Blog

Unlocking with left-hand writing

How to harness the stars in your storytelling

How to write high concept fiction

40 years ago, in 1982, Anne Dickson’s no-nonsense assertiveness guide – A Woman In Your Own Right – galvanised a generation of women to say ‘no’ to unreasonable demands on their behaviour, and push for reasonable demands for change. As the book is reissued as an anniversary edition, Dickson explains why the lessons and techniques that were so important 40 years ago are still relevant today

Interview: Alice Oseman

Laura Steven catches up with the YA author/illustrator who’s achieved more by the age of 26 than most writers do in a lifetime

The sunflower

The March edition of Mslexia went to press before the invasion of Ukraine, but by coincidence it contained this poem by the award-winning poet Hannah Lowe, from her ‘Editing a Poem’ series in the magazine

A spoonful of sugar

Novelist and writing mentor Jill Dawson challenges the widely accepted teaching model for creative writing, and proposes a different approach

What a difference a win makes

We are chuffed as chips to announce the publication today of the winner our 2019 Novel Competition – in gorgeous hardback from Pan Macmillan. The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell is a historical novel exploring the themes of women’s equality and reproductive rights and a worthy winner in so many ways.

Feng shui for your desk

Why is the University of East Anglia such a hot house for aspirant writers? Because it’s in the east, of course, where chi energy supports new beginnings. We present a special Mslexia guide to the changes you can make to your writing environment to maximise your creativity and your chances of getting published.

How to edit a poem

Hannah Lowe’s collection, The Kids, has just won the coveted Costa Book of the Year Award. Hurray! And it just so happens that Hannah’s also been writing a series of articles for Mslexia entitled Editing a Poem. Here’s the first in that series, from the December edition of the magazine, in which she talks about ways of approaching that most most challenging and satisfying of tasks.