Last Call For Readers' Letters!

I'm in the process of preparing Issue 4 of The Yellow Room and so, if you'd like to see your letter printed in the magazine, now is the time to email me a line or two. Your letter doesn't have to be about Issue3 in particular. It can be about any aspect of short story writing or writing/reading in general. In other words, anything you think may be of interest to The Yellow Room readers. My email is yellowjo AT me dot com.

I've had great difficulty in focusing on my novel lately. I have been thinking about it a lot, but I just haven't got round to writing anything. I've even started thinking about a new idea for a novel, making notes and doing some research!

I currently have seventeen stories waiting to be published in The Yellow Room. It's difficult choosing which ones to include in Issue 4. I'm publishing the top two prizewinning stories in the Autumn Short Story Competition, so that means that two of the stories on file get pushed aside to make room. I always feel uneasy about this. I'm loathe to publish a separate competition anthology, as it's more work and more expense and small competition anthologies don't usually sell that well, in my experience.

Sally Quilford recently asked me, in my capacity as a competition judge, what I thought about entrants challenging the results. Do you think it's acceptable for someone to query the results, because they think their story should have been in the top twenty? I'd be interested to hear your opinions!

Don't forget those readers' letters!

I should also say that this is a good time to submit stories for publication, as I haven't any left in my 'to read' pile.