Category / News

by Colette

Mag News: The Inkwell’s Big Move And Our New Email Address

belgian_waffles_toppings

My mouth is already in that half-watering saliva state. NOM. Image // Cybjorg

Hey Inkblotters,

We’ve got some pretty interesting news for our Inkblots readers and contributors, as well as some big changes happening over at our sister writing forum. But first, a quick update on content progression for the remainder of this year. As I’m currently acting as the sole editor for the magazine, with Lilith stepping in only occasionally as editor and mainly rummaging around behind the scenes, Inkblots content will be taking a break during September. But don’t worry, the break will only be for one month as I’m hoping to be scoffing my face full of local Belgium waffles for at least one week during the month.

Our next update is a pretty important one – our email address has changed! Yes, instead of contacting us at the long-ish creative writing email you’ve got stored in your inbox, you can now contact us at theinkwellwriting@gmail.com. All of the necessary pages have been updated, including the Submissions page and contact forum. We’ll be emailing all our external Inkblots contributors and forum writers our email address change, so no need to panic if you’ve just sent us an email to our old address.

Given our change in email address, we’ve also had some changes to our sister site, The Inkwell. We decided to purchase a domain name and instead of the long-ish (again) name that came with the forum, it’s now simply theinkwellwriting.com. If you’ve got the old one bookmarked, don’t fret as it does piggyback onto our new domain name. We’re still sorting the kinks out, but it’s all lovely and a PROPER writing forum. Hurrah!

Also, I’ll just quickly mention that the Fiction Frenzy is still happening until the end of August. If you wish to get an entry into us, we accept all external Inkblots contributor FF entries through email. Check out our newly updated submissions page for all the rules / guidelines.

Hope you’re having a scorcher of a Sunday. 🙂

– Silver, ‘Blots Editor

by Colette

Monthly Editorial: Festival Season Kicks Off In Style With June’s Content

rainforest_world_music_festival

Rainforest World Music Festival, Borneo Image // rwmf.net

Hey Inkblotters!

Here in the UK, we’re well-known for our rainy days, nights, weekends and months. Many, if not all, of you will have heard of April’s Showers, but what about Monsoon June? About four or five years ago, many parts of the UK were hit with torrential downpours, resulting in flooded homes and a lot of disgruntled and upset home-owners during this month. It was devastating for the people involved, plus it created a substantial headache for the government. Flood guards were put in place and erected over the course of time, but it wasn’t enough to deter the rain in early January. While North America were plagued with sub-zero temperatures, the UK was hit with more flood warnings than we could count. As always, it looks like we’re in for more rain this June, but hopefully we’ll get some of the sizzling hot sunshine too.

With the beginning of June, a whole host of festivals kick-start their “feel-good welly” campaigns. Whether it’s music at Leeds and Glastonbury that rocks your world or the bluesy tunes in Wales, there’s something for everyone. But though music festivals are a big part of the summer, there’s also the folk festivals with ceilidh dancing, as well as the arts and crafts shows to wander around. So, in aid of the festival season, content for June will be under the theme “Free Spirit”.

Due for publication on the 5th is Rae-Chan’s Half Hour Challenge, “Wings” – a simple yet elegant poem on the theme of flight, absolutely gorgeous. Following on from Rae-Chan’s work, we’ve got new poetry from returning contributor Ashcloud on the 8th, with “One Day at a Time”, along with “Messages” from Elanor Rose on the 20th, which I’ve heard is due for publication just before her birthday – fabulously timed! And as always, there are lyrics, short fiction and even more poetry to come this month.

Our theme for the Half Hour Challenge this month comes from our wonderful forum admin Lilith (as per usual) and is titled: Summer Haze. Make sure you check out submissions page in the header above for all the rules and guidelines concerning HHC submissions.

And finally, I just want to thank all our followers for all your likes/comments on our content – our contributors really appreciate it. We recently hit the 600 mark and I, personally, just can’t thank you enough for the support.

Have a great June!

– Silver, Inkblots Editor

 

by Colette

Overton Poetry Prize Looking For Submissions, Your Chance To Be Published

Overton_Poetry_PrizeLoughborough University’s Bill Overton – an English professor who specialised in poetry – died in September 2012 after suffering from a long-term illness. In honour of his career, the university has set up the Overton Poetry Prize after raising funds through a special memorial fund. So why am I telling you all of this? Well, if you love writing poetry – and I know a lot of our readers/contributors do – then it’s your chance to be published. Amongst the judges is Sarah Jackson, winner of the Seamus Heaney Prize in 2013, who will undertake the final judging. Below you’ll find all the details for entry, plus if you’d like more information about the Overton Poetry Prize, please visit the link, here. Good luck!

