The SI Leeds Literary Prize is an award for unpublished fiction by UK-based Black and Asian women, aged 18 and above. [The] aim is to act as a loudspeaker for fresh and original literary voices from an under-represented group, and to help them reach new audiences in mainstream culture. More information here.
The award is for the unpublished manuscript of a complete novel. Fingers crossed Yasmin makes the shortlist – to be announced in late September.
Yasmin Ali
ex TSFG member Julia Bell is Professor of New Writing at Birkbeck, University of London, and one of the UK’s leading creative writing teachers. A novelist, essayist, and poet, she has guided hundreds of writers from first draft to publication over more than twenty-five years. Her new book, Between the Lines (Simon & Schuster, 2026) is a live-action exploration of the psychological, political, and philosophical lessons of the workshop.
An expert insight into the transformative power of storytelling, together with practical advice on how to make your writing come alive.
The way we use language to tell stories reveals a lot about who we are and what matters to us. In Between the Lines, Julia Bell draws on almost thirty years of teaching to take us inside the writing workshop, where students from all over the world meet to share and discuss their work. She finds that in this space a kind of alchemy occurs, where paying real attention to one another and what we have to say – the ultimate challenge in our atomised, ‘always on’ society – becomes a profound emotional education.
Marg’s novel ‘Making Good’ was longlisted for the Cinnamon Press prize for 2025. More information here.
Marg says: Making Good is about a relationship in crisis. Unresolved issues of the past catch up with Stuart and Sharon. Are they brave enough to face them so they can save their relationship?
Under the Radar is a magazine published by Nine Arches Press and features poetry and fiction from established and up and coming writers. Nina has a piece ‘In New York’ in Issue 36 (their flight issue). More details here.
Alan’s third collection, published by Floodgate Press was launched last week at Voce Books, Birmingham. Some opinions: ‘Alan Beard writes with a candour and emotional truth that almost hurts to take in, awakening our humanity and attentiveness in a way that much fiction fails to.’ Luke Kennard; ‘Resolutely unsentimental but attuned to tenderness and poignancy, Alan Beard is the real deal’. Wendy Erskine; ‘His pared down prose reads, at times, like poetry. There are little moments of beauty, transcendence; they shine like shards of mirror. Sometimes the voice feels like an incantation, a rant. There’s humour, too.’ Amanda Smyth
More information about the book and where to buy here.
Some pictures from the launch (thanks to peri cimen for photos):
From the publisher’s site: Egeaus Press is very pleased to present this latest collection of uniquely strange visions from the great Charles Wilkinson.
Charles’s stories inhabit a psycho- geographic hinterland quite unlike any other. An often unfathomable dread lurks at the heart of his leafy rural communities and unmappable suburbs. More here.
Rachel was delighted to receive her prize from comedian Helen Lederer. Now, we’re hoping her unpublished novel ‘The Way of Nellie May’ gets a publishing deal and does well. Any news will be posted here. Details of Rachel’s win here.
Last year (2024) Natalie (Shoshana Lavan) was shortlisted for her flash ‘Three Cornered Hat’; this year she is one of the finalists with ‘A Poster of Three Cats’. Well done, Natalie! Details here.
Mick Scully’s 2008 collection of connected stories has been included in a top 5 of crime books set in the Midlands by the Big Issue:
Tindal Street Fiction Group 