Shutterstock / Vladvm©Hello, and welcome to the first Fiction Ed’s Blog of 2024.
A Happy New Year
Whether you’re new to the blog, or a regular reader – a warm welcome. And a very Happy New Year!
The ‘Fiction Ed’s Blog’ appears every Thursday morning with tips for authors, news from the Fiction Desk, and nostalgic pieces of interest from our archive.
A ‘Friend’ Tradition
January is the Friend’s birthday month – this year, we’re celebrating being in print for 155 years.
We’ve championed new writers since our earliest days, giving them a fair chance of publication.
We’re continuing that tradition, and all seven stories in our 155th anniversary issue have been written by first-time ‘Friend’ authors.
Seven New Writers
Our seven new authors are – Julie Blaho, Kate Baker, Donna Ferguson, Leah Rottier, Bshash Mubarik, Christopher Goulding, and Alexis Wolfe.
Like every first-time ‘Friend’ author, their story arrived via our dedicated email address for authors who are as yet unpublished in the magazine – friendfiction@dctmedia.co.uk.
Writers Of The Day
Our ‘Writer Of The Week’ piece usually appears on our website every Monday, but we’ll be posting a new Writer Of The Day every day from Monday, January 8th.
We’ve done this once before – in January, 2020, which seems a long time ago, now.
Fiction Ed at that time was Shirley, and we were only just becoming aware of the impact covid would have.
A Warm Welcome
Julie will appear on Monday, Kate on Tuesday, and Donna on Wednesday.
Leah will feature on Thursday, Bshash on Friday, Christopher on Saturday, and Alexis on Sunday.
If you’re a new author, we’d like to extend the warmest of welcomes.
If you’re an aspiring author, keep an eye on this blog for up-to-date submissions information.
And if you’re an established author – we’re on the lookout for stories from spring onwards.
Here’s to 2024!
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!