  • Entry fee is £10 per submission
  • Submissions can be a sequence of poems on any subject (up to 300 lines)
  • Participants must be over 16-years-old
  • Competition is worldwide, but submissions must be in the English language
  • Closes on March 31st, 2014

Prizes

  • First prize is the publication of the winning sequence in chapbook form
  • Two runners-up prizes of £50 each

*All rights will remain with the author, but Loughborough University will retain the right to feature the winning poems on their website.

by Colette

Monthly Editorial: Oscar Season and March’s Content

oscars_2014

Wonder what drama will take place tonight? Get us that popcorn!

Hey Inkblotters!

Welcome to the monthly editorial for March, where we’ve put aside our tea and biscuits this Sunday for an extravagant night of glitz and glamour with the Oscars Ceremony. As a film fanatic, I can’t help but watch with bated breath as to who will win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress, as well as all the others. But, as with every year, there’s some serious competition. As much as I’d like to see Leonardo DiCaprio awarded for his tremendously talented and comical performance in The Wolf of Wall Street, the Academy will most probably opt for the big-hitting transformational performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave) or Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club). Maybe the Academy will surprise us this year, though?

So in honour of the biggest bash in Hollywood, we’ve selected this month’s content under the theme: Transformations and Despair. Powerful transformations don’t just happen on-screen, they happen on paper too, and it’s not just physical transformations we’re looking at, it’s also the emotional transformation of the mind. To kick off our content on the 5th, we’ve got Rae-Chan’s “An Ode to Low Self-Esteem” from last month’s HHC – it’s a cracking poem, and one which many of us can relate to. Next up is new contributor Lockmaker and her Dear Mister Nice Guy satirical poem on the 8th and, mid-way through March, Magnificent Mayhem’s “I & You” brings a taste of the sinister and sweet in her short poem. And of course, there’s so much more!

This month’s Half Hour Challenge theme is Servant – a delightful and different theme chosen by my co-editor Lilith. If you’ve got an itching to send us through a HHC, remember to check out our submission page for all the details.

And last but not least, between January and February Inkblots hit the 500 reader mark! Thanks to all our followers, whether you’ve just joined us in the last couple of months, or have been here since the beginning, you guys are awesome! 🙂

– Silver, Inkblots Editor

by Colette

Monthly Editorial: Celebrating Love In February’s Content

puppy_kitten_sleeping

Awww. We couldn’t help but put up an adorable picture of sleepy animals!

Hey Inkblotters!

Welcome to a new month and lots of new content. As it’s February, we thought we’d go all out and celebrate love – but not just the obvious type of love with the mushy, lovey-dovey stuff (though there may be a little of that…) but also a deeper kind of love: the love for our family, the love for our hobbies or just a general love for writing. If you’re single, don’t get all down in the dumps this month when you see glossy red and sickly pink hearts through restaurants or card shops, but embrace it in a different way. Love yourself for once – whether that be picking up some ice-cream and your favourite movie, or going out and enjoying a day with your mates. And if you’re all loved-up, remember that Valentine’s Day is just another day to tell your partner that you love them.

Anyway, enough of the chit-chat, I’m here to talk about our exciting content for February! Beginning the theme of love, we’ve got veteran HHC writer Rob with his take on last month’s theme ‘Inkwell’ on the 5th. He’s such a pro at writing great twists, we just can’t help but choose his short tales over and over again. Next up on the 8th is a beautiful poem written by new contributor Topaz, engaging in thoughts of love and life and how nature is truly prominent in our world – keep an eye out. And on the 20th, we’ve got song lyrics adapted from Patrick Rothfuss’ novel, Name of the Wind, by long-standing forum member Kvothe. But that’s not all our content, of course, there’s plenty more hidden in the wings.

This month’s HHC theme is a little unorthodox, but we like to change our routine up every now and then. Sherlock does this all the time, in fact that’s probably a ridiculously big clue. That’s right, our theme is Guessing and Second Guessing. To give you a little nudge in the right direction, co-editor Lilith left us this amusing picture to keep us on the straight and narrow. What can I say, most of us are 90s kids! Remember, if you’d like to submit a HHC, poetry or fiction, check out our submissions page.

And on that note, I hope you have a lovely Feb painting the roses red.

– Silver, Inkblots Editor

by Colette

Monthly Editorial: December’s Content and a Christmas Eve Inkblots Special

Christmas decoration. vintage background with space for text or image.

If only we had some mulled wine to go with the sparkles – Merry Christmas!

