Shutterstock / fizkes©What’s your favourite type of fiction to read, in “The People’s Friend”?
Here at the “Friend”, we’re the biggest publisher of women’s short stories in the UK, publishing over 600 brand new short stories every year.
In every issue, we try our very best to include a mix of fun and light-hearted, poignant and more thoughtful stories, with varied illustrations, too. A nice mix of traditional, and contemporary.
We also do our level best to ensure a good mix of authors and illustrators, where possible.
A good mix in every issue
Our weekly issues generally carry six contemporary stories and one historical.
But there’s one story that’s always needed for our story mixes, in terms of submissions throughout each year, and that is…
The “any time story”.
The story we always need
Our readers enjoy historical stories and stories set seasonally or around notable dates — such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Advent, and especially Christmas. We’re hard at work finalising our December Bumper Issues now.
But we’re always looking for stories that can fit into any issue. Regardless of the season. The “any time story”.
Stories with a “general” feel — which can be set at any time of year.
What length should an “any time story” be?
We need “any time” stories of all word counts, including Special lengths.
Traditional “Friend” themes of family, friendship, and romance are always welcome. Your story should engage and entertain the reader, making them smile, laugh – or even shed a tear.
If you’d like to try your hand at writing an ‘any time’ story, all you need to bear in mind is that it should have no seasonal references, and be suitable for inclusion in any issue or Special throughout the year — or indeed the Annual.
The main focus should always be on writing for our reader – as it has been for over 150 years.
Best of luck!
Lucy Crichton Better known as “Fiction Editor Lucy”, I am always on the look-out for the very best short stories, poems and pocket novels. As well as sourcing enjoyable content, I enjoy working with our established contributors, encouraging new talent, and celebrating 155 years of “Friend” fiction!
