WRITERS’ NEWS
http://www.writers-online.co.uk NOVEMBER 2019^77Country & Town House is a monthly
luxury lifestyle title that covers
everything from fashion, culture,
books, jewellery and cars to interiors,
food, drink, property and travel.
‘It is predominantly aimed at the top
end of the London market, who enjoy
the best of both worlds in town and
country, but not in an exclusive way,’
said editorial director Lucy Cleland. ‘It
could be anything from a wonderful
walk and a pub lunch to driving down
to Glyndebourne in a top of the range
Aston Martin – it’s about enjoying the
finer things in life.’
Readers are style conscious but also
interested in wellbeing and realness.
‘They’re bright, sparky, intelligent, they want to get the best out of life,
but it’s not all about the money, it’s about the good, nourishing things
too. My best feedback is that the magazine is actually read – and people
love to rip out the little nuggets of information or shopping. I hope to
deliver this each month.’
Country & Town House covers the whole gamut of lifestyle topics with a
country and town spin. ‘We specialise in interiors, travel and culture mostly.
‘We run anything that piques our fancy and would make an interesting read
for our cultured, affluent audience – whether that’s meeting the owners of a
wonderful historic house, who are launching a new arts festival or hanging
out with Yasmin Le Bon in a London hotel, our features are generally rooted
in British culture with an international tone.’
Features tend not to be more than 1,500 words. ‘The content should be
stimulating and intelligent but also with a light touch,’ said Lucy. ‘The tone
is one of kindness and inclusion but not taking oneself too seriously and has
a whiff of a sense of humour. We want to find out something new too – not
something we already know.’
Lucy’s happy to hear from prospective
contributors who understand her readers and
what interests them. ‘I’m hoping for a pitch
that knows the magazine and the audience;
something that hasn’t been vastly covered
elsewhere. Make it personal and show you know
what you’re talking about.’
Contact Lucy by email. ‘Firstly introduce
yourself, tell us your interest in the title and
maybe two or three top line ideas. Do feel free
to write back if you don’t hear anything initially.
Email is very hard to keep up with.’
Payment varies.
Website: http://www.countryandtownhouse.co.uk
Good cheese for posh mice
UK MAGAZINE MARKET
Tina JacksonBrave new worlds
To commemorate the 400th anniversary of The Mayflower,
enter short stories and poems that explore new worlds in the
Elmbridge Literary Competition 2019/20.
Now in its fifteenth year, the Elmbridge Literary
Competition invites international entries of poems and short
stories. In the adult categories stories may be up to 1,500
words and poems up to thirty lines. There are prizes in each
19+ category of £250, £150 and £100. There is also a special
Elmbridge Prize of £50 in book tokens for the best story or
poem by an Elmbridge resident. All the winning entries will be
printed in a chapbook.
Each year the competition, which is run by the RC Sherriff
Trust and Elmbridge Borough Council in Surrey, has a
different theme. To celebrate this year’s 400th anniversary of
the sailing of the Mayflower, entries are invited on the theme
of ‘New World’.
There is a £5 entry fee for each story or poem in the
adult categories.
The closing date is 7 February 2020.
Website: http://www.rcsherrifftrust.org.uk/competitionsTread these streets
Fiction with a focus on ‘action and atmosphere over
characterisation’ and articles on pulp related topics are invited
for the USA-based Crimson Streets, a web now/print later
magazine which occasionally publishes anthologies of stories
and articles from the website. The magazine has a broad
definition of pulp. See the website for further information on
this and to read free content.
Stories should be 800-6,000 words long. If you have a
longer work there may be some interest if it is complete
and can be broken down for publication. Three qualifying
questions are asked by editors as the stories come in: does
the story take place between 1925 and 1965, does it have a
strong sense of atmosphere or mood and does it have a fast-
paced focus on action, adventure or drama? A story not set
between the years mentioned will however be considered if it
has a strong pulp or noir feel and is strong in the other areas.
Simultaneous submission and reprints will not be considered
and you should submit no more than one story at a time.
Only a limited number of articles are published and if they
would help an aspiring author of pulp fiction this may be
of interest to the editors. Submissions should be a doc or rtf
document and include a one or two paragraph query letter
along with your address and contact details.
Payment is 1¢ per word of the final edited work
Submit by email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.crimsonstreets.com/submission-guidelinesBuy your books in the cloud
China’s Duoyun Books, a major chain owned
by The Shanghai Century Publishing Co,
has just opened the highest bookshop in the
world, its new flagship store in Shanghai.
The store is called Books Above Clouds
and is sited on the 52nd floor of the city’s
tallest building, the Shanghai Tower. The
2,259 sq m store stocks 60,000 books and also includes a cafe, study room,
exhibition space, theatre and a garden. With fantastic views across the city,
and sometimes over a cloudscape, the beautifully minimal store is intended
to become a new cultural landmark.