Hey Inkblotters,

‘Tis the season to be jolly fa la la la la, la la la la – I honestly hope that’s the correct amount of la’s! So, as we all know it’s the beginning of December and if you’re not happily tucking into an Advent Calendar, then you’ll surely be getting into the Christmas spirit with Cyber Monday. Generally deemed as the busiest day in the online shopping year – yes, even busier than Black Friday – Cyber Monday is all the joys of hectic Christmas shopping without the frustration of standing in heaving queues. Although, I’m pretty sure surfing the Amazon page for “deals you’ve missed” is just as heavy on the heart – good job Amazon, we love you for that. But I digress, I’m sure you’re here to see exactly what we’ve got planned for this month’s content.

Kicking off content for December is Rob’s Half Hour Challenge entry “Angela’s Touch” from last month’s Book of Secrets theme. There’s a great twist in there, so we can’t give all the details away, but certainly look out for it on the 5th. We’ve also got two short poems from newcomer Avantgardian on the 8th, then later on the 20th Lost in a Dream has written a sequel (of sorts) to her highly regarded poem Rewind, which you can read on her blog here. Plus we’ve worked a few surprises in there too.

But with Christmas only coming but once a year, we’ve got an extra special post to upload on Christmas Eve in order to celebrate the fantastic theme this month. Exclusively for our forum members, the editorial team has hand-picked and compiled a 24 Door Advent Calendar with a separate theme and incredibly cheesy rhyme residing inside. So, just for you – our readers – we’re publishing three of the best entries, so be sure to check them out on Christmas Eve.

Last but not least, myself and the editorial team would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Thanks for reading/following, and we’ll see you in 2014!

– Silver, Inkblots Editor

by Colette

Monthly Editorial: NaBloPoMo And November’s Content

sparkler_halo

Get ready to spin those sparklers this coming Bonfire Night.
Image Courtesy of inspire-stella.blogspot.co.uk

Hi Inkblotters,

Welcome to the start of November – otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month, and now National Blog Posting Month! The latter is a rather new phenomenon that started up in response to NaNoWriMo, for the busy-worker bees and the ones that prefer to blog once per day, rather than try their hand at writing a 100k novel. For the modern world, blogging once per day is much easier (I should think) than sitting down with a cup of coffee (or glass of wine) every day to write a thrilling tale. So let us know if you’ll be challenging yourself with NaNoWriMo, NaBloPoMo, or both this month!

For those of you who tune in to read the editor’s note, however, we’ve got some smashing content to bring you this month. And again, we’ve hand-picked November’s content in relation to a specific theme, so let us know if you spot it (the hint is in last month’s Half Hour Challenge). Kicking off the month in style is Bobartles HHC entitled “The Locked Room”, both sinister and comical. Next up on the 8th we’ve got new contributor Magnificent Mayhem’s poem “Residue”, which speaks volumes about the fragility of dolls. And we’ve also got Lilith’s HHC entry coming up on the 24th, detailing the six angels of death with some fantastic Hellish imagery. Of course, that’s not all we’ve got to offer this month, so keep checking back or follow our Twitter @inkblotswriting for all the latest enthralling content.

In other Inkblots news, last month marked the awesome return of the Fiction Frenzy under the theme “Trick or Treat”. There were lots of great entries, so it will be hard to decide a winner, but be sure to expect it around the middle of the month. Remember, the Fiction Frenzy will be held tri-annually throughout the year, so expect the next one between January and April next year!

November’s Half Hour Challenge was picked by Inkblots Editor Lilith and is certainly an interesting one. “Book of Secrets” should give you plenty of pennies for your thoughts this Bonfire night. Why not try your hand at writing a book of secrets for a character, presenting it in journal entries, or blog about it for NaBloPoMo? Make sure you send your entries into creativewritinginkwell@hotmail.com and label it as “HHC Entry” for your chance to be published in next month’s content.

Have a sparkling November, and keep warm during Bonfire Night!

– Silver, Inkblots Editor

by Colette

October’s Content And The Return Of Fiction Frenzy

Jack_o_lanterns_group

Time for some late night pumpkin or Jack O’Lantern carvings? We think so!
Image Courtesy of irishcentral.com

Hey Inkblotters and welcome to October!

We’ve arrived at the turn of the spooky season once more, so it’s time to start penning those ghost stories. Who knows, I may even write one up myself for the Fiction Frenzy we’re hosting this month! But I digress, let’s talk about October’s content and what goodies you’ll be able to dig your teeth into this month.

The beginning of October’s content brings in another one of Dice’s Alexander episodes – he’s churning these out like there’s no tomorrow! But I guess that’s only fitting for science-fiction, right? We’ve also got three new contributors this month; on the 8th is Elanor’s “Sheffield Steel” with references to a few British cities, Miss Smiley’s prologue of “Death’s Mistress” on the 16th, and Dizzy Dazzle’s poem “The Humanitarian” will be coming up on the 20th. Plus, there’s a couple of surprises wiggled into this month’s content too, so make sure you keep checking back throughout.

