axed and we’re designing a raft of new features for our October relaunch – including four new open submission slots (see page 42).

While you’re waiting, there’s lots to savour in the current mag. The Guardian’s Sue Limb (aka ‘Dulcie Domum’) offers some pointers for writing a regular column; Sue Hepworth shadows a top literary agent to discover what she actually does all day – and do you remember the Mozart Effect? Maggie Butt investigates how different kinds of music help, or hinder, creative writing. First, though, we look at how a boy with specs and a scar on his forehead took the publishing world by storm – and why the ‘Potter Effect’ might have more to say about adults than about children.

Debbie Taylor
Editor