In other news, we’ve got the return of the Fiction Frenzy, formerly known as the Friday Frenzy. Our writers and readers loved the concept, but sadly just couldn’t resist a Friday movie evening or a night out on the town. And who can blame you? So, the Fiction Frenzy now operates for the entire month. Starting from today until October 31, the Fiction Frenzy will be in full swing with the delectable theme Trick or Treat. There is, however, a twist, which you can read more about in our forum post, here. If you think you’ve got extra inspiration, don’t just sit on it, write about it! We want as many submissions from our readers and current contributors as possible – after all, it’s a Frenzy for a reason!

And to wrap up this long post yet again, (I’m good at waffling on aren’t I?) the theme for this month’s Half Hour Challenge is “Where Angels Fear To Tread”. The theme was thought up by our own Lilith and comes from the full quote: fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Remember, you can email your Fiction Frenzy and HHC entries to creativewritinginkwell@hotmail.com, or follow us on Twitter with our username @inkblotswriting to get all the latest posts straight to your feed.

Have a spooky one! 🙂

– Silver, Inkblots Editor

by Colette

Calling Fiction Writers and Poets: The Bill Overton Memorial Fund

loughborough_university_signAs our readers know, Inkblots is dedicated to finding new talent, often searching through pools of content in order to pick out the best, but tonight’s post isn’t about our content, it’s about something a little more special.

In September 2012, I was hit by not one but two deaths that affected me in different ways. One was a family death, of which I loved him dearly – a great Uncle masquerading as my Grandad in many ways – and the other was a former lecturer at Loughborough University who both taught and guided me in the form of poetry and Shakespeare. Bill Overton was a large part of the English Department at the university and gave us a real kick up the bums if we were not reaching our full potential! Sadly, he passed away after suffering from a period of illness. Hearing this news from my former students, lecturers and friends was a real shock. It was something that none of us could even process, so I can’t imagine how hard it would have been for his family and friends.

But since Bill loved both teaching and reading Poetry, Loughborough University has set up a memorial fund, which will support an annual poetry prize, giving the opportunity for new talent to pave their career in writing. It’s a fantastic opportunity for emerging poets but the university, in combination with the Loughborough University Charity Trust, needs your help. They are looking to raise £6,000 for the prize and are already on their way to achieving that goal. Currently, they’ve raised £480 and, though that may seem small at present, every little bit helps. You may not have known Bill Overton personally, you may even be on the other side of the world, but even if you can’t donate we’d love for you to help spread the word. So if you can take two minutes to either reblog this post, tweet about it, or even share it on Facebook, it would be a wonderful gesture.

To donate to the Bill Overton Memorial Fund, you can visit the page at: http://www.justgiving.com/BillOverton

To all those in advance, thank-you.

– Silver, Inkblots Editor

by Colette

September’s Content, Fiction Frenzy And Our New Submissions Page

September_back_to_school

Ready for the grind?

Hey Inkblotters and welcome to September,

It’s the start of the academic year for some of our writers and, most probably, some of our readers, but don’t feel glum as we’ve got a big sack full of lovely content to keep you occupied. For those of you who work like me though, it’s just another month at the grind. But that’s not all September signifies – for many it gives us the Indian Summer we just knew was in the weather bag, but this year Britain has had a ripe-old change of heart. We’ve had heat. We’ve had humidity. And now, we’ve got spider season – thanks Mr. and Mrs. Spider, you can stop scaring us now!

Ahem, back to what you Inkblotters really came here for: our scheduled content. This month, we’ve got an undercurrent theme running throughout our pieces, many of which were submitted for the Half Hour Challenge in August (we had so many this month it was so hard to choose just two pieces!) and many of which were specifically chosen because they were uplifting and had a big dollop of cutesy-pie on top. At the beginning of this month, you’ll find a sweet-tooth poem named ‘Fudge’ by yours truly, as well as some romance poetry from Blue-Eyed Devil popped in the middle. In terms of fiction, we have some great pieces like newcomer Hope75’s ‘Anna’ and writing veteran Rob’s HHC ‘Careful’, which has a moral to its message. There’s also a few more pieces waiting in the wings, so you’ll be spoilt for content this month.

We’ve also got a few announcements to make; the Fiction Frenzy is coming back… soon! We’re very excited to be bringing back the popular Frenzy as it really spurs, invigorates and inspires our writers. We’ve also got a brand new page on our blog dedicated to submissions, so if you’ve always wanted to enter into the HHC but have never sent us an email, well, now you have no excuse. You can find the submissions page, here. And last but not least, the HHC theme for this month is a wicked image to get your inspiration churning faster than you can say HHC! Take a gander at the image, here.

Have a great September!

– Silver, Inkblots Editor